Abstract
Few introductory electricity and magnetism students develop a coherent picture of field theory and, thus, are unable to use field theory to correctly predict relevant physical phenomena.
Highlights
Describing how objects interact with each other is a fundamental concern in physics
We explore the explanatory ideas of university students from three different European countries about the field concept in electromagnetism
To explore the progression of students’ explanations of field theory from electricity to magnetism, we present electricity and magnetism questions together
Summary
Describing how objects interact with each other is a fundamental concern in physics. While Newton’s force theory (objects interact by exerting forces on each other directly) is still useful today, field theory provides the best description at present. A vector field describes how an object makes it presence felt by influencing the space surrounding it; this influence in space may be felt by a second object. In this way field theory describes interactions between objects. It is more abstract than the Newtonian theory that is based on forces only, but has greater explanatory power It is more abstract than the Newtonian theory that is based on forces only, but has greater explanatory power (see, e.g., Ref. [1])
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