ABSTRACT

In previous chapters, the Stokes vectors were determined for charges moving in a linear, circular, or elliptical path. At first sight the examples chosen appear to have been made on the basis of simplicity. However, the examples were chosen because charged particles actually move in these paths in an electromagnetic field; that is, the examples are based on physical reality. In this section we show from Lorentz’s force equation that, in an electromagnetic field, charged particles follow linear and circular paths. In the following section we determine the Stokes vectors corresponding to these physical configurations.