Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv · 0706.1661

Quantum electrodynamics and experiment demonstrate the non-retarded nature of electrodynamical force fields

Abstract

In quantum electrodynamics, the quantitatively most successful theory in the history of science, intercharge forces obeying the inverse square law are due to the exchange of space-like virtual photons. The fundamental quantum process underlying applications as diverse as the gyromagnetic ratio of the electron and electrical machinery is then Møller scattering $ee \to ee$. Analysis of the quantum amplitude for this process shows that the corresponding intercharge force acts instantaneously. This prediction has been verified in a recent experiment.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

J. H. Field. 2007-07-17. Quantum electrodynamics and experiment demonstrate the non-retarded nature of electrodynamical force fields. https://arxiv.org/abs/0706.1661

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Statistical foundations of revised reverberation theory for a diffuse sound field in a room

Revised reverberation theory is reformulated statistically for a diffuse sound field to clarify how the mean residual free path connects direct sound, reflected sound, and room energy decay. Under total absorption, direct sound persists until reaching a boundary, producing decay after source cessation even without reflections. An integral-geometric relation connects the mean residual free path to the second moment of the wall-to-wall free path, thereby linking the mean propagation distance of direct sound to the temporal variance of reflected sound under an independent-renewal approximation. Using this relationship, the macroscopic decay rate and the microscopic long-time asymptotic decay rate agree exactly through second order in the absorption coefficient under an independent-renewal approximation. A gamma model with a consistent residual free-path distribution eliminates probability at negative arrival times. Ray-tracing simulations in three rectangular rooms support the predicted initial decay slopes under total absorption and reverberation predictions for absorption coefficients up to 0.5. Engineering approximations yield macroscopic formulas requiring only room volume, surface area, and absorption coefficient while reducing prediction errors relative to the Sabine and Eyring formulas. These results establish a common statistical basis for direct and reflected sound and connect the physical interpretation of reverberation to practical prediction.

physics.class-ph↗

The Soul of Waves: Physical Interpretation of Dispersion Relations

This pedagogical paper presents a comprehensive framework for interpreting dispersion relations across fundamental physical systems. We adopt a novel approach that starts from the mathematical form $ω(\mathbf{k})$ and systematically extracts its physical content, rather than deriving it from first principles. Through an in-depth case study of the massive Klein-Gordon dispersion relation $ω^2 = ω_0^2 + c^2k^2$, we demonstrate how this single equation encodes phase velocity, group velocity, density of states, effective mass, and impedance. The analysis reveals the universal nature of this dispersion form, which manifests in quantum fields, plasmas, superconductors, and photonic crystals with different physical interpretations of its parameters. We complement this with detailed examination of classical systems including mass-spring chains and hydrodynamic waves, providing tangible analogies that bridge conceptual understanding between quantum and classical wave phenomena. The paper includes eleven carefully designed figures that visualize key concepts and a comprehensive catalog of dispersion relations in the Appendix. Aimed at advanced undergraduates and instructors, this work emphasizes conceptual understanding through physical interpretation, offering a unified pedagogical framework for teaching wave propagation across physics curricula while maintaining mathematical rigor and depth.

physics.class-ph↗

Repeated Binary Direct Collinear Impacts Under Incremental Contact Laws With Permanent Indentation: A Hybrid Systems Formulation

Incremental contact laws specify the normal contact force through a differential equation carrying an internal state, driven by the indentation and its rate. In some, the force is extinguished at a nonzero indentation, whether by plastic deformation or by an elastic aftereffect, so that a residual deformation remains at the separation. Such laws sit uneasily within rigid body dynamics, which admits no deformation. The tension is tolerable when the indentation is small relative to the bodies, so that it may be carried constitutively rather than geometrically. Even then, the contact law alone does not determine the interaction of the bodies. Because force and indentation no longer vanish together, conditions for the commencement and termination of contact must be supplied separately. So must the fate of the deformation and internal state at separation, neither of which the equations of motion contain. This article formulates the repeated direct collinear impact of two convex bodies under external forces as a hybrid dynamical system. The contact interface is modeled as a massless element carrying the contact law and its state, coupled to the bodies through relative velocity and an interaction force dictated by the contact state. Consequently, all switching and resets are confined to the interface, leaving the geometry and the equations of motion of the bodies unaltered. The principal analytical properties of the resulting formulations are established, among them passivity and completeness; the branching of solutions at the onset and termination of contact is also examined. The framework is demonstrated through numerical simulations.

physics.class-ph↗