The discussion revolves around the relationship between gravity and electromagnetic fields, particularly focusing on whether electromagnetic fields can exist without charged particles and how gravity affects light. Participants explore theoretical implications, definitions, and interpretations related to these concepts.
Participants express differing views on the existence of electromagnetic fields without charged particles, with some supporting the idea and others challenging it. There is no consensus on the explanations provided regarding gravity's effect on light.
Some statements rely on specific interpretations of quantum mechanics and classical electrodynamics, and the discussion includes references to theoretical concepts that may not be universally accepted.
Not all electric field lines start or end. That is one of the surprising results of the vacuum solutions, such as plane waves.alv799 said:all electric field starts and ends on some charge particle
Yes, that is what a vacuum solution is. It is an electromagnetic field that exists in the absence of any charges or currents.alv799 said:Can electric field exist if there are no charged particles?
Well, lowest energy state is not zero (it's positive value). So we have some fields in that state - QM says its electromagnetic fields.Dylanden said:How can we have an electromagnetic field without any charge or current.
That's what light is: electrical and magnetic fields propagating through a vacuum. To see how this can be, you'll have to look at some of the solutions of Maxwell's equations which describe the behavior of electromagnetic fields in the most general case.Dylanden said:How can we have an electromagnetic field without any charge or current.
The non-zero ground state energy that appears in quantum mechanics doesn't work that way, and it does not imply the existence of a non-zero electromagnetic field. Fortunately, none of this has anything to do with OP's question - classical electrodynamics and Maxwell's equations are sufficient to explain electromagnetic fields in a vacuum.MarekKuzmicki said:Well, lowest energy state is not zero (it's positive value). So we have some fields in that state - QM says its electromagnetic fields.
Light is indeed a propagating electromagnetic wave, but do you have a reference to support the claim about Einstein?And on the other hand, Einstein said that there is no space without light. Isn't light electromagnetic wave?
I think it's better to say that light goes in the straight lines in space-time as it is distorted by a massive object. The distortion of space-time is a consequence of general relativity.(see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravi...tion_in_terms_of_space.E2.80.93time_curvature )alv799 said:Gravity bends light because all charged particles have mass and all electric field starts and ends on some charge particle. Is that a viable explanation for this phenomenon?
See the section on vacuum solutionsDylanden said:Hello
I do not understand.
How can we have an electromagnetic field without any charge or current.
Dylan