Classical Electromagnetism as a Consequence of Coulomb's Law, Special Relativity and Hamilton's Principle and its Relationship to Quantum Electrodynamics
J. H. Field
备注：
32 pages, 2 figures. It is found that electromagnetic forces between two charged objects are transmitted instantaneously in their common C.M. frame. This version has some typos removed and minor text improvements. V4 mentions electrodynamic action-at-distance experiments. V5 includes some text revisions and additions included before publication in Physica Scripta
It is demonstrated how all the mechanical equations of classical electrodynamics (CEM) may be derived from only Coulomb's inverse square force law, special relativity and Hamilton's Principle. The instantaneous nature of the Coulomb force in the centre-of-mass frame of two interacting charged objects, mediated by the exchange of space-like virtual photons, is predicted by QED. The interaction Lagrangian of QED is shown to be identical, in the appropriate limit, to the potential energy term in the Lorentz-invariant Lagrangian of CEM. A comparison is made with the Feynman-Wheeler action-at-a-distance formulation of CEM.
We discuss the seminal article in which Le Bellac and Lévy-Leblond have identified two Galilean limits of electromagnetism [1], and its modern implications. Recent works have shed a new light on the choice of gauge conditions in classical electromagnetism. We discuss various applications and experiments, such as in quantum mechanics, superconductivity, electrodynamics of continuous media, etc. Much of the current technology, where waves are not taken into account, is actually based on Galilean electromagnetism
Standard formulae of classical electromagnetism for the forces between electric charges in motion derived from retarded potentials are compared with those obtained from a recently developed relativistic classical electrodynamic theory with an instantaneous inter-charge force. Problems discussed include small angle Rutherford scattering, Jackson's recent `torque paradox' and circular Keplerian orbits. Results consistent with special relativity are obtained only with an instantaneous interaction. The impossiblity of stable circular motion with retarded fields in either classical electromagnetism…
We discuss the seminal article in which Le Bellac and Levy-Leblond have identified two Galilean limits of electromagnetism, and its modern implications. We use their results to point out some confusion in the literature and in the teaching of special relativity and electromagnetism. For instance, it is not widely recognized that there exist two well defined non-relativistic limits, so that researchers and teachers are likely to utilize an incoherent mixture of both. Recent works have shed a new light on the choice of gauge conditions in classical electromagnetism. We retrieve Le Bellac-Levy-Le…
The reduction of the three-dimensional classical electromagnetism is performed in a twofold way. In the first case the ordinary two-dimensional electromagnetism is obtained with sources in the form of conserved electric currents flowing along the surface. The electric field is a two-vector tangent to the surface and magnetic field is a scalar quantity. In the second approach the reduced theory is that of the two-vector magnetic field and a scalar electric one. The only source coupled to the fields is now a scalar subject to no conservation law. In the redefined theory this scalar source is may…
Electromagnetism is a \textit{relativistic} theory and one must exercise care in coupling this theory with \textit{nonrelativistic} classical mechanics and with \textit{nonrelativistic} classical statistical mechanics. Indeed historically, both the blackbody radiation spectrum and diamagnetism within classical theory have been misunderstood because of two crucial failures: 1)the neglect of classical electromagnetic zero-point radiation, and 2) the use of erroneous combinations of nonrelativistic mechanics with relativistic electrodynamics. Here we review the treatment of classical blackbody ra…
