• Angular momentum and the electromagnetic top

• # Fulltext

https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/pram/087/02/0019

• # Keywords

Electromagnetic interaction, magnetic dipole, nonconservation of mechanical angular momentum, Faraday’s law

• # Abstract

The electric charge–magnetic dipole interaction is considered. If $\Gamma_{\rm em}$ is the electromagnetic and $\Gamma_{\rm mech}$ the mechanical angular momentum, the conservation law for the total angular momentum $\Gamma_{\rm tot}$ holds: $\Gamma_{\rm tot}$ =$\Gamma_{\rm em}$ + $\Gamma_{\rm mech}$ = ${\rm const.}$, but when the dipole moment varies with time, $\Gamma_{\rm mech}$ is not conserved. We show that the non-conserved $\Gamma_{\rm mech}$ of such a macroscopic isolated system might be experimentally observable. With advanced technology, the strength of the interaction hints to the possibility of novel applications for gyroscopes, such as the electromagnetic top.

• # Author Affiliations

1. Centro de Física Fundamental, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, 5101-Venezuela
2. Department of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22901-4714, USA

• # Pramana – Journal of Physics

Volume 96, 2022
All articles
Continuous Article Publishing mode

• # Editorial Note on Continuous Article Publication

Posted on July 25, 2019