Ingeniare. Revista chilena de ingeniería, vol. 16 N^o 1, 2008, pp. 4-5

EDITORIAL

MODERN ELECTROMAGNETIC ENGINEERING

Electromagnetic engineering is a branch of applied physics which is developing so fast that in the near future electromagnetic engineers will be indispensable in an important emerging area, that which is now known as Wave Structure Matter (WSM).

The main reason for this is the penetration capacity of electromagnetic technology where specialized engineers will be needed for the design of systems related to WSM technology. Examples of such systems with very high frequencies are wireless communication networks, computer chips, optical networks, antennae and at low frequencies, energy storage devices and systems related to a Metric Engineering Approach (MEA) with electromagnetic fields.

The difficulty and complexity of the laws that govern the design of systems related with electromagnetic engineering indicate that the theory and analysis of electromagnetism is a continually-evolving science and an area of active research that has attracted the interest of mathematicians, computer scientists and engineers. However, a good understanding of modern electromagnetic analysis requires a deep knowledge of physics, a capacity for mathematical analysis and knowledge of the numerical algorithms used in computing. Even though some universities emphasize the computational analysis of electromagnetism, we must be aware that a student of electromagnetic engineering should understand the concepts of physics involved and develop intuition and understanding of the problems to be solved. These abilities are as important in design as they are in analysis. Therefore, it is important to train postgraduate students in modern methods of electromagnetic analysis and new theories such as: metamaterials, chiral electrodynamism and electrogravity. For example, chiral electromagnetic analysis ought to include, amongst other things, the concepts of circular-polarized waves, superficial waves, creeping waves, lateral waves, guided modes, evanescent modes, radiant modes and leaky modes. All of this in high-frequency physics where the wave-particle duality is emerging as a new physical focus of the electromagnetic interactions of WSM.

Recently, advances have been made in WSM, for example in industrial micro-circuits and electrodynamics where there are currents in closed loop of real electron waves, since the electron is not a point particle but rather a wave structure. Here the majority of applications, such as chiral nanotubes and metamaterial substrates for use in microcircuits, require the understanding of material in "very small dimensions" where an approximation of the particle fails and WSM makes it necessary to understand what happens when different substrates interact at the chemical, biological and physical level. A the microstructural level, companies such as Intel are beginning to use biology and genetics in the production techniques for organic devices, using living elements to synthesize chiral filaments of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) where the propagating waves are equivalent to WSM. Moreover, at the microscopic level, in order to adequately understand the nature of the interaction between a very high frequency electromagnetic field and the material, we should consider the chiral electrodynamic related to the relativity. A pertinent example is that of the design of new GPS (Global Positioning Systems) with distinct circular polarization that are more accurate with the aim of improving the current systems.

A student of electromagnetism should be aware of the metamorphosis that occurs in physics when we work in different wavelengths or frequencies. When wavelength is very long, we find ourselves in the electrostatic and magnostatic domain, where circuit theory applies. An example from this area is that of energy storage devices that range from ordinary batteries to sophisticated hybrid devices used for storing energy. To give a concrete example, in modern automobiles, these elements are made from chemicals with different bond energies. If we know the way in which the elements of the mixture bond, batteries can be designed for specific purposes with calculations based on WSM. In the future, WSM will require new techniques for application, calculation and design from electromagnetic engineering. Furthermore, the majority of the most costly alloys that are widely used in industrial applications, such as steel, bronze and hard aluminium are simple mixtures of basic elements. They serve their purposes thanks to the bonds between the alloys that have wave structure.

Connected to all of this is MEA, an area that will be extremely significant during the next few decades. This methodology for treating metric changes has arisen through years of study of electrogravitational theories. This focus is isomorphic with the general representation of vacuums, treating them as polarizable media with internal metric changes in terms of the permittivity and permeability considered to be constant in the vacuum. This focus is the basis for obtaining energy from vacuum (magnetic motors). Here, Maxwell’s equations in curved space are modelled as a polarizable medium of the variable refraction index in flat space where the curvature of a ray of light and the reduction in the speed of life in a gravitational potential are represented by an increase in the refractive index. With this method it is possible to study Electromagnetic Field Propulsion Systems, where the propagation of photons has a momentum produced by the crossed electric and magnetic fields (Poynting’s vector).

These technical challenges enable us to see that for this field it is important to attract qualified and creative people, to recruit the best students and stimulate their creativity. From the perspective of electromagnetic engineering teaching, young people can generate good ideas, stretch boundaries, create new areas for study and cultivate independent thought, stimulated by teachers that challenge them to think.

Given that electromagnetic analysis has been used as an important tool in prediction in many areas of electric engineering, it will continue to be one of the most important tools in new technologies. The long and rich history of electromagnetism makes the question of how to train our postgraduate students in this area challenging. All the knowledge required cannot be conveyed during the short period of university education. Thus, it is fundamental to provide the most essential knowledge; learning about everything related to electromagnetic technology would take a whole life-time of learning. Moreover, it is important to train these students to be thinkers, rather than mechanically acquiring knowledge, and thus contribute significantly to our society.

It is for these reasons, that in this issue, we present Dr. Héctor Silva-Torres’s contribution to the area of modern electromagnetism through electrodynamics linked to quantum mechanics and gravity. This work includes fundamental aspects of WSM, to unify the electromagnetism and gravity through electrodynamics chiral showing rigorously in this study, that the Dirac’s quantum mechanics is a logical consequence of this unification.