The electromagnetic theory is considered in the framework of the generally covariant approach, that is applied to the analysis of electromagnetism in noninertial coordinate and frame systems. The special-relat\-ivistic formulation of Maxwell's electrodynamics arises in the flat Minkowski spacetime when the general coordinate transformations are restricted to a class of transformations preserving the Minkowski line element. The particular attention is paid to the analysis of the electromagnetism in the noninertial rotating reference system. For the latter case, the general stationary solution o…
That the speed of light is a universal constant is a logical consequence of Maxwell's equations. Here we show the converse is also true. Electromagnetism (EM) and electrodynamics (ED), in all details, can be derived from two simple assumptions: i) the speed of light is a universal constant and, ii) the common observations that there are the so-called charged particles that interact with each other. Conventional EM and ED are observation based. The proposed alternative spares all those observational foundations, only to reintroduce them as theoretically derived and empiricism-free laws of Natur…
We look at the foundations of electromagnetism in this 1st LeCosPA Symposium. For doing this, after some review (constraints on photon mass etc.), we use two approaches. The first one is to formulate a Parametrized Post-Maxwellian (PPM) framework to include QED corrections and a pseudoscalar photon interaction. PPM framework includes lowest corrections to unified electromagnetism-gravity theories based on connection approach. It may also overlap with corrections implemented from generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) when electromagnetism-gravity coupling is considered. We discuss various vac…
We recall that the theory of electromagnetism consists of three building blocks: (a) the inhomogeneous Maxwell equations for the electric and magnetic excitations $(D,H)$ (which reflects charge conservation), (b) the homogeneous Maxwell equations for the electric and magnetic field strengths $(E,B)$ (which reflects flux conservation), and (c) the constitutive relation between $(D,H)$ and $(E,B)$. In the recent paper \cite{Lakhtakia1}, Lakhtakia proposed to change the standard boundary conditions in electrodynamics in order to exclude certain constitutive parameters. We show that this is inadmi…
In the classical theory of electromagnetism, the permittivity and the permeability of free space are constants whose magnitudes do not seem to possess any deeper physical meaning. By replacing the free space of classical physics with the quantum notion of the vacuum, we speculate that the values of the aforementioned constants could arise from the polarization and magnetization of virtual pairs in vacuum. A classical dispersion model with parameters determined by quantum and particle physics is employed to estimate their values. We find the correct orders of magnitude. Additionally, our simple…
A new formulation of electromagnetism based on linear differential commutator brackets is developed. Maxwell equations are derived, using these commutator brackets, from the vector potential $\vec{A}$, the scalar potential $ϕ$ and the Lorentz gauge connecting them. With the same formalism, the continuity equation is written in terms of these new differential commutator brackets. Keywords: Mathematical formulation, Maxwell's equations
Minkowski's concept of a four-dimensional physical space is a central paradigm of modern physics. The three-dimensional Maxwellian electrodynamics is uniquely generalized to the covariant four-dimensional form. Is the (1+3) decomposition of the covariant four-dimensional form unique? How do the different sign assumptions of electrodynamics emerge from this decomposition? Which of these assumptions are fundamental and which of them may be modified? How does the Minkowski space-time metric emerge from this preliminary metric-free construction? In this paper we are looking for answers to the prob…
This paper presents an alternative prerelativistic approach to the vacuum case of classical electrodynamics represented by vacuum Maxwell equations. Our view is based on the understanding that the corresponding differential equations should be dynamical in nature and the physical relations represented by them should be directly verifiable at least in principle, so they must represent local energy-momentum balance relations.
