N. 3 - 21 aprile 2001 - Giano Bifronte

174
The effects of the Aharonov-Bohm type as tests of
the relativistic interpretation of electrodynamics
(Gianfranco Spavieri, Miguel Rodriguez)*
Abstract: An unsolved problem in special relativity relates to the experimental
verification of the electromagnetic force acting on charged particles (open currents)
and of the fields generated by them. We consider here some unusual but interesting
effects of quantum mechanics, called nonlocal quantum effects of the Aharonov-
Bohm type, and show how they could be used to test the relativistic interpretation of
classical electrodynamics. Other tests for the force on, and fields of, open currents
are presented.
PACS numbers: 03.65.Bz, 03.30.+p, 03.75.Dg.
1 - Introduction
It has been questioned that special relativity theory and quantum
mechanics introduce fundamental postulates that defy common reason.
For example, in the field of special relativity, several physicists object
to the physical meaning of the dependence of the time coordinate t on
the space coordinates x, which violates the Galilean principle of
simultaneity as it occurs for the Lorentz Transformations (LT). To many
it seems more reasonable to use, instead of LT, the Tangherlini
Transformations (TT), which preserve simultaneity. Some physicists
believe that the TT are experimentally equivalent to the LT (from which
supposedly they differ by an arbitrary synchronization parameter) while
some others mantain they are not. In any event, the TT have the
advantage to possess a form that, in some respects, recalls the Galileo
Transformations and, thus, are more intuitive.
Similarly, in quantum mechanics some physicists have objected to the
introduction of new postulates or ad hoc techniques such as
renormalization that is at the base of the success of quantum
electrodynamics.
Even if it may be argued that modern science needs not to be intuitive,
there is the risk that an accentuated divorce of abstract formalism from
physical reality may lead to a loss of interest in modern science and
jeopardize its credibility. Thus, it can be of general interest a discussion