Can anybody tell me what is Causal Solution

  • Context: Graduate 
  • Thread starter Thread starter walkinginwater
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the concept of "Causal Solution" in the context of field radiation and wave equations. Participants explore the meaning of causality in physics, particularly how it relates to the retarded potentials and the timing of events.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks clarification on the term "Causal Solution" as it relates to field radiation and wave equations.
  • Another participant explains that "causal" refers to the principle that events cannot occur before their triggering events, emphasizing the importance of time and the finite speed of light in this context.
  • A participant expresses uncertainty about the meaning of "Causal" and requests an online dictionary for further clarification.
  • It is noted that in physics, "causal" implies that future events cannot influence past events, which is linked to the light cone causal structure.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the definition of "causal" in the context of physics, though there is some uncertainty expressed by one participant regarding the terminology and its implications.

Contextual Notes

There may be limitations in understanding due to language barriers, as indicated by one participant's note about English not being their native language.

walkinginwater
Messages
21
Reaction score
0
Can anybody tell me what is " Causal Solution"

hi, everybody:
I am now reading some thing about field radiation. and it claims that the retarded potentials are the Causal solutions to the wave equations? http://www.ece.rutgers.edu/~orfanidi/ewa/ch13.pdf"

Can anybody explain what is the Causal solutions?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org
your notes seem to have explained it pretty well... what is problem? "causal" means that events do not happen before the "trigger" that initiate the events. THat's why it the time argument, you need to evaluate the quantity at an eariler time.. because speed of light is not infinite, and it takes time for disturbances to reach the point of interest away from the source.
 
mjsd said:
your notes seem to have explained it pretty well... what is problem? "causal" means that events do not happen before the "trigger" that initiate the events.

I am sorry English is not my native language, but is the "Causal" has such kind meaning? Can you tell me an online English dictionary to check that?
 
In physics 'causal' can mean just that the future cannot affect the past. In other words an event may only be influenced by earlier events - not later events. Mathematically this give us the light cone causal structure.
 
Thanks Mentz114, I got the answer I want!
 

Similar threads

Graduate Spacelike additional time dimensions
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Undergrad No relativistic Bohmian mechanics and superluminal causation
  • · Replies 37 ·
2
Replies
37
Views
5K
Graduate A Proposed Black Hole Entropy Calculation
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
6K
Undergrad How Does a Photon Interfere in an Experiment with Less Than One Photon?
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
2K
Graduate Does Peter Woit's solution of Higgs' naturalness problem work?
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
Graduate "The 7 Strangest Coincidences in the Laws of Nature" (S. Hossenfelder)
  • · Replies 62 ·
3
Replies
62
Views
12K
RIP Andrzej Trautman (1933 - 2026), relativity and gravitational waves
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
584
Undergrad What Does Gauge Invariance Tell Us About Reality?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Graduate Can someone tell me why this doesn't make sense?
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
5K
Graduate What Are the Key Insights from Goerlich's Slides on Causal Triangulations?
  • · Replies 0 ·
Replies
0
Views
2K