Parallel conducting currents and the relevance of reference frames.

[mememachine]

i've just had this thing running through my head that I'm trying to resolve:

1. two parallel wires that conduct a current (same charge carriers) will attract one another, that is the magnetic force each wire emits due to the flowing current will induce an attractive force in the other (charge carriers in the) wire.

2. this would be true also for two parallel beams of emitted electrons for example, and the attractive force would cause these two beams to merge and become one. or would there be a limit where the attractive magnetism is canceled / balanced by the repulsive electric charge?

with this in mind i was thinking:

3. might this partially explain very early planet formation in the solar system - e.g. the formation of dust grains from gas molecules? for example, intense radiation from the early sun strips some atoms of an electron and . . . becasue these negative charge carriers are now moving in the same direction (essentially parallel at their scale, but actually due to their orbit around the sun) they begin to accumulate and form larger particles whose size grows until they start to stick together under gravity for example.

but then i got thinking:

4. relative motion. these gas molecules are only moving in their orbit relative to the sun, or, arguably relative to the galaxy / rest of Universe / observer "above" the solar system. the gas molecules themselves - or plasma molecules if stripped of an electron - relative to each other are not really moving at all, it is the sun and universe outside the solar system that is moving. but this scenario also applies equally back to our parallel conducting wires.

so . . .

5.1 if they are not moving relative to each other then the electric force dominates and their positive charges repel?

5.2 but they are moving relative to the sun and so they attract?

5.3 is the reference frame for the solar plasma and the wires actually fundamentally different with plasma actually continually changing velocity (due to circular orbit) having some influence?

i have thought myself into a cul de sac and don't yet know how to resolve this and get out.

can anyone help?

ps: i realize that actual solar and plasma dynamics will in reality be very complicated but if we can just consider an "ideal" clean scenario?

 

[Naty1]

Electrons repulse each other because the electromagnetic force of repulsion is billions of times stronger than the attractive force of gravity...

It's been too long for me to comment on your example 1, I don't remeber, but in example2, free electrons will always respulse each other...so the beams will move apart...like charges repel as they overcome the momentum after emission from a source.

After the initial turmoil in the universe subsides and ions, electrons and atomic nuceli formed to atoms of various elements, mostly hydrogen, the gravitational attraction of the electrically neutral atoms eventually leads to star formation and fission/fusion reactions...

 

[astrokreng]

I can provide some insights and explanations to the questions and thoughts presented above.

Firstly, the phenomenon of parallel conducting currents attracting each other is a result of the interaction between magnetic fields. When a current flows through a wire, it creates a magnetic field around it. Similarly, the second wire also has a magnetic field around it due to the current flowing through it. These magnetic fields interact with each other, leading to the attractive force between the two wires. This is known as the Lorentz force, and it follows the right-hand rule.

Secondly, in the case of parallel beams of emitted electrons, the attractive force between them would also be due to the interaction of their magnetic fields. However, this force would be much weaker compared to the force between parallel wires, as the strength of the magnetic field is directly proportional to the current, and the current in the electron beams would be much smaller compared to the current in the wires.

Regarding the limit at which the attractive force is balanced by the repulsive electric charge, this would depend on the strength of the magnetic field and the distance between the two beams. In general, if the magnetic force is stronger, the beams would merge at shorter distances.

Moving on to the relevance of reference frames, it is important to note that all physical phenomena can be described from different reference frames. In the case of the parallel wires and beams, the reference frame of the observer would not affect the interaction between them, as long as they are moving at constant velocities relative to each other. This is because the magnetic fields and their interaction would remain the same in all reference frames.

In the context of early planet formation, the reference frame would not play a significant role. The formation of dust grains from gas molecules is a result of various physical processes, such as accretion, coagulation, and condensation. These processes are driven by gravitational forces and are not affected by the reference frame. However, the motion of the gas molecules in their orbit around the sun would affect the distribution and dynamics of the dust grains.

In conclusion, the phenomenon of parallel conducting currents attracting each other is a result of the interaction between magnetic fields, and the reference frame would not affect this interaction. The relevance of reference frames in the context of early planet formation would be in understanding the dynamics of gas molecules and their influence on the formation of dust grains.