Astronomy and Astrophysics - An Introductory Survey, A lecture series by Prof. G. Srinivasan - Lecture 16 - Radiation from accelerated charges

Electromagnetic radiation is the basis of one of our primary physical senses - that of vision. 'Sensing' in Astronomy, however, is entirely dependent on electromagnetic radiation (except for the new window of gravitational radiation that has opened up in recent years) as we study the distant objects from the radiation emitted (or reflected) across the electromagnetic spectrum. ABOUT THE LECTURE After Newton, the greatest discovery in physics was the discovery by Maxwell of the differential equations satisfied by the electric and magnetic fields. These equations predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves, as well as the absoluteness of the speed of light. Indeed, the existence of EM waves was a direct consequence of the constancy of the speed of light. In this lecture, I shall describe radiation from accelerated charges in general, and highlight the essential features of radiation under different astrophysical situations. Like Quantum Statistics and Relativity, this lecture is crucial for understanding the later lectures. After all, all the information we derive about celestial bodies is by analyzing the radiation we receive. ABOUT THE LECTURE SERIES This lecture series is organized by the Astronomical Society of India as a part of its Golden Jubilee celebrations. Aimed at undergraduate and graduate students, this series of talks by renowned astrophysicist and teacher, Prof G. Srinivasan, starts from the first principles of Physics and builds up the subject rigorously to the present state of our understanding. Series website: https://astron-soc.in/srini-ana The website hosts a question bank as well as a list of suggested reading for each lecture (prepared by Dr. Sushan Konar) ABOUT THE SPEAKER Professor G. Srinivasan In a research career spanning more than five decades, his interests have spanned many aspects of physics and astrophysics. He is a passionate teacher and has authored two outstanding Astronomy texts titled ‘What Are The Stars?’ and ‘Can Stars Find Peace?’ He is a Past President of the Astronomical Society of India, and a Past President of the Division on Space and High Energy Astrophysics of the International Astronomical Union. In his distinguished career he has worked at the University of Chicago, USA; the IBM Research Laboratory in Zurich, Switzerland; Chalmers University of Technology, Goteborg, Sweden; the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, England and the Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru Follow us on social media at https://twitter.com/asipoec https://www.facebook.com/asi.poec/ This series is also supported by the IAU OAE Centre in India https://twitter.com/astro4edu_India https://www.facebook.com/OAE-Center-India-105698322030674