Malament, David (2003) "On the Time Reversal Invariance of Classical Electromagnetic Theory". [Preprint]

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Abstract

David Albert claims that classical electromagnetic theory is not time reversal invariant. He acknowledges that all physics books say that it is, but claims they are ``simply wrong" because they rely on an incorrect account of how the time reversal operator acts on magnetic fields. On that account, electric fields are left intact by the operator, but magnetic fields are inverted. Albert sees no reason for the asymmetric treatment, and insists that neither field should be inverted. I argue, to the contrary, that the inversion of magnetic fields makes good sense and is, in fact, forced by elementary geometric considerations. I also suggest a way of thinking about the time reversal invariance of classical electromagnetic theory -- one that makes use of the invariant (four-dimensional) formulation of the theory -- that makes no reference to magnetic fields at all. It is my hope that it will be of interest in its own right, Albert aside. It has the advantage that it allows for arbitrary curvature in the background spacetime structure, and is therefore suitable for the framework of general relativity. (The only assumption one needs is temporal orientability.)

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Malament, David
Additional Information:	The paper is forthcoming in *Studies in the History and Philosophy of Modern Physics*.
Keywords:	time reversal invariance; electromagnetic theory; relativity theory; David Albert
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles
Depositing User:	David B. Malament
Date Deposited:	23 Sep 2003
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2010 15:12
Item ID:	1406
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles
Date:	July 2003
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/1406

Available Versions of this Item

• "On the Time Reversal Invariance of Classical Electromagnetic Theory". (deposited 01 Oct 2003)
  • "On the Time Reversal Invariance of Classical Electromagnetic Theory". (deposited 23 Sep 2003) [Currently Displayed]

Commentary/Response Threads

• Malament, David "On the Time Reversal Invariance of Classical Electromagnetic Theory". (deposited 23 Sep 2003) [Currently Displayed]
  • Arntzenius, Frank and Greaves, Hilary Time reversal in classical electromagnetism. (deposited 06 Apr 2007)

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