Postulates and Experimental Features in Maxwell's Electromagnetic Equations

Abstract

The Maxwell integral equations expressing Ampere's and Faraday's laws are shown to be affected by heavy physical approximations. The usual deduction from them, moreover, of the corresponding set of differential Maxwell equations is based, in general, on a wrong use of the Stokes theorem. The equivalence, therefore, between the two sets of equations must be reconsidered. Interesting conclusions may be drawn from the comparison between the experimental set-ups of the Faraday's law and of the Aharonov-Bohm effect.