Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-optics-and-electrodynamics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2013/paper-1/1/c/ii/solution
Past exam of the optics and electrodynamics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 Paper 1 1 c ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
For a long solenoid at rest, , where n is turns per unit axial length and I is the current around a turn. Under a boost along its axis, longitudinal contraction gives . The circumference of a turn is transverse to the boost and does not contract; time dilation reduces its charge-circulation rate, measured relative to the moving material of that turn, to . HenceEquivalently, the transverse volume-current density of an ideal continuous current sheet is unchanged by an axial boost. The increase in turn density must not be included while leaving the per-turn current unchanged. End effects and the microscopic winding geometry are outside this ideal-solenoid argument.
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