Adding an Einsteinian motivation to key moments in an electromagnetism course

Abstract

This paper aims to provide physics teachers with tools to help deepen the understanding of the laws of electromagnetism. The fundamental contributions of our proposal are: a) to use quotes from mythical characters in the history of science as a motivating educational resource; b) to promote the discussion of striking and fundamental topics; c) to mention diverse approaches and stimulate the search for correct answers to provocative questions. Citations from Einstein refer to principal contributions made by Newton, Maxwell and himself. Emphasis is placed on the cognitive value of differential (local, infinitesimal) analysis of fundamental concepts (field structure, causality, field relativistic transformations). The electromagnetism unity is analyzed from the point of view of special relativity. It is clarified that descriptions suggesting that the magnetic field is dispensable are contrary to the Einsteinian approach: they assume that, to describe the interaction between moving charges, there is a preferred coordinate system for each particular problem. An introductory presentation of the tensor form of Maxwell’s equations is provided.