Students’ confusions about the electric field of a uniformly moving charge

Abstract

Abstract In light of a recent direct experimental confirmation of a Lorentz contraction of Coulomb field (an electric field of a point charge in a uniform motion), we revisit some common confusions related to it, to be mindful of in teaching the subject. These include questions about the radial nature of the field, the role of the retardation effect due to a finite speed of information transfer and some issues related to a depiction of Coulomb field by means of the Lorentz contracted field lines.