Causality in Classical Electrodynamics

• Autores: Craig Sauvage
• Localización: The Physics Teacher, ISSN 0031-921X, Vol. 50, Nº. 4, 2012, pág. 226
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Causality in electrodynamics is a subject of some confusion, especially regarding the application of Faraday's law and the Ampère-Maxwell law.1�3 This has led to the suggestion that we should not teach students that electric and magnetic fields can cause each other,1 but rather focus on charges and currents as the causal agents.3 In this paper I argue that fields have equal status as casual agents, and that we should teach this. Following a discussion of causality in classical physics, I will use a numerical solution of Maxwell's equations to inform a field-based causal explanation in electrodynamics.