The Stewart–Tolman effect is a phenomenon in
electrodynamics caused by the finite
mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...
of
electrons
The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family,
and are generally thought to be elementary partic ...
in conducting metal, or, more generally, the finite mass of
charge carriers in an
electrical conductor.
It is named after
T. Dale Stewart and
Richard C. Tolman
Richard Chace Tolman (March 4, 1881 – September 5, 1948) was an American mathematical physicist and physical chemist who made many contributions to statistical mechanics. He also made important contributions to theoretical cosmology in t ...
, two American physicists who carried out their experimental work in the 1910s.
[
] This
eponym
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
appears to be first used by
Lev Landau
Lev Davidovich Landau (russian: Лев Дави́дович Ланда́у; 22 January 1908 – 1 April 1968) was a Soviet-Azerbaijani physicist of Jewish descent who made fundamental contributions to many areas of theoretical physics.
His a ...
.
[
]
In a conducting body undergoing
accelerating motion, inertia causes the electrons in the body to "lag" behind the overall motion. In the case of linear acceleration,
negative charge accumulates at the end of the body; while for rotation the negative charge accumulates at the outer rim. The accumulation of charges can be measured by a
galvanometer.
This effect is proportional to the mass of the charge carriers. It is much more significant in
electrolyte conductors than metals, because
ions
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...
in the former are 10
3-10
4 times more massive than electrons in the latter.
[
]
Notes
External links
R.C. Tolman, T.D. Stewart: ''The electromotive force produced by the acceleration of metals.''
The original article of ''Physical Review'' from 1916.
Electrodynamics
{{electromagnetism-stub