Hidden momentum, field momentum, and electromagnetic impulse

Babson, David; Reynolds, Stephen P.; Bjorkquist, Robin; Griffiths, David J.

doi:doi:10.1119/1.3152712

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American Journal of Physics -- September 2009 -- Volume 77, Issue 9, pp. 826

Hidden momentum, field momentum, and electromagnetic impulse

David Babson¹, Stephen P. Reynolds¹, Robin Bjorkquist², and David J. Griffiths²

¹Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
²Department of Physics, Reed College, Portland, Oregon 97202

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Electromagnetic fields carry energy, momentum, and angular momentum. The momentum density, ϵ₀(E×B), accounts (among other things) for the pressure of light. But even static fields can carry momentum, and this would appear to contradict a general theorem that the total momentum of a closed system is zero if its center of energy is at rest. In such cases, there must be some other (nonelectromagnetic) momenta that cancel the field momentum. What is the nature of this “hidden momentum” and what happens to it when the electromagnetic fields are turned off?