I am little bit curious about how magnetic fields are being generated when a charge moves.
I want to check if somebody travelling along with a charged particle, would that person experience a magnetic field?
How are magnetic fields really generated?
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2$\begingroup$ This is how Einstein discovered relativity. When you boost to the rest frame of the moving charge, the force you feel becomes electric instead of magnetic. $\endgroup$– Connor BehanCommented Oct 15, 2021 at 16:46
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$\begingroup$ Do you mean what would they measure with a Hall probe? $\endgroup$– ProfRobCommented Oct 15, 2021 at 18:45
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$\begingroup$ Does this answer your question? physics.stackexchange.com/questions/53916/… $\endgroup$– g sCommented Oct 15, 2021 at 19:33
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2 Answers
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Magnetic and electric fields are just aspects of what's called electromagnetism. The electromagnetic field is what's unambiguously there, and so is the electromagnetic force on the person. Whether you see the electromagnetic field as just an electric field or also having a magnetic component depends on your velocity.
In your example, the moving particle creates a larger electric field than a particle at rest would, and it also generates a magnetic field. Both act on the person, resulting in some net force F. OTOH, as linear motion is only relative, you're also allowed to look at the problem from a frame where both are at rest. In such a frame, there is no magnetic field, and the electric field a bit smaller, resulting in the same force F.
So, the magnetic field is "created" by a moving electrostatic field. But keep in mind that both are a bit arbitrary, depending on the frame you choose to look at things. Only their combination, the electromagnetic field, is unambiguous.
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Magnetic fields are really created by moving charges. "somebody " would need to describe how to measure or "feel" a magnetic field, anyway she would "feel" the electric field of the charge.
