0pt; line-height: 12pt;">Rognerud Research, Inc, CA, USA  

nils@rognerud.com

ABSTRACT

This paper is a review of the problem of the observable action of
gravitational forces on charged particles.   The author discusses
the induced electric fields and the sometimes-overlooked unique physical
properties. He analyzes several experiments, showing the reality of
the induced electric fields.  The current interpretation, based
on the idea of only one electric field, with certain characteristics,
is compared with alternative approaches.

This document is Copyright (c) 1994 by Nils Rognerud
(nils@ccnet.com).  All rights are reserved.  Permission to
use, copy and distribute this unmodified document by any means and for
any purpose EXCEPT PROFIT PURPOSES is hereby granted, provided that
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to the above non-profit-use clause, unless upon explicit prior written
permission of the author.

 

 

1.  INTRODUCTION:

Measurements of the gravitational force on elementary particles have
been done for electrons</span><span class="Endnote-0020Reference--Char"><sup>1, bulk matter</span><span class="Endnote-0020Reference--Char"><sup>2,3 neutral particles of ordinary matter</span><span class="Endnote-0020Reference--Char"><sup>4 and photons</span><span class="Endnote-0020Reference--Char"><sup>5. No direct measurements have been done for positively charged particles. 
A new experiment is currently on the way in CERN</span><span class="Endnote-0020Reference--Char"><sup>6.  This experiment is attempting to measure the free fall of
antiprotons. 

In this paper we will show that there is a small residual electric
field, due to electric dipoles, in all atomic matter.  This electric
field arises from the fact that two equal and opposite charges (such
as a proton and its electron cloud) generate electric effects that
do not quite cancel, at distant points. 

Since it is expected that mother earth generates a large amount of
these electric fields, it is postulated that the outcome of free falling
particle experiments and its equipment are dependent - to some extent
- on such fields.  We will show that such fields may be difficult
to shield, and as such, this information may be of interest to researchers.

2.  INDUCTION AND RELATIVITY:

In the field of electromagnetism, every point in space is characterized
by two vector quantities, which determine the force on any charge. 
First, there is the electric force, which gives a force component independent
of the motion of the charge, q.  We describe it by the electric
field, E.  Second there is an additional force
component, called the magnetic force, which depends on the relative
velocity, v, of the charge in relation to reference
frame of the magnetic field source.  - The Lorentz Force Equation
says that the force on an electric charge is dependent  not only
on where it is, but also on how fast it is moving in relation to something
else, as in: 

.                    
                      
(2.0)

In figure 1, a conducting rod is moving through a magnetic field B.  An electron, located in the rod,
sees a magnetic force due to motion of the rod through the
magnetic field.  In the reference frame of the magnetic source
(frame S), there is no E, thus the only force acting on the electron,
is:

.                                                     
(2.1)

What happens if the rod is at rest with the observer's reference frame,
but the magnetic source is moving with velocity -v, as in figure 2?   Does the
electron stay where it is?  Would we see different things happening
in the two systems?

Figure 1. A conducting rod is in relative motion
with respect to a magnet.  An observer S, fixed with respect to
the magnet that produces the B-field, sees a rod moving to the right. 
He also sees a magnetic force acting downward on the electron.

We know from relativity that magnetism and electricity are not independent
things - they should always be taken together as one complete electromagnetic
field.  Although in the static case Maxwell's equations separate
into two distinct pairs, with no apparent connection between the two
fields, nevertheless, in nature itself there is a very intimate relationship
between them arising from the principle of relativity.

In accordance with Special Relativity, we must get the same physical
result whether we analyze motion of a particle moving in a coordinate
system at rest with respect to the magnetic source or at rest with respect
to the particle.  In the first instance the force was purely "magnetic",
in the second, it was purely "electric". We know that a charge
q is an invariant scalar quantity, independent of the frame of reference.

Since the F equal to F, we can calculate F as:

                                
       (2.2)

For cases where the source of the magnetic field is moving, the relative
velocity v becomes the opposite sign.  To distinguish this type of motional
electric field, we can rewrite the equation, where V is the relative velocity, and B is the magnetic field (seen by S):

,                       
       (2.3)

since we know that

.                (2.4)

Figure 2.  A conducting rod is in relative motion
with respect to a magnet.  An observer S, fixed with respect to
the rod, sees the magnet moving to the right.  He also sees an
electric force acting downward on the electron.

Mathematically, it can be shown that a purely electric field in one
reference frame can be magnetic in another.  The separation of
these interactions depends on which reference frame is chosen for description.  
In 1903 - in a now famous experiment - Trouton and Noble showed that
two electric charges moving with same constant velocity do not produce
a magnetic interaction between themselves. This is consistent with the
fundamental postulate of relativity. The force between two electric
charges must be the same for an observer at rest with respect to the
charges.  This is true whether the charges move at constant velocity,
or whether they remain fixed with respect with some reference frame.

Since electric and magnetic fields appear in different mixtures if
we change our frame of reference, we must be careful about how we look
at the fields E and B.  We must not attach too much reality
to them.  The field lines may disappear if we try to observe them
from different coordinate systems.

The field lines that we see in our textbooks for electric and magnetic
fields are only mathematical constructs to help us understand and clarify
the effects more easily. We can say more accurately that there is such
a thing