- This approach aims to address the issue of self-interaction in classical electrodynamics, where a charged particle would exert a force on itself, leading to infinities in calculations.
Key Features:
- The theory implies an instantaneous action at a distance between the source and the absorber, which is a departure from standard field theories.
- The absorber theory is time-symmetric, meaning it treats the future and past equally, which is a departure from the time-asymmetric nature of observed phenomena.
- By incorporating the absorber, the theory eliminates the problem of self-interaction and the associated infinities.
- The absorber, representing the future, influences the present by sending a wave back to the source.
Relationship to Other Concepts:
- The absorber theory has some connections to Mach's principle, which suggests that inertia is determined by the distribution of matter in the universe.
- While the absorber theory is a classical theory, it has influenced the development of QED, particularly in the way it handles self-interactions.
- The concept of all electrons being manifestations of a single electron moving backward and forward in time is related to the absorber theory.
Why it's not widely accepted:
- The theory relies on the existence of a "perfect absorber," which is not directly observable. While experiments have placed constraints on the properties of the absorber, it remains a theoretical construct.
- While the theory can solve some problems, it can be difficult to calculate with, and standard renormalization techniques in QED are often preferred for practical calculations.
- The time-symmetric nature of the absorber theory is at odds with the observed time-asymmetry in the universe.
In essence, the Wheeler-Feynman absorber theory is a thought-provoking attempt to understand the fundamental nature of electromagnetism and its implications for the universe, even though it has not become a mainstream theory
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