The Abraham–Minkowski controversy is a

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its 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 which ...

debate concerning

electromagnetic In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions o ...

momentum In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (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. If is an object's mass ...

within

dielectric In electromagnetism, a dielectric (or dielectric medium) is an electrical insulator that can be polarised by an applied electric field. When a dielectric material is placed in an electric field, electric charges do not flow through the ma ...

media. Two equations were first suggested by

Hermann Minkowski Hermann Minkowski (; ; 22 June 1864 – 12 January 1909) was a German mathematician and professor at Königsberg, Zürich and Göttingen. He created and developed the geometry of numbers and used geometrical methods to solve problems in number t ...

(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) t ...

(1909) :* Wikisource translation:

On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies The ''annus mirabilis'' papers (from Latin '' annus mīrābilis'', "miracle year") are the four papers that Albert Einstein published in '' Annalen der Physik'' (''Annals of Physics''), a scientific journal, in 1905. These four papers were major ...

:* 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. 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 str ...

carries unambiguous physical significance, and 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.

References

External links

Physical Review Focus: Momentum From Nothing

Physical Review Focus: Light Bends Glass
Electric and magnetic fields in matter Hermann Minkowski 1908 introductions {{electromagnetism-stub