- #1
- 1,780
- 24
Is there a straightforward way to determine a given four-vector in MKS units? Our system of units is MKS but I need to use some results from special relativity and of course all the sources use Gaussian units. Jackson has a simple chart in his appendix on converting between the two systems, but it seems to require knowledge of both a left hand and right hand side of the equation. That is,
[tex]\nabla\cdot\mathbf{E} = 4\pi\rho \quad \rightarrow \quad \nabla\cdot\mathbf{E} = \frac{\rho}{\epsilon_0} [/tex]
The proper conversion here requires you to change units on both sides of the equation to get the correct MKS version. So when I see on Wikipedia and Weisstein's sites that the four-current and four-potential in MKS are:
[tex] A^\alpha = \left(\frac{\Phi}{c}, \ \mathbf{A}\right) [/tex]
[tex] J^\alpha = \left(\frac{\rho}{\epsilon_0}, \ \mu_0 \mathbf{J}\right) [/tex]
I can't figure out how you would derive the conversion.
[tex]\nabla\cdot\mathbf{E} = 4\pi\rho \quad \rightarrow \quad \nabla\cdot\mathbf{E} = \frac{\rho}{\epsilon_0} [/tex]
The proper conversion here requires you to change units on both sides of the equation to get the correct MKS version. So when I see on Wikipedia and Weisstein's sites that the four-current and four-potential in MKS are:
[tex] A^\alpha = \left(\frac{\Phi}{c}, \ \mathbf{A}\right) [/tex]
[tex] J^\alpha = \left(\frac{\rho}{\epsilon_0}, \ \mu_0 \mathbf{J}\right) [/tex]
I can't figure out how you would derive the conversion.