How Do Photons Carry Electromagnetic Force?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the nature of photons and their role in carrying electromagnetic force, particularly in the context of accelerating and stationary charged particles. Participants explore theoretical interpretations and implications of electromagnetic interactions, including the emission of photons and the behavior of charges in various scenarios.

Discussion Character

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

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that accelerating charges generate photons, which are proposed to be the electromagnetic force itself, facilitating interactions between charged particles.
  • Others clarify that while photons are emitted due to energy changes in charged particles, they do not increase the charge of the particles themselves.
  • There is a suggestion that stationary charged particles can emit photons, but this is contested based on interpretations of quantum theory, particularly the transactional interpretation.
  • One participant describes a scenario where a moving charge disturbs the field of a stationary charge, leading to photon emission and energy transfer between the two charges.
  • Another viewpoint emphasizes that photons cannot exist independently and are defined only through their interactions, raising questions about how photons interact to create new photons.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the emission of photons by stationary charges and the nature of photon interactions. There is no consensus on how these concepts should be understood, and multiple competing interpretations are present.

Contextual Notes

Some claims depend on specific interpretations of quantum mechanics, and the discussion includes unresolved questions about the nature of photons and their interactions. Assumptions about the conditions under which photons are emitted and the definitions of electromagnetic force are not fully agreed upon.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those exploring the fundamentals of electromagnetism, quantum theory, and the behavior of photons in various physical contexts.

Sgt. Pasteur
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I've heard that accelerating charge generates photons. How do the photons create electromagnetic force, how do they differentiate between positive and negative charges, and how would electromagnetic force work in the case of stationary particles?

Are electrons so much more densely charged because they move faster?
 
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No, the accelerating of a charged particle such as an electron does not increase the charge of the electron, it merely increases the energy carried by the electron, as a result it releases this excess energy as photons.

Photons do not create EM force, they are the EM force as it were, when negative charged particles approach each other they exchange photons, therefore giving each accelerating each other away from one another.

And finally Yes charged particles can emit photons when stationary.
 
noblec04 said:
No, the accelerating of a charged particle such as an electron does not increase the charge of the electron, it merely increases the energy carried by the electron, as a result it releases this excess energy as photons.

Photons do not create EM force, they are the EM force as it were, when negative charged particles approach each other they exchange photons, therefore giving each accelerating each other away from one another.

And finally Yes charged particles can emit photons when stationary.

I am surprised about how one resting charged particle emit photons.

Could you give some tips to understand this state?
 
if you are meaning a particle on its own, no other particle anywhere in the universe, then it would not according to the transactional interpretation of quantum theory, and Richard Feynman be able to emit any photons.

If however you are looking at a stationary charge and a charge (both of the same, positive say) that is moving towards the stationary object, it was easier for me to think about it in terms of fields(force fields as it were).
When the moving charge enters the field of the stationary charge, it causes a disturbance in this field, propagating as a photon which passes energy to the stationary charge.
And vice versa between the particles until both charges are out of range of the others field, the stationary charge is no longer stationary but has taken energy from the moving charge which is now moving at a slower rate on a different course.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_field - the introduction here says a bit more

Hope this helps :D
 
noblec04 said:
if you are meaning a particle on its own, no other particle anywhere in the universe, then it would not according to the transactional interpretation of quantum theory, and Richard Feynman be able to emit any photons.

If however you are looking at a stationary charge and a charge (both of the same, positive say) that is moving towards the stationary object, it was easier for me to think about it in terms of fields(force fields as it were).
When the moving charge enters the field of the stationary charge, it causes a disturbance in this field, propagating as a photon which passes energy to the stationary charge.
And vice versa between the particles until both charges are out of range of the others field, the stationary charge is no longer stationary but has taken energy from the moving charge which is now moving at a slower rate on a different course.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_field - the introduction here says a bit more

Hope this helps :D

I see. The fact that the resting charged particle can emit photon depend on the existence of the other moving particle. Could I understand your statement like this?
 
in a system of just those two particles, that is a way of understanding it yeah
 
A photon on its own do not deliver any photons. All photons are defined, and only defined, in their interactions. there is no way I know of to define a photon without that interaction. If there was all discussions about their possible paths etc would be moot. As for how two 'photons' create a new photon?

Ahem..

It's one of those facts of nature :)
Yep.
 

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