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Maxwell'sequations

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Inthe1860sJamesClerkMaxwellpublishedequations
thatdescribehowchargedparticlesgiverisetoelectric
andmagneticforceperunitcharge.Theforceperunit
chargeiscalleda"field".Theparticlescouldbe
stationaryormoving.These,togetherwiththeLorentz
forceequation,provideeverythingyouneedtocalculate
themotionofparticlesinelectricandmagneticfields.
Maxwell'sequationsdescribehowelectricchargesand
electriccurrentscreateelectricandmagneticfields.
Further,theydescribehowanelectricfieldcangenerate
amagneticfield,andviceversa.
Thefirstequationallowsyoutocalculatetheelectric
fieldcreatedbyacharge.Thesecondallowsyouto
calculatethemagneticfield.Theothertwodescribehow
fields'circulate'aroundtheirsources.Magneticfields
'circulate'aroundelectriccurrentsandtimevarying
electricfields,Ampre'slawwithMaxwell'scorrection,
whileelectricfields'circulate'aroundtimevarying
magneticfields,Faraday'slaw.

Electromagnetism

ElectricityMagnetism
Electrostatics
ElectricchargeCoulomb'slaw
ElectricfieldElectricflux
Gauss'slawElectricpotentialenergy
ElectricpotentialElectrostaticinduction
ElectricdipolemomentPolarizationdensity
Magnetostatics
Ampre'slawElectriccurrentMagneticfield
MagnetizationMagneticfluxBiotSavartlaw
Magneticdipolemoment
Gauss'slawformagnetism
Electrodynamics

Contents
1Maxwell'sEquationsintheclassicalforms
2Themeaningoftheequations
2.1Chargedensityandtheelectricfield
2.2Thestructureofthemagneticfield
2.3Achangingmagneticfluxandthe
electricfield
2.4Thesourceofthemagneticfield
3CovariantFormulation

Maxwell'sEquationsintheclassical
forms
Name

Differentialform

Lorentzforcelawemf
ElectromagneticinductionFaradayslaw
Lenz'slawDisplacementcurrent
Maxwell'sequationsEMfield
Electromagneticradiation
LinardWiechertpotentialMaxwelltensor
Eddycurrent
ElectricalNetwork
ElectricalconductionElectricalresistance
Capacitance
InductanceImpedanceResonantcavities
Waveguides
Covariantformulation
ElectromagnetictensorEMStressenergytensor
FourcurrentElectromagneticfourpotential

Integralform

Gauss'law:

Gauss'lawfor
magnetism
(absenceof
magnetic
monopoles):
Faraday'slawof
induction:
Ampre'slaw
(withMaxwell's
extension):
wherethefollowingtableprovidesthemeaningofeachsymbolandtheSIunitofmeasure:
Symbol

Meaning

SIUnitofMeasure

electricfield

voltpermetre

magneticfieldstrength

amperepermetre

electricdisplacementfield

coulombpersquare
metre

magneticfluxdensity
alsocalledthemagneticinduction.

tesla,or
equivalently,
weberpersquare
metre

freeelectricchargedensity,
notcountingthedipolechargesboundinamaterial.

coulombpercubic
metre

freecurrentdensity,
notcountingpolarizationormagnetizationcurrentsboundina
material.

amperepersquare
metre

differentialvectorelementofsurfaceareaA,withverysmall
magnitudeanddirectionnormaltosurfaceS

squaremeters

differentialelementofvolumeVenclosedbysurfaceS

cubicmeters

differentialvectorelementofpathlengthtangentialtocontourC
enclosingsurfacec

meters

instantaneousvelocityofthelineelement

definedabove(for

movingcircuits).

meterspersecond

and
isthedivergenceoperator(SIunit:1permetre),
isthecurloperator(SIunit:1permetre).

