Why is the divergence of the magnetic field equal to zero?

kevinatilusa

According to Gauss's law, the divergence should be proportional to the density of magnetic "charge". If (as is believed) there is no such thing as a magnetic monopole, than all the positive and negatives (or "North Magnets" and "South Magnets", if you want) cancel each other out. Is that the sort of "why" you were looking for? Aug 22 04, 4:32 AM

peasypod

yes Kevin, a yay for you. Gauss' Law applied to the "sources" of the magnetic field, and since the divergence is zero, this means that there are no sources or sinks of the magnetic field. Of course you can follow the "why" as far as you like......but I think that is about far enough. On the magnetic monopoles front, I guess the jury is still out. A good friend of mine once said, "The esteemed physicist Fred Hoyle think's they exist so they probably don't." Aug 22 04, 5:13 AM

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