On Mon, Oct 28, 2024 at 10:59 PM Alan Grayson <[email protected]> wrote:
*>>> When the luminiferous aether was rejected as non-existing, how was EM > wave motion explained? AG * > > > *>> Vibrations in the electromagnetic field.* > > > *> How are the vibrations created and maintained? AG * > *Maxwell's Equations will answer those questions. It turns out that if you change the intensity or direction of an electric field, that is to say if you accelerate it, then you create a steady magnetic field, and if you accelerate the intensity or direction of a magnetic field then you create a steady electric field. And if you don't just accelerate it but "Jerk" the field, that is to say accelerate the acceleration, then the corresponding field it creates is not steady but changes with time. * *This obviously leads to the creation of a wave, and Maxwell's equations will tell you how fast that wave will propagate, and it turns out to be the speed of light. What Einstein found to be so unusual and interesting is that the speed of light that Maxwell's equations spits out is not relative to anything, it is an absolute speed, the only absolute speed in the universe. Einstein thought deeply about that and it eventually led him to Special Relativity, and then 10 years later led him to General Relativity.* *Speaking of Jerk, this is my favorite nerd joke: Don't Be A Jerk <https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Jerk-T-Shirt-Funny-Math/dp/B07KW7XFX1> * *John K Clark See what's on my new list at Extropolis <https://groups.google.com/g/extropolis>* jdb -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/CAJPayv3YAD-zTgxaT0vVCe3_u2tgBL7tzq2nk59YbTVMfFEO9A%40mail.gmail.com.
