There is some evidence to be found in the literature that modern quantum electrodynamics is inconsistent with classical electromagnetism. The difficulty has mainly evolved from the work of Richard Feynman but, for electrical engineers, it is perhaps more imagined than real. Provided we exclude the esoteric behaviours, both of electrons and photons within atoms embedded in materials, and of exotic particles in the rarefied world of high-energy physics, cumulative electrodynamics provides a smooth link between classical electromagnetism and a version of electromagnetism sympathetic to developments in quantum electrodynamics. In the formulation of this modern electromagnetism, it is likely to be most instructive to adjudge the topic as the study of coherent electron wave functions whose interactions are essentially continuous throughout space.
