Why moving charges create tiny magnetic field?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the question of why moving charges create magnetic fields, as well as the magnetic properties of materials. Participants explore both classical and quantum perspectives on electromagnetism, including the role of Maxwell's Equations and the Lorentz force law.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that magnets have magnetic properties due to moving electrons acting like tiny magnets, which are aligned to function as a single magnet.
  • Another participant identifies two questions: the creation of magnetic fields by moving charges and the magnetic properties of materials, but emphasizes that the focus should remain on the first question.
  • A later reply questions how magnetic fields influence the movement of electrons in a coil, relating to electromagnetism and current production.
  • One participant explains that classical electrodynamics describes the production of electric and magnetic fields through Maxwell's Equations and the forces exerted by these fields through the Lorentz force law, noting that these are postulated without deeper explanation.
  • The discussion touches on quantum electrodynamics (QED) and its description of interactions between charged particles via quantized fields, mentioning that this should reduce to classical electrodynamics for large systems.
  • There is mention of the lack of a generally agreed-upon answer to why the universe exhibits local U(1) gauge symmetry, suggesting that future theories like string theory may provide insights.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying degrees of understanding and inquiry regarding the fundamental principles of electromagnetism, with no consensus reached on the deeper reasons behind the phenomena discussed.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights limitations in understanding the foundational principles of electromagnetism, particularly regarding the postulation of Maxwell's Equations and the nature of gauge symmetries in the universe.

stmartin
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Dear users/moderators/administrators,

I have been doing research about this question's answer. The magnets have magnetic property because of moving electrons which are acting like tiny magnets, and that tiny magnets are put in order so they act like one magnet. Why it is like that?

Thank you.


stmartin.
 
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You could very well ask the same questions about the electric field: why do charges have an electric field associated with them, and how does the electric field force another charge to move?

In classical electrodynamics, we describe the "production" of electric and magnetic fields by charges and currents, using Maxell's Equations. We describe the electric and magnetic forces exerted by the fields, using the Lorentz force law. At the classical level, we don't have a deeper "explanation" for Maxwell's Equations and the Lorentz force law, as far as I know. We simply postulate them.

In quantum electrodynamics (QED), we describe the interaction between charged particles by using a quantized field, whose quanta we call "photons." In principle at least, for large classical-type systems, this description should reduce to classical electrodynamics. The QED interaction is the way it is, apparently because the universe has a local U(1) gauge symmetry.

As far as I know, that's where the chain of explanations ends at the moment. I don't think there's any generally agreed-on answer to "why does the universe have a local U(1) gauge symmetry?" Maybe string theory or some other theory at that level will give us an answer someday.
 

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