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I know that when an electron gets accelerated (changes direction) in an electric field it emits a photon. An ad-hoc way of explaining this is, that the acceleration of the electron causes a ripple in the electromagnetic field and this ripple is the wave package of the photon.

Alright, but is there a simple, intuitive explanation why the same (electron emitting a photon) doesn't happen when the electron gets accelerated in a magnetic field? Isn't the magnetic field a component of the electromagnetic radiation? And further thinking - ss there some analogous particle, some kind of a particle with a magnetic field, that when accelerated in a magnetic field also emits photons?

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Electrons accelerating in a magnetic field do emit electromagnetic radiation. It is known as synchrotron radiation or curvature radiation.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks! And what about particles with a magnetic field, do they also emit photons when accelerated in E- or B-field? $\endgroup$
    – NeStack
    May 3, 2021 at 11:16

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