2010/05/13 by Giuseppe Giuliani, G Giuliani · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Electrical and Electromagnetic Research #Quantum and Classical Electrodynamics #Relativity and Gravitational Theory #physics.hist-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0143-0807/31/4/017
published as Eur. J. Phys. 31 (2010) 871-880
arxiv created 2010/05/13 · openalex publication_date 2010/06/08 · arxiv updated 2010/06/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
A forgotten experiment by André Blondel (1914) proves, as held on the basis of theoretical arguments in a previous paper, that the time variation of the magnetic flux is not the cause of the induced emf; the physical agent is instead the vector potential through the term (when the induced circuit is at rest). The 'good electromagnetic potentials' are determined by the Lorenz condition and retarded formulae. Other pairs of potentials derived through appropriate gauge functions are only mathematical devices for calculating the fields; they are not physically related to the sources. The physical meaning of a theoretical term relies, primarily, on theoretical grounds; a theoretical term has a physical meaning if it cannot be withdrawn without reducing the predictive power of a theory or, in a weaker sense, if it cannot be withdrawn without reducing the descriptive proficiency of a theory.