Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1161506 | Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics | 2014 | 15 Pages |
Abstract
It is deeply entrenched dogma that relativity theory prohibits superluminal propagation. It is also experimentally well-established that under some circumstances, classical electromagnetic fields propagate through a dielectric medium with superluminal group velocities and superluminal phase velocities. But it is usually claimed that these superluminal velocities do not violate the relativistic prohibition. Here I analyze electromagnetic fields in a dielectric medium within a framework for understanding superluminal propagation recently developed by Geroch, 1996 and Geroch, 2011 and elaborated by Earman (2014). I will argue that for some parameter values, electromagnetic fields do propagate superluminally in the Geroch–Earman sense.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Physics and Astronomy
Physics and Astronomy (General)
Authors
James Owen Weatherall,