We prove that, contrary to the common belief, the classical Maxwell electrodynamics of a point-like particle may be formulated as an infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian system. We derive well defined quasi-Hamiltonian which possesses direct physical interpretation being equal to the total energy of the composed (field + particle) system. The phase space of this system is endowed with an interesting symplectic structure. We prove that this structure is strongly non-degenerated and, therefore, enables one to define consistent Poisson bracket for particle's and field degrees of freedom. We stress th…
Nearly all field theories suffer from singularities when particles are introduced. This is true in both classical and quantum physics. Classical field singularities result in the notorious self-force problem, where it is unknown how the dynamics of a particle change when the particle interacts with its own (self) field. Self-force is a pressing issue and an active research topic in gravitational phenomena, as well as a source of controversies in classical electromagnetism. In this work, we study a hidden geometrical structure manifested by the electromagnetic field-lines that has the potential…
The direct interaction theory of electromagnetism, also known as Wheeler-Feynman electrodynamics, is often misinterpreted and found unappealing because of its reference to the absorber and, more importantly, to the so-called absorber condition. Here we remark that the absorber condition is indeed questionable and presumably not relevant for the explanation of irreversible radiation phenomena in our universe. What is relevant and deserves further scrutiny is the emergent effective description of a test particle in an environment. We therefore rephrase what we consider the relevant calculation b…
In his recently discovered handwritten notes on "An alternate way to handle electrodynamics" dated on 1963, Richard P. Feynman speculated with the idea of getting the inhomogeneous Maxwell's equations for the electric and magnetic fields from the wave equation for the vector potential. With the aim of implementing this pedagogically interesting idea, we develop in this paper the approach of introducing the scalar and vector potentials before the electric and magnetic fields. We consider the charge conservation expressed through the continuity equation as a basic axiom and make a heuristic hand…
The Lagrangians and dissipation functions are proposed for use in the electrodynamics of the double-negative and chiral metamaterials with finite loss. The double-negative metamaterial considered here is the wires and split rings periodic structure, while the chiral metamaterial is the single-resonance helical resonators array. For either system, application of Legendre transformation leads to a Hamiltonian density identical to the energy density obtained in our previous work based on the Poynting theorem and the mechanism of the power loss. This coincidence implies the correctness of the ener…
A macroscopic theory for the dynamics of elastic, isotropic matter in presence of electromagnetic fields is proposed here. We avail of Gordon's general relativistic derivation of Abraham's electromagnetic energy tensor as starting point. The necessary description of the elastic and of the inertial behaviour of matter is provided through a four dimensional generalisation of Hooke's law, made possible by the introduction of a four dimensional ``displacement'' vector. As intimated by Nordstroem, the physical origin of electrostriction and of magnetostriction is attributed to the change in the con…
In the standard Lagrangian and Hamiltonian approach to Maxwell's theory the potentials $A^μ$ are taken as the dynamical variables. In this paper I take the electric field $\vec{E}$ and the magnetic field $\vec{B}$ as the the dynamical variables. I find a Lagrangian that gives the dynamical Maxwell equations and include the constraint equations by using Lagrange multipliers. In passing to the Hamiltonian one finds that the canonical momenta $\vecΠ_E$ and $\vecΠ_B$ are constrained giving 6 second class constraints at each point in space. Gauss's law and $\vec{\nabla}\cdot\vec{B}=0$ can than be a…
It is suggested that an understanding of blackbody radiation within classical physics requires the presence of classical electromagnetic zero-point radiation, the restriction to relativistic (Coulomb) scattering systems, and the use of discrete charge. The contrasting scaling properties of nonrelativistic classical mechanics and classical electrodynamics are noted, and it is emphasized that the solutions of classical electrodynamics found in nature involve constants which connect together the scales of length, time, and energy. Indeed, there are analogies between the electrostatic forces for g…
We show that there exists a choice of gauge in which the electromagnetic 4-potential may be written as the difference of two 4-velocity vector fields describing the motion of a two-component space-filling relativistic fluid. Maxwell's equations are satisfied immediately, while the Lorentz force equation follows from the interactions of sources and sinks. The usual electromagnetic quantities then admit new interpretations as functions of the local 4-velocities. Electromagnetic waves are found to be described by oscillations of the underlying medium which can therefore be identified with the `lu…
This paper compares the results of applying a recently developed method of stochastic uncertainty quantification designed for fluid dynamics to the Born-Infeld model of nonlinear electromagnetism. The similarities in the results are striking. Namely, the introduction of Stratonovich cylindrical noise into each of their Hamiltonian formulations introduces stochastic Lie transport into their dynamics in the same form for both theories. Moreover, the resulting stochastic partial differential equations (SPDE) retain their unperturbed form, except for an additional term representing induced Lie tra…
