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Re: Fields



You may ignore the field concept here. You are simply calculating the net
effect of two (electrostatic) forces simultaneously acting on a single
object. The field is simply a measure of the force on a standard object.

Bob Sciamanda
Physics, Edinboro Univ of PA (ret)
trebor@velocity.net
http://www.velocity.net/~trebor

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Green <JMGreen@SISNA.COM>
To: PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU <PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU>
Date: Friday, February 05, 1999 12:52 AM
Subject: Re: Fields


Thank you all for y our comments re the possible interactivity of two like
fields. I am a bit mystified by the responses -- the following seems to
be somewhat typical:

| Sounds imprecise, but not wrong. Force fields interact in the sense
| that they are vector fields, so electric fields add like vectors at
| any given point in space. Thus, electric fields from multiple
sources
| can reinforce or cancel each other at any given point in space.

Well yes, but suppose that there are three stationary electrons nearby each
other. I can calculate the electric field due to each of them, but if I
want to find the net force on electron I calculate the fields due to B &
C, add them vectorially and then treat the result as ONE field.

But I need to remember that the various fields do not really exist -- they
are _inventions_ -- mathematical constructs if you will -- they are not
fluids which "interact".

Now, dear gurus, can we get some additional comments???


Jim Green
mailto:JMGreen@sisna.com
http://users.sisna.com/jmgreen