The Abraham–Minkowski controversy is a

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

debate concerning

electromagnetic In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interacti ...

momentum In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (: momenta or momentums; more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. ...

within

dielectric In electromagnetism, a dielectric (or dielectric medium) is an Insulator (electricity), electrical insulator that can be Polarisability, polarised by an applied electric field. When a dielectric material is placed in an electric field, electric ...

media. Two equations were first suggested by

Hermann Minkowski Hermann Minkowski (22 June 1864 – 12 January 1909) was a mathematician and professor at the University of Königsberg, the University of Zürich, and the University of Göttingen, described variously as German, Polish, Lithuanian-German, o ...

(1908) :* Wikisource translation
The Fundamental Equations for Electromagnetic Processes in Moving Bodies
and

Max Abraham Max Abraham (; 26 March 1875 – 16 November 1922) was a German physicist known for his work on electromagnetism and his opposition to the theory of relativity. Biography Abraham was born in Danzig, Imperial Germany (now Gdańsk in Poland) ...

(1909) :* Wikisource translation: On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies :* Wikisource translation: On the Electrodynamics of Minkowski for this momentum. They predict different values, from which the name of the controversy derives. See also: Experimental support has been claimed for both. The two points of view have different physical interpretations and thus neither need be more correct than the other. David J. Griffiths argues that, in the presence of matter, only the total

stress–energy tensor The stress–energy tensor, sometimes called the stress–energy–momentum tensor or the energy–momentum tensor, is a tensor physical quantity that describes the density and flux of energy and momentum in spacetime, generalizing the stress ...

carries unambiguous physical significance; how one apportions it between an "electromagnetic" part and a "matter" part depends on context and convenience. Several papers have claimed to have resolved this controversy. The controversy is still claimed to have importance in

physics beyond the Standard Model Physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM) refers to the theoretical developments needed to explain the deficiencies of the Standard Model, such as the inability to explain the fundamental parameters of the standard model, the strong CP problem, neut ...

where electrodynamics gets modifications, like in the presence of

axions An axion () is a hypothetical elementary particle originally theorized in 1978 independently by Frank Wilczek and Steven Weinberg as the Goldstone boson of Peccei–Quinn theory, which had been proposed in 1977 to solve the strong CP problem in ...

References

External links

* * Electric and magnetic fields in matter Hermann Minkowski 1908 introductions {{electromagnetism-stub