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I think they shouldn't since they are relatively at rest to each other. The actual answer to this question (it was in an exam I took) is that there will actually be a magnetic force acting on both of them.

Here's my reasoning: Since both the charges are unaccelerated, I can view them from an inertial frame which is at rest relatively to both the charges. Now, these two charges would appear to be at rest and as such they should only affect each other by electrostatic force. What is wrong in my reasoning?

Thank you

Anindya Mahajan
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Well there will be a magnetic force with respect to ground frame given by $F=q\,v\,B\sin(\theta)$. The field $B$ is due to the other charge. In my opinion nothing is wrong with your reasoning. The magnetic force in the ground frame will manifest as the electrostatic force due to $$\text{Lorentz force} =q\,E+q\,v\,B\sin(\theta)$$ in your frame.

BLAZE
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samarth srivastava
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The answer to this question, in fact, requires knowledge of special relativity!

Imagine you have a wire with a current going through it and the electrons are going from left to right. Now let's place a negative (electron) charge underneath this wire. your point of view is from this negative charge.

The negative charge is moving at the same velocity as the electrons in the wire. Notice that when you move at the same velocity as the electrons, you will feel like the electrons are stationary. However, the protons in the wire are moving from the left to right (backward). These protons will undergo a length contraction (special theory of relativity). As a result, there will be more protons than electrons per unit length. The wire is now positively charged. You (the negatively charged particle) is now attracted to the wire via a magnetic force.

What was wrong with your reasoning? You didn't factor in length contraction of the positive particles, otherwise, you would've got it!

masterwarrior123
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If you look at it from stationary reference frame, the electrostatic force between the charges will actualy increase, but so will the magnetic force (according to stationary observer). It will change in such a way that the repulsive force gets just a bit smaller, which is consistent with special relativity which predicts that moving objects appear slower to stationary observer. But if we move the reference frame with the moving charges, those charges would only see the electrostatic force, but that repulsion would be just a bit greater because of no time dilation, since you're moving with the speed of charges.In different reference frames the same force (electromagnetism) can appear as electrostatic, magnetic or electromagnetic force.

MaDrung
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