  Abraham forces are defined as electromagnetic forces on neutral objects
caused by the presence of slow, time-dependent, homogeneous electromagnetic
fields.
  Only a few experimental observations have been reported, and different
formulations exist in literature. The ``standard" Abraham force is usually
associated with the full derivative $\partial_t(\mathbf{E} \times \mathbf{B})$
of homogeneous electric and magnetic fields. We show that this full derivative
is wrong in general, since the classical Maxwell theory contains subtle
induced-dipole forces that contribute to the Abraham force, which thus breaks
the dual symmetry between electric and magnetic components. We investigate
other manifestations of Abraham forces and torques and estimate orders of
magnitude, e.g related to chiral, moving or rotating matter. Some of them are
also severely violating dual symmetry. We provide a quantum description of the
Abraham force. Apart from being more elegant and less technical, this quantum
treatment paves the way for future studies of Abraham forces on complex
molecules involving spin and spin-orbit coupling, and also facilitates the
inclusion of the quantum vacuum.
