Massless particle (such as a photon) cannot have a frame of reference. But the electromagnetic field does have mass; does it have a frame of reference? If so, if one takes a charge as "setting up" its own EMF, then the field's frame of reference is the charges, so the distinction doesn't matter. But if we take the EMF to pervade all of space, and charges merely to alter the value of the field at any given location, then it makes sense to ask about the frame of reference of the field per se. However the EMF varies from point to point; how could a volume of the EMF, which is not homogenous, have a single frame of reference?

imire37

imire37

Open question

2022-08-13

Massless particle (such as a photon) cannot have a frame of reference. But the electromagnetic field does have mass; does it have a frame of reference? If so, if one takes a charge as "setting up" its own EMF, then the field's frame of reference is the charges, so the distinction doesn't matter. But if we take the EMF to pervade all of space, and charges merely to alter the value of the field at any given location, then it makes sense to ask about the frame of reference of the field per se. However the EMF varies from point to point; how could a volume of the EMF, which is not homogenous, have a single frame of reference?

Answer & Explanation

Hamza Conrad

Hamza Conrad

Beginner2022-08-14Added 20 answers

Concept of a frame of reference of a field is meaningless, since fields permeate all of space. Therefore, it is meaningless to say that a field is 'going somewhere', or 'moving relative to something'. A frame of reference seems to only make sense for an object that is somehow localized (e.g. a particle).
Things get slightly interesting when when one realizes that a particle, at least in the modern physicists' view, is just an excitation of a field. But once again, it is the fact that such an excitation is localized that allows us to meaningfully speak about its movement relative to other objects (which are, once again, localized excitations of fields), and thus its frame of reference.

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