The Abraham–Minkowski controversy is a physics debate concerning electromagnetic momentum within dielectric media.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=McDonald1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Two equations were first suggested by Hermann Minkowski (1908)<ref name=Minkowski1>Template:Cite journal
- Wikisource translation: The Fundamental Equations for Electromagnetic Processes in Moving Bodies
</ref> and Max Abraham (1909)<ref name=Abraham1>Template:Cite journal
- Wikisource translation: On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies
</ref><ref name="Abraham2">Template:Cite journal
- Wikisource translation: On the Electrodynamics of Minkowski
</ref> for this momentum. They predict different values, from which the name of the controversy derives.<ref name=Pfeifer1>Template:Cite journal See also: Template:Cite journal</ref> Experimental support has been claimed for both.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Dacey1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The two points of view have different physical interpretations and thus neither need be more correct than the other.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> David J. Griffiths argues that, in the presence of matter, only the total stress–energy tensor carries unambiguous physical significance; how one apportions it between an "electromagnetic" part and a "matter" part depends on context and convenience.<ref name=Griffiths1>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Several papers have claimed to have resolved this controversy.<ref name=gordon> Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Nelson>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Mansuripur2010">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Barnett1>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The controversy is still claimed to have importance in physics beyond the Standard Model where electrodynamics gets modifications, like in the presence of axions.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>