if i place a charged particle in space, is its effect felt in every part of the uiverse at the very instant?

Question

If yes, how do you know?
If no, does it mean forces take time to propogate.?.... explain

Answer 1

Of course, force takes time to propagate. In fact, no effect can travel faster than the speed of light.
For e.g.
If the sun suddenly vanishes, it will take approximately 8 minutes for the earth to feel the effect and leave the orbit.

Answer 2

Any change in an electrical field propogates at the speed of light. For example, if you were to instantly create a charge out of thin air, the volume of space that it affects by its field will expand outwards in a sphere, and the radius of this sphere will spread at the speed of light.

On a more realistic level, the same thing occurs if you moved a charge that is already there. If I move a charge an inch to the left, the volume of space that is affected will expand outwards in a sphere at the speed of light. Anything at a distance too far away will not be affected yet.

This is actually the nature of electromagnetic radiation. If you take a charge and move it back and forth, the oscillations travel outward at the speed of light. This is approximately how light is created in many devices, such as LED's and flourescent bulbs.

Answer 3

electromagnetic field generated will travel at the speed of light. Nothing travels abov speed of light. Even if the sun were to be somehow destroyed or made disappeared, the earth wud still feel its gravity till 8 minutes, and there wud be no possible way to tell b4 8 minutes that the sun has disappeared. In this case it would be gravitational field insted of electromagnetic, everything else stays same.

Answer 4

Nothing can happen at a rate faster than the speed of light.

Answer 5

no.

picture a drop of water in a puddle. it's effect is felt in every part of the water, but not at the same time.

Answer 6

No. Electromagnetic forces propagate at the speed of light. (Light **is** an electromagnetic phenomenon)

Doug