Energy, Forces, Fields and the Lorentz Force Formula

Abstract

We apply a simple decomposition to the energy of a moving particle. Based on this decomposition, we identify the potential and kinetic energies, then use them to give general definitions of momentum and the various kinds of forces exerted on the particle by fields, followed by the generalization of Newton's second law to accomodate these generally defined forces. We show that our generalization implies the Lorentz force law as well as Lagrange's equation, along with the usually accepted Lagrangian and the associated velocity dependent potential of a moving charged particle.