Abstract

The question of how best to explain magnetic forces between uniformly moving charges has divided physicists. A fictitious dialogue styled on David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779) crystallises the various views expressed in the literature around three positions: a) special relativity can explain such forces as a relativistic aspect of electricity; b) special relativity cannot explain such forces and no explanation is required; c) special relativity cannot explain such forces and an alternative explanation is required. The arguments deployed suggest that it is possible to achieve a deeper understanding of the forces between moving charges than is commonly assumed.

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