English

On the discovery of the classical equations for spin motion in electromagnetic field

History and Philosophy of Physics 2015-06-23 v1

Abstract

The letter addresses misattribution of the discovery of the classical equation for spin motion in electromagnetic field, known as the BMT equation, named after Bargmann, Michel, and Telegdi. I argue that J. (or Ya.) Frenkel, along with L. H. Thomas, should be considered as a co-discoverer of this equation. He first derived it, in another form, in 1926.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1410.2815,
  title  = {On the discovery of the classical equations for spin motion in electromagnetic field},
  author = {V. Hushwater},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1410.2815},
  year   = {2015}
}

Comments

This submission is a slightly expanded version of my letter published in Am. J. Phys. 82, 6 (2014)