Still Hunting the Mysterious Magnetic Monopole.

[MGmirkin]

(Hunting the mysterious monopole)
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227071.100

Plenty of interesting discussion on the comments section.

I point quite simply to the following resources to clarify the issue:

(Magnetic Fields)
http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wmfield.html

The magnetic force [is] basically a force between electric currents (figure below):

--Two parallel currents in the same direction attract each other.
--Two parallel currents in opposite directions repel each other.

Here is how this can lead to the notion of magnetic poles. Bend the wires into circles with constant separation (figure below):

--Two circular currents in the same direction attract each other.
--Two circular currents in opposite directions repel each other.

(Magnetic monopoles?)
http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/e ... ode35.html

In conclusion, all steady magnetic fields in the Universe are generated by circulating electric currents of some description. Such fields are solenoidal: that is, they never begin or end, and satisfy ... the second of Maxwell's equations. Essentially, it says that there is no such thing as a magnetic monopole.

Don't quite know why physicists keep searching for monopoles and attempting to violate Maxwell's second equation. Maxwell's equations have been well-tested over time and have been in practical use in electrical engineering for a century. Most modern technology is built keeping them in mind.

The continued search seems like one big ongoing snipe hunt.

Regards,
~Michael Gmirkin

[StefanR]

Don't quite know why physicists keep searching for monopoles and attempting to violate Maxwell's second equation. Maxwell's equations have been well-tested over time and have been in practical use in electrical engineering for a century. Most modern technology is built keeping them in mind.

Although you are quite right and the only there on the Newscientist-comments that calls it what it is, there is something to the searching for a magnetic monopole. Not that I'm saying a magnetic monopole exists, but maybe it should be stated that neither can there be an electric monopole, it's both or neither
But as long as those phycisists hold on to Maxwell who quantified an electric particle, only a simple rhyme suffices to indicate the search for an magnetic equivalent

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses,
And all the king's men,
Couldn't put Humpty together again

[MGmirkin]

but maybe it should be stated that neither can there be an electric monopole

Save for the fact that charged particles ARE treated as electric monopoles, according to current standard theory. They are considered to be more-or-less point sources of specific charges.

Electric monopole & Magnetic dipole - okay according to standard theory.
Magnetic monopole - not okay according to standard theory (Gauss' law for magnetism or Maxwell's second equation).

~Michael

[davesmith_au]

No Stefan,

All the king's horses,
And all the king's men,
Had scrambled eggs for breakfast...

[MGmirkin]

All the king's horses,
And all the king's men,
Had scrambled eggs for breakfast...

Eww, I'm hoping they didn't scrape humpty off the dirt and still fry him up... Were they going by the 3 second rule, or something?

~Michael

[StefanR]

Save for the fact that charged particles ARE treated as electric monopoles, according to current standard theory. They are considered to be more-or-less point sources of specific charges.

I fully agree with you, treating them that way sure is practical in many ways, but I believe there was a thread with monopoles somewhere else, so I'm not sure if that should be done all over again

[StefanR]

No Stefan,

All the king's horses,
And all the king's men,
Had scrambled eggs for breakfast...

For sure, with an electric banana split for dessert

[mharratsc]

So says the cover of NewScientist magazine (May-15, 2009)... but I don't believe em

I read the article and I think they're messing around with a compound that doesn't quite know what to do with itself magnetically, but I don't consider that anything akin to a 'north-without-a-south'.

Any physicists read the article that would care to comment?

Mike H.

[MGmirkin]

Is that he same article I linked to or a different one? The one I referred to said they were looking for the monopole still, but definitely didn't claim to have found it, I don't think...

~Michael Gmirkin