A TOPOLOGICAL MECHANISM OF DISCRETIZATION FOR THE ELECTRIC CHARGE

We present a topological mechanism of discretization, which gives for the fundamental electric charge the value q(0) = root (h) over bar c = 5.29 x 10(-19) C, about 3.3 times the electron charge. Its basis is t he following recently proved property of the standard linear classical Maxwell equations: they can bet obtained by change of variables from an underlying topological theory, using two complex scalar fields phi and theta the level curves of which coincide with the magnetic and the electric lines,respectively. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B .V.