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E & B



There is an interesting article in the Jan AJP about E and B (cf p 22ff).
This article has reminded me of a long harbored question:

The concepts of magnetism, electricity, fields. and vectors developed
somewhat independently. Does the list have an opinion about what would have
happened if at the outset magnetism and electricity were seen to be
intimately connected? Would there have been *independent* E- and B-fields
which needed Maxwell to bring into harmony? Or might there have been a
single X-field? Or what? Are *two* fields necessary? Or are E and B an
historical fluke?


Jim Green
JMGreen@sisna.com