Superposition principle for electric fields implies that the presence of other charges does not affect the field of a charge. There is indeed a deeper meaning to this though. Therefore, their implication that the fields can be superimposed is a direct consequence (not an assumption). And as far as normal day to day life is concerned, we know the classical equations work very well. ![]() Those equations hold the status of postulates in the classical treatment. That's what the math describes.Īccording to classical electromagnetism, the principle of superposition applies to electric fields because the Maxwell's equations are linear. The particular thing we're seeing here is that the forces that each charge puts on all other charges after a delay, do not change each other. They're just ways to think about it that are compatible with the math. Concepts about what's happening with the math are useful for your intuition, and they are likely to suggest interesting applications of the math.īut probably there will be multiple concepts that fit, with no way to show which of them is right. ![]() The math gets the right experimental results within experimental error. It would only be a way to think about it. People have a hard time envisioning relativity, and if you had an alternative that got the same results, it might likely be hard to envision that too. You could get a theory like that, but it would have to be compatible with relativity theory, since the numbers come out right from that. You could imagine "OK, THIS is what electric fields are like! Now I know.". It sounds like you are asking for a complete theory about electric fields that would have this result fall out of it. It could have been that they affected each other, and that would be more complicated - if you had to take account of the way they affect each other that would require more work than when they don't affect each other at all. ![]() Like ripples on a pond cross each other and continue, each unaffected by the others. The effects of different charges sort of cross right over each other without affecting each other. The effect of each charge appears to be completely independent of the effects of other charges.
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