Illustrations of the Relativistic Conservation Law for the Center of Energy

Abstract

The relativistic conservation law involving the center of energy is reviewed and illustrated using simple examples from classical electromagnetic theory. It is emphasized that this conservation law is parallel to the conservation laws for energy, linear momentum, and energy, in arising from the generators of the Poincare group for electromagnetic theory; yet this relativistic law reflecting the continuous flow of energy goes virtually unmentioned in the text books. The illustrations here present situations both where external forces are present and are absent. The cases of a parallel plate capacitor, a flattened slip-joint solenoid, and two interacting charges are included.