Related papers: Electromotive Force: A Guide for the Perplexed
After more than a century of debate, there remains continuing discomfort over what is the correct expression for the electromagnetic momentum in a dielectric medium. This is the so-called the Minkowski-Abraham controversy. We show that…
In accelerator physics, the concept of impedance is popularly used to describe the interactions of charged particles inside a bunch or between bunches in a train. Standard formulations of impedance assume that the driving charge has a…
With an investigation into how students in a physics Master of science program make sense of their whole first year study experience in one of the years following a programme reform, we try to offer insights and advice to consider when…
The electromagnetic fields of the hybrid modes of an optical fiber are reformulated using bi-complex mathematics, which leads to simpler expressions relative to those found with the widely used, conventional complex formulation. Generalized…
This is the first of a series of papers that we intend to publish about the epistemology of fundamental physics in its current state. One of the main objectives of these papers is to improve our understanding of fundamental physics (and…
An axiomatic approach to electrodynamics reveals that Maxwell electrodynamics is just one instance of a variety of theories for which the name electrodynamics is justified. They all have in common that their fundamental input are Maxwell's…
Throughout introductory physics, students create and interpret free body diagrams in which multiple forces act on an object, typically at a single location (the object's center of mass). The situation increases in difficulty when multiple…
The estimation of the electric field in simple situations provides an opportunity to develop intuition about the models used in physics. We propose an activity aimed at university students of General Physics where the electric field of a…
Force-free electrodynamics (FFE) is a closed set of equations for the electromagnetic field of a magnetically dominated plasma. There are strong arguments for the existence of force-free plasmas near pulsars and active black holes, but FFE…
Electromagnetic force and torque are typically derived from a stress tensor in conjunction with Maxwell's equations of classical electrodynamics. In some instances, the Principle of Least Action (built around a Lagrangian) can be used to…
The Lorentz force law of classical electrodynamics states that the force F exerted by the magnetic induction B on a particle of charge q moving with velocity V is given by F=qVxB. Since this force is orthogonal to the direction of motion,…
The reciprocal velocity force, $F(v)=\frac{C}{v}$, despite its theoretical and practical importance, is often neglected in mechanics courses. We use graphical methods to explain how such a force naturally arises from a device called a…
Introductory calculus-based physics textbooks state that electromagnetic waves are transverse and list many of their properties, but most such textbooks do not bring forth arguments why this is so. Both physical and theoretical arguments…
An important issue in phenomenological macroscopic electrodynamics of moving media is the definition of the energy and momentum of the electromagnetic field in matter. Rather surprisingly, this topic has demonstrated a remarkable longevity,…
The integral formulation of Maxwell's equations expressed in terms of an arbitrary observer family in a curved spacetime is developed and used to clarify the meaning of the lines of force associated with observer-dependent electric and…
The devices coil and transformer are subjects of interest in numerous schoolbooks, in introductory scientific textbooks of physics and engineering, and in laboratory courses at universities. Many descriptions, however, draw a somewhat…
The article presents an alternative approach to the definition of vector electrodynamic potential and its properties. It is shown that generally it has vortical and potential components. The system of differential equations of generalized…
A framework for premetric p-form electrodynamics is proposed. Independently of particular constitutive relations, the corresponding Maxwell equations are derived as a special case of stress theory in geometric continuum mechanics.…
This article reproduces the Karl Schwarzschild lecture 2013. Some of the basic ideas of electrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics of mean fields in turbulently moving conducting fluids are explained. It is stressed that the connection of the…
Electromagnetic particle is considered as appropriate particle solution of nonlinear electrodynamics. Mass, spin, charge, and dipole moment for the electromagnetic particle are defined. Classical motion equations for massive charged…