On the missed opportunities of classical physics

Abstract

This study considers a variant of the realization of Dirac’s ideas regarding the limited number of Faraday force lines and allowance for the finite size of microparticles in physical theory. It is shown that within the framework of the classical approach, consideration of the limited number of Faraday force lines opens additional possibilities for describing and characterizing the physical field and associated phenomena. Specifically, it is shown that it becomes possible to obtain in a facile manner an expression for describing the discrete radiation of an atom, which agrees well with the empirical Balmer relation. An assumption is made about the possibility of the material existence of Faraday force lines as structural elements of the physical field. It is suggested that the natural fields of physical bodies can be considered as a set of materially existing lines of force, i.e., as a luminiferous ether.