Do Accelerating Charges Always Emit Radiation?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on whether accelerating charges always emit electromagnetic radiation, exploring the conditions under which this occurs, particularly in relation to the type of accelerating force involved. The scope includes theoretical considerations and conceptual clarifications regarding the behavior of charged particles in different acceleration scenarios.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that moving charged particles emit electromagnetic radiation when they are accelerating or decelerating.
  • Others argue that the emission of radiation by accelerating charges may depend on the nature of the accelerating force, specifically noting that charges do not emit radiation when the force is due to a uniform gravitational field.
  • A participant questions why the emission of radiation depends on the accelerating force, providing a hypothetical scenario of dropping an electron from a height to illustrate their point.
  • One participant suggests that the question of why accelerating charges emit radiation may not have a straightforward answer, indicating the complexity of the topic.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on whether all accelerating charges emit radiation, with some suggesting that the type of force involved plays a critical role. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the conditions under which radiation is emitted.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding the assumptions made about the nature of forces and the definitions of acceleration, which may affect the conclusions drawn about radiation emission.

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Why does a moving particle particle emit EM-radiation?
 
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This applies to charged particles that are accelerating or decelerating.
 
mathman said:
This applies to charged particles that are accelerating or decelerating.
Whether accelerating charges emit radiation appears to depend on the accelerating force. If the accelerating force is due to a uniform gravitational field, the charge does not appear to emit radiation.

AM
 
It seems this question about acceleration of charges and the emission of EM comes up every so often. It is not as straight forward as one may imagine. I suggest the OP read some of the recent threads on this as there is a lot of information in them, too much to repeat here. I do note though that the question was why? I'm not sure that this can be answered in a physics forum.
 
Andrew Mason said:
Whether accelerating charges emit radiation appears to depend on the accelerating force. If the accelerating force is due to a uniform gravitational field, the charge does not appear to emit radiation.

AM

Why it depends on the accelerating force? if I "drop electron" from the roof of my house what would happen?
 

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