Forces on fields

DOI10.1016/J.SHPSB.2017.09.005MaRDI QIDQ1672345zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Publication date 7 September 2018

Published in Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. Part B. Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1707.04198

zbMATH Keywords

Newton's third law

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Electromagnetic theory (general) (78A25) Foundations of fluid mechanics (76A02) Axiomatics, foundations (70A05)

Abstract: In electromagnetism, as in Newton's mechanics, action is always equal to reaction. The force from the electromagnetic field on matter is balanced by an equal and opposite force from matter on the field. We generally speak only of forces exerted by the field, not forces exerted upon the field. But, we should not be hesitant to speak of forces acting on the field. The electromagnetic field closely resembles a relativistic fluid and responds to forces in the same way. Analyzing this analogy sheds light on the inertial role played by the field's mass, the status of Maxwell's stress tensor, and the nature of the electromagnetic field.

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