Richard:

Actually [cfr: Feynman's Lectures on Physics] it is not the acceleration of
charge that produces photons (radiation), rather it is the rate of change of
the acceleration of charge that results in radiation.

As we all know, 'velocity' v is the rate of change of distance or space s,
expressed in terms of the differential calculus this would be written in
scaler form as (v = ds/dt) while 'acceleration' a is the rate of change of
velocity v, (e.g. a = dv/dt = d(ds/dt)/dt). In Engineering and Physics, the
next level of differential change or rate of change of acceleration is
usually termed 'jerk'. Jerk j then is j = da/dt. Jerk is not often
mentioned in elementary presentations of mechanics, but as far as I know
even with more in depth presentations there are apparently no 'standard'
terms for higher derivates of distance change than jerk. [distance,
velocity, acceleration, jerk, and then...]

Since, like their relative, the exponential functions, the sinusoidal
functions, sine, cosine, etc... "sort of" replicate each other every time
they are differentiated the higher order differentials of each such function
'look' simply like a scaled version of the other derivatives. Thus, for
sinusoidal waveforms, which are the usual functional form assumed for most
Engineering work, it is relatively easy for one to come up with a
mathematical expression which provides exact values for radiation levels in
terms of charge acceleration instead of charge jerk. Since of course if the
charge velocity is sinusoidal, so is the acceleration and so is the jerk.

Notwithstanding that there are well known formulas that relate radiation
levels to charge acceleration for sinusoidal waveforms, it is not charge
acceleration per se that causes radiation. Charge jerk causes radiation.

If one desires an exact formulation for radiation caused by charge motion
then perforce to be exact for general non-sinusoidal waveshapes such
formulae must be related to charge jerk not acceleration.

If you do not have access to Feynman' Lectures on Physics (I believe he
discusses this in Vol. 3) there was a recent more accessible discussion of
this topic by the editor of QEX in an article published in QEX several years
ago.

-- Pete k1po
-- Indialantic, FL


"Richard" wrote in message
...
Is it not true that if I were able to accelerate my cup of coffee at light
speeds at a frequency of 14Mhz my cup of coffee would radiate a 14Mhz
carrier?