I personally think that this is the reason why Quantum Mechanics has not yet been reconciled with electromagnetism.

I observed that the confusion seems so deep in the community on this issue that many references erroneously equate Electrodynamics with Maxwell's theory and even equate electrodynamics with electromagnetism, as if only one interpretation had been conceived of.

To summarize the issue, Ludvig Lorenz interpreted both E and B fields of free moving electromagnetic energy as peaking to maximum synchronously at the same time, which is an interpretation that Maxwell disagreed with; while Maxwell's was that both fields have to mutually induce each other while being 180 degrees out of phase for the electromagnetic energy to even exist and propagate, in permanent transverse oscillation with respect to the direction of motion of the energy in vacuum.

Consistent with Lorenz's concept:

A- Consistent with the invariant speed of light in vacuum.

B- Consistent with EM transverse wave propagation in a supporting medium in vacuum.

Inconsistent with Lorenz's concept:

C- Inconsistent with self-sustaining, default self-guiding and self-propelling at c of localized transversely oscillating electromagnetic energy quanta without any need for a supporting medium.

D- Inconsistent with observed LRC circuits demonstrating that both E and B fields cyclically mutually induce each other while being 180 degrees out of phase .

E- Unable to explain electronic orbitals stability in atoms.

F- Inconsistent with the physical existence of momentum kinetic energy and consequently cannot explain the electron magnetic moment anomaly.

G- Inconsistent with the physical existence of magnetic energy and its relation with classical mass.

H- Cannot be reconciled with Quantum Mechanics.

I- Cannot be reconciled with Classical/Relativistic Mechanics.

Consistent with Maxwell's concept:

1- Consistent with the invariant speed of light in vacuum.

2- Consistent with EM transverse wave propagation in a supporting medium in vacuum.

3- Consistent with self-sustaining, default self-guiding and self-propelling at c of localized transversely oscillating electromagnetic energy quanta without any need for a supporting medium: https://www.hilarispublisher.com/open-access/on-de-broglies-doubleparticle-photon-hypothesis-2090-0902-1000153.pdf

4- Consistent with observed LRC circuits demonstrating that both E and B fields cyclically mutually induce each other while being 180 degrees out of phase.

5- Can explain electronic orbitals stability in atoms https://doi.org/10.4236/jmp.2018.95067.

6- Consistent with the physical existence of momentum kinetic energy and consequently allows explaining the electron magnetic moment anomaly https://www.gsjournal.net/Science-Journals/Research%20Papers-Mechanics%20/%20Electrodynamics/Download/2259 and unifying all classical force equations http://www.gsjournal.net/Science-Journals/Research%20Papers-Mechanics%20/%20Electrodynamics/Download/2256.

7- Consistent with the physical existence of magnetic energy and its relation to classical mass http://www.gsjournal.net/Science-Journals/Research%20Papers-Relativity%20Theory/Download/2257.

8- Can be reconciled with Classical/Relativistic mechanics: http://www.gsjournal.net/Science-Journals/Research%20Papers-Relativity%20Theory/Download/3197, and with Quantum Mechanics: https://doi.org/10.4236/jmp.2018.95067

Inconsistent with Maxwell's concept:

9- Nothing.

Short overview:

Maxwell stated that the existence of a sustaining medium that came to be named aether was necessary for his interpretation, because until recently, only one wave concept had been conceived of as being able to sustain a transverse oscillation, which is the same concept still being used to describe and explain shear waves in solid media for example (see "s-waves" in relation with deep Earth sounding).

This means that until today, electromagnetic energy was understood as being a "pulse" in some underlying medium and not as a "physically existing substance" that could self-propel as separate quanta.

Also, Maxwell was studying the behavior of light at the observable macroscopic level and his solution was adequate at the general level for dealing with electromagnetic energy, as witnessed by the so numerous successful application that electromagnetic energy provides us with. He did not consider the possibility that light might be quantized and actually could be made of separate quanta at the submicroscopic level, which became suspected only 30 years later with Wien's experiments and Planck hypothesis, that was then confirmed by Einstein's photoelectric proof and Compton and Raman scattering.

The de Broglie hypothesis in the 1930's then allowed to conceive of the possibility that a localized photon could be made of a self-sustaining transversely oscillating electromagnetic energy half-quantum, coupled with a longitudinally oriented momentum energy half-quantum, that could then self-propel without any need for a sustaining medium. Maxwell had no way to even imagine such a possibility before de Broglie came up 70 years later with a possible inner structure of a localized photon compliant with his interpretation.

Even in the 1930's, nobody lit up to this possibility, because the community had already adopted the Lorenz interpretation, from which perspective, this cannot logically be conceived of.

For convenience, here is a link to the list of papers formally published between 2007 and 2018 meant to analyze the various conclusions that logically emerge from Maxwell's interpretation at the submicroscopic level:

http://www.gsjournal.net/Science-Journals/Research%20Papers-Unification%20Theories/Download/2460

More André Michaud's questions See All
Similar questions and discussions