Maxwell Equations from Commutation Relations and Poisson Brackets

Abstract

Maxwell equations were basically constructed from the results of experiments of electricity and magnetism with theoretical considerations It was shown that some of the equations can be derived from some basic conditions such as Newton's second law and the commutation relations or Poisson brackets between positions and velocities In this thesis two of the Maxwell equations and the Lorentz force law are derived from Feynman's proof based on the formalism of quantum mechanics as described by Dyson The equations are also obtained by using the rules of classical mechanics for a non-relativistic particle as shown by Hughes and for a relativistic particle by Montesinos and P?rez-Lorenzana It is shown that since the Maxwell equations and the Lorentz force law are classical equations their derivations can be based on the rules of classical physics Also since the set of four Maxwell equations is Lorentz invariant the derivation of the Maxwell equations has to be based on a Lorentz invariant formalism obeying the principles of special relativity

Date of Award	2016 Sept 8
Original language	English
Supervisor	Su-Long Nyeo (Supervisor)