We apply relativistic electrodynamics to a rotating linear medium. Covariant field equations are used to derive general field equations in a rotating coordinate system. We argue that the relation between fields in the presence of matter and those in a vacuum is necessarily dependent upon the coordinate system used. Constitutive equations are then derived in the rotating and laboratory reference frames. We find that our constitutive equations in the laboratory frame agree with Minkowski’s constitutive equations, derived on the basis of special relativity in 1908. Thus we conclude that special relativity can be used in the analysis of experiments involving rotational motion. To exemplify the use of special relativity, we derive an experimentally observed result of a 1913 experiment performed by Wilson and Wilson in which a polarizable, permeable cylinder was rotated in a uniform, axially directed magnetic field.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
February 1998
Papers|
February 01 1998
Applying relativistic electrodynamics to a rotating material medium Available to Purchase
Charles T. Ridgely
Charles T. Ridgely
Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, Long Beach, California 90840
Search for other works by this author on:
Charles T. Ridgely
Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, Long Beach, California 90840
Am. J. Phys. 66, 114–121 (1998)
Article history
Received:
April 22 1996
Accepted:
September 03 1997
Citation
Charles T. Ridgely; Applying relativistic electrodynamics to a rotating material medium. Am. J. Phys. 1 February 1998; 66 (2): 114–121. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.18828
Download citation file:
Pay-Per-View Access
$40.00
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Citing articles via
Detecting gravitational waves with light
Markus Pössel
Ergodic Lagrangian dynamics in a superhero universe
I. L. Tregillis, George R. R. Martin
All objects and some questions
Charles H. Lineweaver, Vihan M. Patel
Temperature as joules per bit
Charles Alexandre Bédard, Sophie Berthelette, et al.
Online “Advanced Labs” in physics
Peter A. Bennett
The right way to introduce complex numbers in damped harmonic oscillators
Jason Tran, Leanne Doughty, et al.
Related Content
Signals and discontinuities in general relativistic nonlinear electrodynamics
J. Math. Phys. (December 1981)
Emil Cohn’s electrodynamics of moving bodies
Am. J. Phys. (October 1995)
Energy and momentum for the electromagnetic field described by three outstanding electrodynamics
Am. J. Phys. (September 1997)
Fluidic electrodynamics: Approach to electromagnetic propulsion
Physics of Fluids (September 2009)
Electrodynamics for undergraduates
Am. J. Phys. (July 1982)