Effect On Physics
Configurations of classical charged particles orbiting one another are unstable due to losses of energy by electromagnetic radiation. Even without those losses, Earnshaw’s theorem means that dynamic systems of charges are unstable over long periods. For quite some time, this led to the puzzling question of why matter stays together as much evidence was found that matter was held together electromagnetically.
These questions eventually pointed the way to quantum mechanical explanations of the structure of the atom, and it turns out that the Pauli exclusion principle and the existence of discrete electron orbitals is responsible for making bulk matter rigid.
Read more about this topic: Earnshaw's Theorem
Famous quotes containing the words effect and/or physics:
“The second [of Zeno’s arguments about motion] is the one called “Achilles.” This is to the effect that the slowest as it runs will never be caught by the quickest. For the pursuer must first reach the point from which the pursued departed, so that the slower must always be some distance in front.”
—Zeno Of Elea (c. 490–430 B.C.)
“Mathematics should be mixed not only with physics but with ethics.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)