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Journal ArticleDOI

Generalization of Coulomb’s law to Maxwell’s equations using special relativity

Donald H. Kobe
- 01 Jul 1986 - 
- Vol. 54, Iss: 7, pp 631-636
TLDR
In this article, the Lorentz force on a charged particle and its energy conservation condition are obtained by making Newton's second law for the particle in an electrostatic field consistent with special relativity.
Abstract
Maxwell’s equations are obtained by generalizing the laws of electrostatics, which follow from Coulomb’s law and the principle of superposition, so that they are consistent with special relativity. In addition, it is necessary to assume that electric charge is a conserved scalar. The Lorentz force on a charged particle and its energy conservation condition are obtained by making Newton’s second law for the particle in an electrostatic field consistent with special relativity. Magnetic monopoles can be introduced into Maxwell’s theory in a way consistent with special relativity.

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Journal ArticleDOI

Electromagnetic force and geometry of Minkowskian spacetime

TL;DR: In this paper, it was shown that the form of the electromagnetic force acting on the particle can be regarded as arising from the geometry of Minkowskian spacetime, which is a result of a heuristic derivation at the classical level.
Journal ArticleDOI

Physical implications of Coulomb's Law

TL;DR: The theoretical and experimental foundations of Coulomb's Law have been examined in this article and various roles it plays not only in electromagnetism and electrodynamics, but also in quantum mechanics, cosmology and thermodynamics.
Journal ArticleDOI

An axiomatic approach to Maxwell’s equations

TL;DR: In this paper, an axiomatic approach to Maxwell's equations with magnetic monopoles has been proposed, based on a theorem formulated for two sets of functions localized in space and time.
Journal ArticleDOI

A Way To Discover Maxwell's Equations Theoretically

TL;DR: In this article, the Coulomb force in the rest frame of a source-charge Q, when transformed to a new frame moving with a velocity V has a form F = qE + qv × B, where E = E′∥ + γE′⊥ and B = (1/c2)v × E and E′ is the electric field in the source.
Posted Content

Derivation of Maxwell's equations via the covariance requirements of the special theory of relativity, starting with Newton's laws

TL;DR: A connection between Maxwell's equations, Newton's laws, and the special theory of relativity is established with a derivation that begins with Newton's verbal enunciation of his first two laws.