Maxwell equations and special relativety

mish3
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
how do maxwell's equations agree with einstein's special relativety theory??
 
Physics news on Phys.org
They are Lorentz invariant, infact you need the Lorentz transformation in order to make sure that they do not vary between inertial frames (which would be very troublesome).
 
Indeed, they are, in sense, the whole point of relativity. Maxwell's equations did not agree with "Galillean" relativity which seemed to imply that all speeds had to be measured relative to some absolute fixed point. Repeated experiments showed that that was not true. Relativity extended Galillean relativity to include electro-magnetic effects.
 
And also: A certain solution to the Maxwell equations is a description of a wave moving at a speed 1/ \sqrt{\epsilon_0 \mu_0} which can be calculated to be about 300.000 km/s =c or the speed of light. Together with the Lorentz transformation rules which the Maxwell equations obey this implies that light is an electromagnetic phenomena and propagates at a fixed speed. This is one of the axioms of SR.
 
Thread 'Can this experiment break Lorentz symmetry?'
1. The Big Idea: According to Einstein’s relativity, all motion is relative. You can’t tell if you’re moving at a constant velocity without looking outside. But what if there is a universal “rest frame” (like the old idea of the “ether”)? This experiment tries to find out by looking for tiny, directional differences in how objects move inside a sealed box. 2. How It Works: The Two-Stage Process Imagine a perfectly isolated spacecraft (our lab) moving through space at some unknown speed V...
Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. The Relativator was sold by (as printed) Atomic Laboratories, Inc. 3086 Claremont Ave, Berkeley 5, California , which seems to be a division of Cenco Instruments (Central Scientific Company)... Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/relativator-circular-slide-rule-simulated-with-desmos/ by @robphy
Does the speed of light change in a gravitational field depending on whether the direction of travel is parallel to the field, or perpendicular to the field? And is it the same in both directions at each orientation? This question could be answered experimentally to some degree of accuracy. Experiment design: Place two identical clocks A and B on the circumference of a wheel at opposite ends of the diameter of length L. The wheel is positioned upright, i.e., perpendicular to the ground...
Back
Top