FIELDS AND WAVES

FIELDS AND WAVES When two masses or two charges are stationary, the force between them in both cases is inversely proportional to the square of their separation; ie. The distance b/w them. Newton’s law of gravitation --------------------------- 1665 Coulomb’s law of electrostatics proposed ------------------1785 We shall be dealing with systems containing any number of stationary charges. Mechanics: This theory of mechanics is a theory that describes the behavior of an object under the action of a known force. Large objects moving at speeds that are small compared to the speed of light obey Newton’s Mechanics. Eg Planetary motion. Classical Mechanics does not apply to observations on particles of atomic scale or on very fast moving objects. These are governed by quantum theory and the special theory of relativity. These have propelled advances of the twentieth and twenty first century. While Mechanics has changed so much, Coulomb’s law has stood still. Although the behavior of atoms does not fit into the framework of the old mechanics, when the Coulomb force is used with the theories of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, atomic interactions are explained with great precision.