Skip to content
quotesby

Actually the situation is even more complicated, since a separate tentacle picture is needed for each speed of motion of the electron, the speed being measured relative to the suspended magnet or other object on which the moving electron is to act. ...When the electron is at rest, the tentacles stick out equally in all directions. But an electron which is at rest relative to one magnet may be in motion relative to another, and to discuss the action of the electron on this second magnet we must picture it as having a belt of tentacles round its waist. This shows that we must have a different picture for every speed of relative motion, so that the total number of pictures is infinite, and we cannot form the picture we need unless we know the speed of the electron relative to the object it is about to meet.

James Jeans#12

MotionInfinitySpeed

About this quote

What does it mean?
Electron models change with relative speed requiring infinite pictures. You need the speed to pick one.
In plain terms
Different speeds need different electron pictures so there are infinite possibilities.
What can you take from it?
Context like relative speed matters for accurate models.

Where it applies

  • physics study
  • relativity
  • complexity

Putting it to work

  • check relative speed
  • expect infinite variables

Questions to consider

  • How many pictures do you need for one object?
  • When does speed change everything?

Another view

It shows limits of pictorial thinking in physics.

More from James Jeans

  1. It would, however, be wrong to think of an electron as a bullet-like structure with tentacles sticking out from its surface. We can calculate the mass of the b…

    Permalink to quote #11
  2. ...experimental physics was particularly interested in the processes taking place inside the atom, and in this field the classical mechanics was failing conspi…

    Permalink to quote #13
  3. if a shower of electrons is shot on to a zinc sulphide screen, a number of flashes are produced - one for each electron - and we may picture the electrons as b…

    Permalink to quote #10

Related quotes

  1. 'Now! Dasher, now! Dancer, now! Prancer, and Vixen, 'On! Comet, on! Cupid, on! Dunder and Blixem; 'To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall! 'Now dash a…

    Clement Clarke MooreClement Clarke Moore quote #2
  2. I let my feet spend as little time on the ground as possible. From the air, fast down, and from the ground, fast up.

    Jesse OwensJesse Owens quote #27
  3. But what about speed?

    Danny DevitoDanny Devito quote #1