On Feynman’s handwritten notes on electromagnetism and the idea of introducing potentials before fields

Heras, José A.; Heras, Ricardo

doi:10.1088/1361-6404/ab751a

Cited by 8 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…This article, together with [1], gives then a complete and original formulation of Maxwell's equations, fully consistent with the outline suggested by Feynman in the unpublished notes [2]. Recently, a derivation of Maxwell's equations which was inspired by Feynman's considerations in [2] and therefore gives a privileged role to electromagnetic potentials, and which bears some similarities with the one described here, has been given [20]. However, unlike the one presented here, the derivation of [20] is not taken from historical documents.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Some insight into Feynman’s approach to electromagnetism

Mauro¹,

Luca²,

Esposito³

et al. 2021

Eur. J. Phys.

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We retrace an ab initio relativistic derivation of the inhomogeneous Maxwell’s equations that was developed by Feynman in unpublished notes, clarifying the analogies and the differences with analogous treatments present in the literature. Unlike the latter, Feynman’s approach stands out because it considers electromagnetic potentials as primary, reflecting his ideas about the quantum foundations of electromagnetism.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Some insight into Feynman’s approach to electromagnetism

Mauro¹,

Luca²,

Esposito³

et al. 2021

Eur. J. Phys.

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“…This approach demonstrates that it is feasible, from a pedagogical standpoint, to introduce these advanced concepts to primary-level learners. Similar approaches have been observed in the literature regarding the teaching of electromagnetic field concepts [5][6][7][8][9]. As in [10], for instance, by demonstrating that Lorentz force is not Galilean invariant, the author highlighted the inherent need for a new transformation connecting different inertial systems.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 62%

On the connection between Lenz’s law and relativity

Rodrigues,

Rizzuti

2023

Eur. J. Phys.

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In this work, we demonstrate explicitly the unified nature of electric andmagnetic fields, from the principles of special relativity and Lorentz transformationsof the electromagnetic field tensor. Using an operational approach we construct thetensor and its corresponding transformation law, based on the principle of relativity.Our work helps to elucidate concepts of advanced courses on electromagnetism forprimary-level learners and shows an alternative path to derive the Lenz’s law based on the connection between relativity arguments and a standard electromagnetismexperiment.

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“…In addition to their role as auxiliary quantities that can simplify operations, it has been pointed out that electromagnetic potentials could be also introduced directly from fundamental principles (e.g. charge conservation and action principle), as primary quantities before the fields, with the latter derived subsequently as auxiliary entities (see [1,2] for recent discussions and references therein).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electromagnetic potentials in curved spacetimes

Mavrogiannis¹,

Tsagas²

2021

Class. Quantum Grav.

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Electromagnetic potentials allow for an alternative description of the Maxwell field, the electric and magnetic components of which emerge as gradients of the vector and the scalar potentials. We provide a general relativistic analysis of these potentials, by deriving their wave equations in an arbitrary Riemannian spacetime containing a generalised imperfect fluid. Some of the driving agents in the resulting wave formulae are explicitly due to the curvature of the host spacetime. Focusing on the implications of non-Euclidean geometry, we look into the linear evolution of the vector potential in Friedmann universes with nonzero spatial curvature. Our results reveal a qualitative difference in the evolution of the potential between the closed and the open Friedmann models, solely triggered by the different spatial geometry of these spacetimes. We then consider the interaction between gravitational and electromagnetic radiation and the effects of the former upon the latter. In so doing, we apply the wave formulae of both potentials to a Minkowski background and study the Weyl–Maxwell coupling at the second perturbative level. Our solutions, which apply to low-density interstellar environments away from massive compact stars, allow for the resonant amplification of both the electromagnetic potentials by gravitational-wave distortions.

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On Feynman’s handwritten notes on electromagnetism and the idea of introducing potentials before fields

Cited by 8 publications

References 34 publications

Some insight into Feynman’s approach to electromagnetism

Some insight into Feynman’s approach to electromagnetism

On the connection between Lenz’s law and relativity

Electromagnetic potentials in curved spacetimes

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