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Currently Playing: Quantum Field Theory 5a - Classical Electrodynamics I

In this video we look at two important results from classical electrodynamics that we will need in order to continue with our development of quantum electrodynamics. First is the problem of the electron "self-force." The pieces of a finite distribution of electric charge exert forces on one another. Electromagnetic theory predicts these forces do not cancel out for an accelerating charge, leading to a net self-force. Second, we derive the interaction Hamiltonian that describes the interaction of an electric charge and an electromagnetic field.