Physics · Glossary

What is Four-potential and field tensor?

Definition 6.3 University Physics — Year 3 · Chapter 6 — Covariant Electromagnetism

The potentials of the Year 2 volume assemble into the four-potential

Aμ=(Vc, A),A^\mu = \Big(\frac{V}{c},\ \vect A\Big) ,

and the measurable fields E=VtA\vect E = -\vect\nabla V - \partial_t\vect A, B=curlA\vect B = \operatorname{\vect{curl}}\vect A are the six independent components of one antisymmetric array, the electromagnetic field tensor

Fμν=(0Ex/cEy/cEz/cEx/c0BzByEy/cBz0BxEz/cByBx0).F^{\mu\nu} = \begin{pmatrix} 0 & -E_x/c & -E_y/c & -E_z/c\\ E_x/c & 0 & -B_z & B_y\\ E_y/c & B_z & 0 & -B_x\\ E_z/c & -B_y & B_x & 0 \end{pmatrix} .

E\vect E and B\vect B are not two fields but six faces of one object; which face an observer calls “electric” depends on the observer’s motion.

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