TITLE:
Electromagnetic Theory: Some Philosophical and Mathematical Problems of the Wave and Helmholtz Equations
AUTHORS:
Vicente Aboites
KEYWORDS:
Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Physics, Electromagnetism
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Philosophy,
Vol.12 No.3,
August
30,
2022
ABSTRACT: In this article some intriguing aspects of electromagnetic theory and its relation to mathematics and reality are discussed, in particular those related to the suppositions needed to obtain the wave equations from Maxwell equations and from there Helmholtz equation. The following questions are discussed. How is that equations obtained with so many irreal or fictitious assumptions may provide a description that is in a high degree verifiable? Must everything that is possible to deduce from a theoretical mathematical model occur in the world? Does everything that takes place in the world have a mathematical description?