- #1
Electric to be
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Hi. I'm currently learning about magnetism, however the course I'm in doesn't combine special relativity with E&M so I just wanted to do some personal exploring.
The magnetic field for a point charge is proportional to V1 x R of the charge. Then, the magnetic force is proportional to V2 x B where V2 is the velocity of some test charge. This makes sense to me because length contraction only occurs along the direction of motion. So, as a result if V of a test charge is parallel to B, that means it is perpendicular to V of the charge creating magnetic field and should experience no magnetic force.But, my main question is for the case when V x R = 0 because R is parallel to V. If some test charge is moving parallel to the field creating charge, then in it's frame the distance between the two charges should increase, and this "difference" in electric forces seen becomes the magnetic force in the frame where both are moving.
So how is the magnetic field, and therefore force 0 just because a charge is on the same line that the field creating charge is moving on? Shouldn't length contraction/dilation work just the same, and therefore create a discrepancy in the electric forces, which becomes the magnetic force?Sorry if this isn't clear enough, I can elaborate more if needed.
The magnetic field for a point charge is proportional to V1 x R of the charge. Then, the magnetic force is proportional to V2 x B where V2 is the velocity of some test charge. This makes sense to me because length contraction only occurs along the direction of motion. So, as a result if V of a test charge is parallel to B, that means it is perpendicular to V of the charge creating magnetic field and should experience no magnetic force.But, my main question is for the case when V x R = 0 because R is parallel to V. If some test charge is moving parallel to the field creating charge, then in it's frame the distance between the two charges should increase, and this "difference" in electric forces seen becomes the magnetic force in the frame where both are moving.
So how is the magnetic field, and therefore force 0 just because a charge is on the same line that the field creating charge is moving on? Shouldn't length contraction/dilation work just the same, and therefore create a discrepancy in the electric forces, which becomes the magnetic force?Sorry if this isn't clear enough, I can elaborate more if needed.