Question:
How does rotating charge create a magnet?
I know that a moving charge creates a magnetic field encircling
its direction of motion, but why does a rotating charge produce a magnetic
field when it is not changing its position?
Replies:
If you can have the charge rotating, it must have some extent, is
the charge is at some radius, so the charge density is moving as the shell of
the charge moves, this is the moving charge.
Sam Bowen
You may have in mind the idea of a particle with spin having a
magnetic moment, which is not quite the same thing as a rotating charge. As
far as I know, the reason is not terribly clear this is just a fundamental
property of the particle.
NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.