arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to David J. Griffiths.
Bound charge is a useful construct for calculating the electrostatic field of polarized material, and it represents a perfectly genuine accumulation of charge. But is such a material in every respect equivalent to a particular configuration of bound charge? The answer is no, and the same goes for bound current and (in the time-dependent case) polarization current.
A particle in hyperbolic motion produces electric fields that appear to terminate in mid-air, violating Gauss's law. The resolution to this paradox has been known for sixty years, but exactly why the naive approach fails is not so clear.
We calculate the torque on an ideal (point) dipole moving with constant velocity through uniform electric and magnetic fields.
A recent article claims that the Lorentz force law is incompatible with special relativity. We discuss the "paradox" on which this claim is based. The resolution depends on whether one assumes a "Gilbert" model for the magnetic dipole (separated monopoles) or the standard "Ampere" model (current loop). The former was presented in these pages many years ago; the latter requires the inclusion of "hidden momentum."
A recent article claims the Lorentz force law is incompatible with special relativity. The claim is false, and the "paradox" on which it is based was resolved many years ago.