Earnshaw's Theorem - Effect On Physics

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.