Magnetism and the Maxwellian Theory

Abstract

I AM glad to see from Mr. Rollo Appleyard's letter in NATURE of December 31 that he is satisfied with my reply to his query concerning the place of magnetism in fundamental electrical theory. Of course there can be no question of “annihilating magnetic notions” in view of the existence and properties of permanent magnets; but, as regards the understanding of fundamental physical phenomena, magnetism appears to have played a part similar to that of money in economics—a useful link for facilitating exchange, but a source of unnecessary complexity and confusion in discussion. Since we can formulate the forces acting on moving electric charges directly from Ampère's experiments without introducing magnetism, and thereby dispense with the two stages of reasoning involved in Maxwell's curl equations, it seems decidedly advantageous to do so; and if a magnetic field is merely a translationally moving electric field, as the flux-cutting principle suggests, it seems superfluous to regard it as a separate entity.