January 24, 2008

Pet Peeve

It bugs me how the explanation for electromagnetic (and other) fields and waves are so ... abstract. I _get_ electricity; electrons, protons, electron "holes" where electrons aren't. All very nice, very physical.

But what about the electrostatic field around the electron, that repels other electrons? The magnetic field density and flux lines and on and on, extending out to _infinity_, interacting with other electrons, shifting them. And let's not even talk about the close-range atomic forces, or the pseudo-particles that are illustrated squiggling out away from things as sub-atomic communication... wtf?

At least with gravity, the mass of the partical is proposed to distort "space time" causing "dents" in the very fabric of reality, causing other masses (and their dents) to drift closer (shifting to a lower energy point by "falling" down the "dent").

But flux lines? Electromagnetic waves? Equipotential surfaces? They don't even PRETEND to have any meaning, it's just book-keeping.

I want to know more. What exactly is a flux line? What is it acting in, transmitting through, represented by?

Madness, I say! Madness! Our physics with its pretty words and fancy maths is all well and good, but we really have no clue.

Or if we do, it's in a book I haven't read yet, and I've read a _lot_ of books.

Posted by Edwin at January 24, 2008 02:31 PM
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