The Poynting vector should be E×B/μ0 not E×H
Editor's Note: This Note revisits Poynting's analysis of electromagnetic work, energy density, and energy flux in matter. While Poynting focused on the interaction between fields and free charges, the author argues that making the role of bound charges explicit sheds light on the Abraham–Minkowski controversy over the proper definition of electromagnetic momentum.
Authors
- Kirk T. McDonald
Institutions
- Princeton University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- American Journal of Physics
- Published
- 2026-02-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0297408
- Primary Topic
- Quantum and Classical Electrodynamics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00