Re: Energy Storage in Magnetic fields
Meat Truck ( (no email) )
Tue, 6 Oct 1998 06:58:01 -0500
In my initial post I may have played the position of the devils advocate. I
am sure someone on the list should protest this conception that I conveyed.
Oftentimes in the reckoning of things a mistruth can be expressed as a
convincing argument. Maybe my logic was as convoluted as the following well
observed mathematical conundrum.
As the story goes 3 people go to rent rooms. The rooms go for 10
apiece. The renter sends a dispatcher back to refund the discount of 3
rentals which is obtained at $25 instead of $30. So the middle man looks at
the $5 and decides to pocket $2 for himself. He then returns $1 to each of
the renters. Each of the renters are under the perception that they paid $9
which adds to $27 and the middleman knows that the $2 in his pocket is just
as real. But how real are the facts in context that these amounts add to 29
instead of the original 30?
In the same kind of confusion magnetic and electric fields are often
analogously compared to kinetic and potential energies. The idea of a
magnetic field containing potential energy initially seems foreign at first
glance to one accustomed to these comparisons. So I must admit that my
argument may contain flaws. But I would always appreciate a more correct
understanding of my previous argument which I deleted so as to not clog up
mailboxes and archives. I too have been guilty of this. If we all paid more
attention to our entrees it would be good for posterity.
Harvey D. Norris mnorris@akron.infi.net