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arXiv · 2310.19312

Students' confusions about the electric field of a uniformly moving charge

Petar Žugec·Davor Horvatić·Ivica Smolić
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Abstract

In light of a recent direct experimental confirmation of a Lorentz contraction of Coulomb field (an electric field of a point charge in a uniform motion), we revisit some common confusions related to it, to be mindful of in teaching the subject. These include the questions about a radial nature of the field, a role of the retardation effect due to a finite speed of information transfer and some issues related to a depiction of Coulomb field by means of the Lorentz contracted field lines.

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Petar Žugec, Davor Horvatić, Ivica Smolić. 2023-10-30. Students' confusions about the electric field of a uniformly moving charge. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6404%2Fad0187

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