Re: Physics Lessons for Seto, Retic, Sefton, Thomson, etc.

From: Franz Heymann (notfranz.heymann_at_btopenworld.com)
Date: 01/07/05 

Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2005 12:12:43 +0000 (UTC)

"FrediFizzx" <fredifizzx@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:346rh6F45mr5aU1@individual.net...

[snip]

> "...,which are called magnetic permeability and electric
permittivity of
> vacuum and have no direct physical meaning. They acquire such
meaning when
> vacuum is compared with material media for which µ and eps are very
> important. Both µ0 and eps0 originate from the obsolete concept of
ether."
>
> I don't know where he (and others get this trash from). Eps0 and
mu0 are
> simply the SI "electric" and "magnetic" constants not necessarily
the
> permittivity and permeability of space.

Gret a grip on yourself. I possess 7 standard texts on E&M. All 7 of
them define eps0 and mu0 quite clearly and unambiguously as the
permittivity and permeability of free space.

> And it is highly debatable that
> they have "no direct physical meaning".

There is no debate about it. I use a set of units in which they are
conspicuous by their absence and I have successfully designed and
built electrostatic separators, bending magnets particle accelerators
and radiofrequency equipment using my units.

 Eps0 and mu0 are quantities drawn from a hat to build a consistent
set of units.

> They do have direct physical
> meaning besides the extra "ad hoc" 2pi that was thrown into them.
Take a
> monochromatic EM plane wave in free space far from any sources. Do
you
> think that the electric field vector has a real physical length
associated
> with it in a transverse direction?

No. It does not have the dimensions of length in any set of units of
which I am aware, so I infer that you are talking nonsense.

  Sure it does; that is why we get a
> certain resolution like in the case of photolithograpy for certain
> wavelengths of light.

Perhaps you need to read up about wave propagation and diffraction as
well.

> For this particular case there are only two variables
> that can effect this physical length. The wavelength (or frequency)
and the
> number of identical photons. E_o = +,-
2pi*sqrt(hbar*c*n)/lambda_w^2, where
> n is the number of photons. This can be arranged as
sqrt(n)*Qvac/Cvac per
> one wavelength. Cvac = lambda_w/2pi thus the "real deal" is easy to
obtain
> from w = 2pi*c/lambda,

Balls
>
> c = lambda/(2pi*sqrt(Cvac*Lvac)) = sqrt(Cvac/Lvac) in cgs units.

Balls

>
> c = sqrt(1/eps0*mu0) is simply SI shorthand for the above. Now tell
me that
> eps0 and mu0 have absolutely no physical meaning. They do and they
are
> related to the actual transverse physical length of the electric and
> magnetic vectors.

Balls
>
> | > But why would Okun, supposedly a high
> | > level physicist, even write something like this?
> |
> | I don't know. Even great minds sometimes slip up.
> |
> |
> | > It is pure BS.
> |
> | No, that it is a much too hard judgement.
>
> It is not. It is typical of the mindset that proliferates wrong
thinking
> about EM.

Franz

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