https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-022-03390-3
Regular Article
Does a charge in a uniform gravity field radiate? (The Accelerating Charge Paradox)
1
Department of Physics, Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction, CO, USA
2
Physical Sciences Department, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL, USA
a ashiekh@coloradomesa.edu, anwar.shiekh@gmail.com
Received:
6
August
2022
Accepted:
13
October
2022
Published online:
26
October
2022
Accelerating charges radiate light, with the power given by the Larmor’s formula. Einstein’s principle of equivalence states that accelerations are locally equivalent to gravity fields. Combined with Larmor’s formula, that principle implies that a charge at rest on a surface in a uniform gravity field should radiate continuously, without a power source. Here, we justify Feynman’s alternative to that formula and so resolve the paradox by recognizing that a uniformly accelerating charge does not actually radiate. We also find quantum mechanical arguments favor Feynman’s formulation.
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