Lesson plan
Dirac string
In physics, a Dirac string is a one-dimensional curve in space, conceived of by the physicist Paul Dirac, stretching between two hypothetical Dirac monopoles with opposite magnetic charges, or from one magnetic monopole out to infinity. The gauge potential cannot be defined on the Dirac string, but it is defined everywhere else. The Dirac string acts as the solenoid in the Aharonov–Bohm effect, and the requirement that the position of the Dirac string should not be observable implies the Dirac quantization rule: the product of a magnetic charge and an electric charge must always be an integer multiple of 2\pi\hbar . Also, a change of position of a Dirac string corresponds to a gauge transformation. This shows that Dirac strings are not gauge invariant, which is consistent with the fact that they are not observable. The Dirac string is the only way to incorporate magnetic monopoles into Maxwell's equations, since the magnetic flux running along the interior of the string maintains their validity. If Maxwell equations are modified to allow magnetic charges at the fundamental level then the magnetic monopoles are no longer Dirac monopoles, and do not require attached Dirac strings.
Article summary
In physics, a Dirac string is a one-dimensional curve in space, conceived of by the physicist Paul Dirac, stretching between two hypothetical Dirac monopoles with opposite magnetic charges, or from one magnetic monopole out to infinity. The gauge potential cannot be defined on the Dirac string, but it is defined everywhere else. The Dirac string acts as the solenoid in the Aharonov–Bohm effect, and the requirement that the position of the Dirac string should not be observable implies the Dirac quantization rule: the product of a magnetic charge and an electric charge must always be an integer multiple of 2\pi\hbar . Also, a change of position of a Dirac string corresponds to a gauge transformation. This shows that Dirac strings are not gauge invariant, which is consistent with the fact that they are not observable. The Dirac string is the only way to incorporate magnetic monopoles into Maxwell's equations, since the magnetic flux running along the interior of the string maintains their validity. If Maxwell equations are modified to allow magnetic charges at the fundamental level then the magnetic monopoles are no longer Dirac monopoles, and do not require attached Dirac strings.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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