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Classical electrodynamics: the equation of motion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2008

P. A. Hogan
P. A. Hogan
Affiliation:
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin
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Extract

In this paper we derive the Lorentz-Dirac equation of motion for a charged particle moving in an external electromagnetic field. We use Maxwell's electromagnetic field equations together with the assumptions (1) that all fields are retarded and (2) that the 4-force acting on the charged particle is a Lorentz 4-force. To define the self-field on the world-line of the charge we utilize a contour integral representation for the field due to A. W. Conway. This by-passes the need to define an ‘average field’. In an appendix the case of a scalar field is briefly discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society , Volume 76 , Issue 1 , July 1974 , pp. 359 - 367
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge Philosophical Society 1974

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References

REFERENCES

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