About two months ago I submitted my collected thoughts on electromagnetism and special relativity to a physics journal for their consideration. It took me a whole year to check and double-check my calculations; to illustrate them with suitable graphics; and to develop a narrative which explains my approach and my findings with due reference to the existing literature. And then I did it.
I haven't yet heard back from the journal. Whatever their decision, this has been a useful exercise. It has forced me to identify clearly what is new about my approach and what is significant about my findings.
So what are the main points I make in the article?
I present a new model, the 'sphere model', which explains the forces between charges in uniform motion without reference to magnetism or special relativity.
The model explains in (relatively) simple terms
- how magnetic effects between charges in uniform motion come about
- how uniform motion affects the forces between charges in a way which is consistent with length contraction
- why in the framework of special relativity events with equal time coordinates are in general not simultaneous.
The model is based on a minimal set of assumptions.
One is that in every point there is an inertial frame of reference in which electric disturbances propagate in symmetric conditions in all directions.
This is a much weaker assumption than the assumption made in classical theory that such symmetry pertains in all inertial frames of reference.
Indeed, in the framework of the sphere model this classical assumption is false.
Have I whetted your appetite? Would you like to know more? Let's first see what the reviewers think. I expect to hear from the journal in the next four weeks or so. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, much of what is in the article can be found scattered all over this blog. Happy reading.
