Why maxwell's 3rd equations has no coefficient?

[lowerlowerhk]

For the four Maxwell equations, only the third one (Faraday's Law) has a proportionality coefficient of -1, while rest have a magnetic constant or electric constant .

It doesn't seem like the units of the third law are calibrated to eliminate the constant. So why is the coefficient equal to exactly -1, not some materially dependent coefficient k?

 

[jasonRF]

It actually depends on the units. In Gaussian units, E and B are measured in the same units so the speed of light shows up in that equation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaussian_units

jason

 

[Dale]

I second jasonRFs comment. It is purely due to the units chosen.

 

[Meir Achuz]

The real question is, why do the other 3 equations have dimensional constants introduced. That is because they use different units for E and B, even though they are parts of the same tensor.

 

[Vanadium 50]

The real question is, why do the other 3 equations have dimensional constants introduced. That is because they use different units for E and B, even though they are parts of the same tensor.

But this is historical - like measuring distances and times in different units. Time should be measured in meters.

 

[lowerlowerhk]

The real question is, why do the other 3 equations have dimensional constants introduced. That is because they use different units for E and B, even though they are parts of the same tensor.

This is the answer I am looking for.