Electricity and Magnetism

• In the last lecture we reviewed the Newtonian paradigm of particles and forces.

  • We discussed electric and magnetic forces

• Recall electric forces are between charged bodies; magnetic forces act on moving charged bodies

• Question 1: What “carries” the forces between the bodies

  • Faraday proposed that a “field” due to a charged body #1extends throughout space
  • The force on body #2 is determined by the field at the position of that body (the field is due to body #1)

• Question 2: Do electric and magnetic forces act instantaneously between two bodies? Are there fields that travel at a finite speed?

q2

q1

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