The Role of Models and Analogies in the Electromagnetic Theory: A Historical Case Study |
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| Authors: | Cibelle Celestino Silva |
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| Institution: | 1. Instituto de Física de S?o Carlos, Universidade de S?o Paulo, Av. Trabalhador S?o Carlense, 400, S?o Carlos, SP, 13565-590, Brazil
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| Abstract: | Despite its great importance, many students and even their teachers still cannot recognize the relevance of models to build
up physical knowledge and are unable to develop qualitative explanations for mathematical expressions that exist within physics.
Thus, it is not a surprise that analogies play an important role in science education, since students’ construction of mental
models of abstract phenomena need to be rooted in some existing or previous experience in order to interpret more complex
ideas. The present article focuses on some of these issues by analyzing some specific instances of the historical development
of the electromagnetic theory. Using the mental models framework, the importance of mechanical analogies to understand some
of the electromagnetic concepts are emphasized. |
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| Keywords: | analogies electricity electromagnetic theory fields history of science magnetism Maxwell mental models models |
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