Abstract
Electrostatics, the study of the effects of stationary electric charges, is well established. Electrodynamics, the study of what happens when the charges are moving, has not been free from difficulties. The special theory of relativity is commonly supposed to be used to bridge the gap between the static and dynamic situations. However, that theory involves some notions, such as the contraction of lengths and the dilation of times, which are not well established experimentally. Moreover, it leads to some seemingly absurd results such as the notorious twin paradox.