In physics, in the area of electrodynamics, the Larmor formula (not to be confused with the Larmor precession from classical nuclear magnetic resonance) is used to calculate the total power radiated by a nonrelativistic point charge as it accelerates. It was first derived by J. J. Larmor in 1897, in the context of the wave theory of light.
When accelerating or decelerating, any charged particle (such as an electron) radiates away energy in the form of electromagnetic waves. For velocities that are small relative to the speed of light, the total power radiated is given by the Larmor formula:
where is the acceleration, is the charge, and is the speed of light. A relativistic generalization is given by the Liénard–Wiechert potentials.
Famous quotes containing the word formula:
“Hidden away amongst Aschenbach’s writing was a passage directly asserting that nearly all the great things that exist owe their existence to a defiant despite: it is despite grief and anguish, despite poverty, loneliness, bodily weakness, vice and passion and a thousand inhibitions, that they have come into being at all. But this was more than an observation, it was an experience, it was positively the formula of his life and his fame, the key to his work.”
—Thomas Mann (18751955)