Related papers: A New Case for Direct Action
This paper follows in the tradition of direct-action versions of electromagnetism having the aim of avoiding a balance of infinities wherein a mechanical mass offsets an infinite electromagnetic mass so as to arrive at a finite observed…
The Maxwell-Lorentz theory of electrodynamics cannot readily be applied to a system of point charges: the electromagnetic field is not well-defined at the position of a point charge, an energy conservation argument is not obvious, an…
The inadequacy of Li\'{e}nard-Wiechert potentials is demonstrated as one of the examples related to the inconsistency of the conventional classical electrodynamics. The insufficiency of the Faraday-Maxwell concept to describe the whole…
The classical theory of radiating point-charges is revisited: the retarded potentials, fields, and currents are defined as nonlinear generalized functions and all calculations are made in a Colombeau algebra. The total rate of…
A cornerstone of physics, Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism, apparently contains a fatal flaw. The standard expressions for the electromagnetic field energy and self-mass of an electron of finite extension do not obey Einstein's famous…
During the past century, there has been considerable discussion and analysis of the motion of a point charge, taking into account "self-force" effects due to the particle's own electromagnetic field. We analyze the issue of "particle…
Advanced electromagnetic potentials are indigenous to the classical Maxwell theory. Generally however they are deemed undesirable and are forcibly excluded, destroying the theory's inherent time-symmetry. We investigate the reason for this,…
In the direct action form of classical EM we give the equation of motion for a classical massless bare charge without self-interaction in the presence of an external field. That equation permits superluminal speeds and time-reversals, and…
The theory of point-particles in classical electrodynamics has a well-known problem of infinite self-energy, and the same is true of quantum electrodynamics. Instead of concluding that there is no such thing as a true point-particle, it is…
It is shown that a well-defined expression for the total electromagnetic force $f^{em}$ on a point charge source of the classical electromagnetic field can be extracted from the postulate of total momentum conservation whenever the…
Electromagnetic duality of Maxwell theory is a symmetry of equations but not of the action. The usual application of the `complexity=action' conjecture would thus loose this duality. It was recently proposed in arxiv:1901.00014 that the…
A fully relativistically covariant formulation of the classical Maxwell electrodynamics of an arbitrarily-moving point charge is presented, purely in terms of gauge invariant potentials without entailing any gauge fixing. A new,…
We establish global existence and uniqueness of the dynamics of classical electromagnetism with extended, rigid charges and fields which need not to be square integrable. We consider also a modified theory of electromagnetism where no…
The problems of Classical Electrodynamics with the electron equation of motion and with non-integrable singularity of its self-field stress tensor are well known. They are consequences, we show, of neglecting terms that are null off the…
From non-linear modification of Maxwell-Einstein theory, considered in (physics/9801031), follows modified Coulomb law for interaction between charged objects. Namely, if $(m, e)$ and $(m', e')$ are masses and charges of two objects, then…
The possibility of an incompletness of the equations of electromagnetism is analyzed using a thought experiment that shows a non-physical behavior according to classical electromagnetism. Basically, from Maxwell equations it is shown that a…
Though sufficient for local conservation of charge, we show that Maxwells displacement current is not necessary. An alternative to the Ampere Maxwell equation is exhibited and the alternative s electric and magnetic fields and scalar and…
The interplay between the action-reaction principle and the energy-momentum conservation law is revealed by the examples of the Maxwell-Lorentz and Yang-Mills-Wong theories, and general relativity. These two statements are shown to be…
We discuss, in the context of classical electrodynamics with a Lorentz invariant cut-off at short distances, the self-force acting on a point charged particle. It follows that the electromagnetic mass of the point charge occurs in the…
In four dimensions a Gauss-Bonnet term in the action corre- sponds to a total derivative, and it does not contribute to the classical equations of motion. For higher-dimensional geometries this term has the interesting property (shared with…