Volume 16: Pages 279-342, 2003
Another View on the Electric Charge, Spin, and Radiation of Free Electrons in an Electromagnetic Field
Hoa Van Nguyen
572 Woodbine Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4E 2H8 Canada
The renormalization (or redefinition) of the mass and charge of the electron is a well‐known topic in classical and quantum physics. So far physicists have chosen to renormalize the mass of the electron, although this led to an unrealistic feature for the mass: it increases to infinity as its velocity approaches c. The renormalization of the charge, by contrast, decreases the electric charge of the electron to zero as ν → c, so the problem of infinite mass can be avoided. This manuscript will choose the path of charge renormalization; that is, the electron will be considered as a particle with invariant mass while its effective electric charge changes in external fields. In Part I, the equivalence between the renormalization of mass and the renormalization of charge will be discussed when the electron travels in external electric and magnetic fields. The variation of the electric charge of the electron in an external field suggests that the electron is not a solid point charge but an extended and structured particle. In Part II, an extended model for the electron will be proposed together with a postulate to do calculations on the model. In Parts III and IV the net electric force (Fe) and magnetic force (Fm) produced on the model electron (by external constant electric and magnetic fields) will be determined to show that the electric charge of an extended electron is inherently renormalized by its physical structure; as a result, the equation of motion of the electron in an external field becomes valid for all values of the speed up to c. In Parts V and VI, the mechanisms of spin and radiation of the electron in time‐varying electric and magnetic fields will be discussed. As a consequence of its structure, the electron spins and radiates under the action of electromagnetic forces produced by an external time‐varying field. The goal of the manuscript is to show that the consideration of the electron as an extended particle is necessary to renormalize its electric charge and to demonstrate the mechanisms of its spin and radiation in external fields. All topics are treated classically, using Newtonian mechanics and classical electrodynamics.
Keywords: renormalization of mass and charge of the electron, extended model for the electron, mechanisms of spin and radiation of the electron in time‐varying fields, core, static electric dipole, cohesive forces, spinning forces, spinning by inertia, centrifugal and centripetal forces, tangent forces, Lorentz forces, radiant zone, radiation pattern, synchrotron radiation, free electron laser, FEL
Received: October 6, 1998; Published online: December 15, 2008
