ABSTRACT
The question now arises as to what extent classical physics can describe charged particles and their interactions so that a consistent classical electrodynamics emerges. This problem consists of two parts, viz. the existence of classical fundamental charged particles and the dynamics of these particles. Lorentz and others envisioned an elementary charged particle as a purely electromagnetic object. The structure of a classical charged particle is thus specified by its charge distribution. But the characteristic theoretical difficulty connected with this particle, viz. its nonvanishing electromagnetic self-stress and corresponding instability, is independent of this structure. The chapter considers a charged particle in uniform motion. The only electromagnetic fields associated with it are velocity fields. It analyses the severe difficulties arising from the dichotomy of particle and field.
