Cause-effect relationships in Maxwell's equations: A unified approach to electromagnetic field in introductory physics

We address the problem of the sources and cause-effect relationships in electromagnetic fields at an introductory physics level. We first analyze whether a unified treatment of the electromagnetic field contributes to a better understanding of these phenomena. We propose a number of examples at the level of introductory courses that allow us to recognize the reasons why considering the electric and magnetic fields as disjoint entities leads to contradictions. Finally, we discuss their implication in introductory physics teaching.
14 pages, 5 figures