====== Magnetic monopoles ======

A [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_monopole|magnetic monopole ]] is a (possibly hypothetical) elementary particle in the form of an isolated magnet with only one magnetic pole (a North pole without a South pole or vice versa). In other words, a particle with a 'magnetic charge' somewhat analogous to an electron with its 'electric charge'.

In 1931 Paul Dirac showed (in ://Proc. Roy. Soc.// A123, 60) that if even one single magnetic monopole existed in the universe (and the accepted form of Maxwell's equations is valid) then all electric charges (in the universe) would //have to be quantised//.

//Note:// We now know that all //electric// charges //are// quantised, but a magnetic monopole has never been observed in any experiment to date.

Further technical info. : [[https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-ph/9708394.pdf|here]] (arXiv.org)

~~stars>3/5~~