OK FINE, magnetism is explained away by relativity

  • Context: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter Dropout
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Magnetism Relativity
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
3 replies · 3K views
Physics news on Phys.org
Afaik there are configurations of the electric and magnetic field (dependent on the sign of [tex]E^2 - B^2[/tex], which cannot be transformed into purely electric configurations by a Lorentz transformation.
 
[itex]E \cdot B[/itex] and [itex]E^2 - B^2[/itex] are both Lorentz-invariants. If [itex]B=0[/itex] and [itex]E \neq 0[/itex] in one frame, then [itex]E \cdot B = 0[/itex] and [itex]E^2 - B^2 > 0[/itex] in that frame, and hence in all frames.

Also, if [itex]E \cdot B \neq 0[/itex] or if [itex]E \cdot B = 0[/itex] and [itex]E^2 - B^2 < 0[/itex] in one frame, then there does not exist a frame in which [itex]B = 0[/itex].
 
Last edited:
No comprende, but thanks for the effort.