Re: "Faraday's Final Riddle"

[William Beaty <billb@ESKIMO.COM>]

On Sun, 3 Oct 1999, brian whatcott wrote:

> Thought you might be interested.
> I recalled a recent thread on homopolar generators et al when I saw
> a reference to a paper written for the Institute of Engineers, Ireland.
>
>  http://www.iei.ie/papers/faraday1.html
>
> Why is spinning a disk in an axial field different from spinning an
> axial field magnet - and why does spinning a field and a disk
> together produce unexpected effects?

Very interesting!  The author speaks of "lines of flux" as if they were
physical threads... but also puts forward the idea that "flux" is
substance-like.  Under this sort of mental-model, in order for the net
flux inclosed within a conductive ring to change, the "flux-stuff" always
must pass through the ring (the 'flux-cutting' concept.)  And, if a magnet
rotates, the "flux stuff" rotates as it is dragged along.

I'll have to read the whole thing and digest it for awhile.  I note that
the author is an engineer, not a physicist, and seems to have discarded
numerous competing theories as being "strange/convoluted."  Not good.
Before attacking our 'enemies', we'd better first understand them.


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