Themeaningoftheequations
Chargedensityandtheelectricfield
,
where isthefreeelectricchargedensity(inunitsofC/m3),notcountingthedipolechargesboundina
material,and istheelectricdisplacementfield(inunitsofC/m2).ThisequationislikeCoulomb'slaw
fornonmovingchargesinvacuum.
Thenextintegralform(bythedivergencetheorem),alsoknownasGauss'law,saysthesamething:

istheareaofadifferentialsquareontheclosedsurfaceA.Thesurfacenormalpointingoutisthe
direction,and
isthefreechargethatisinsidethesurface.
Inalinearmaterial, isdirectlyrelatedtotheelectricfield withaconstantcalledthepermittivity,
(Thisconstantisdifferentfordifferentmaterials):
.
Youcanpretendamaterialislinear,iftheelectricfieldisnotverystrong.
Thepermittivityoffreespaceiscalled

,andisusedinthisequation:

Here istheelectricfieldagain(inunitsofV/m), isthetotalchargedensity(includingthebound


charges),and (approximately8.854pF/m)isthepermittivityoffreespace.Onecanalsowrite as
.Here, isthepermittivityofthematerialwhencomparedtothepermittivityoffreespace.Thisis
calledtherelativepermittivityordielectricconstant.
SeealsoPoisson'sequation.

Thestructureofthemagneticfield

isthemagneticfluxdensity(inunitsofteslas,T),alsocalledthemagneticinduction.
Thisnextintegralformsaysthesamething:

Theareaof
istheareaofadifferentialsquareonthesurface .Thedirectionof
normalpointingoutwardsonthesurfaceof .

isthesurface

Thisequationonlyworksiftheintegralisdoneoveraclosedsurface.Thisequationsays,thatinevery
volumethesumofthemagneticfieldlinesthatgoinequalsthesumofthemagneticalfieldlinesthatgo
out.Thismeansthatthemagneticfieldlinesmustbeclosedloops.Anotherwayofsayingthisisthatthe
fieldlinescannotstartfromsomewhere.Thisisthemathematicalwayofsaying:"Therearenomagnetic
monopoles".

Achangingmagneticfluxandtheelectricfield

Thisnextintegralformsaysthesamething:

Here
Thisiswhatthesymbolsmean:
BisthemagneticfluxthatgoesthroughtheareaAthatthesecondequationdescribes,
Eistheelectricfieldthatthemagneticfluxcauses,
sisaclosedpathinwhichcurrentisinduced,forexampleawire,
vistheinstantaneousvelocityofthelineelement(formovingcircuits).
Theelectromotiveforceisequaltothevalueofthisintegral.Sometimesthissymbolisusedforthe
electromotiveforce: ,donotconfuseitwiththesymbolforpermittivitythatwasusedbefore.
ThislawislikeFaraday'slawofelectromagneticinduction.

SometextbooksshowtherighthandsignoftheintegralformwithanN(Nisthenumberofcoilsofwire
thatarearoundtheedgeofA)infrontofthefluxderivative.TheNcanbetakencareofincalculatingA
(multiplewirecoilsmeansmultiplesurfacesforthefluxtogothrough),anditisanengineeringdetailsoit's
leftouthere.
Thenegativesignisneededforconservationofenergy.Itissoimportantthatitevenhasitsownname,
Lenz'slaw.
Thisequationshowshowtheelectricandmagneticfieldshavetodowitheachother.Forexample,this
equationexplainshowelectricmotorsandelectricgeneratorswork.Inamotororgenerator,thefieldcircuit
hasafixedelectricfieldthatcausesamagneticfield.Thisiscalledfixedexcitation.Thevaryingvoltageis
measuredacrossthearmaturecircuit.Maxwell'sequationsareusedinarighthandedcoordinatesystem.To
usetheminalefthandedsystem,withouthavingtochangetheequations,thepolarityofmagneticfields
hastomadeopposite(thisisnotwrong,butitisconfusingbecauseitisnotusuallydonelikethis).

Thesourceofthemagneticfield

Histhemagneticfieldstrength(inunitsofA/m),whichyoucangetbydividingthemagneticfluxBbya
constantcalledthepermeability,(B=H),andJisthecurrentdensity,definedby:
J=qvdV
visavectorfieldcalledthedriftvelocity.Itdescribesthespeedsofthechargecarriersthathaveadensity
describedbythescalarfunctionq.
Infreespace,thepermeabilityisthepermeabilityoffreespace,0,whichisexactly4107W/Am,by
definition.Also,thepermittivityisthepermittivityoffreespace0.So,infreespace,theequationis:

Thenextintegralformsaysthesamething:

sistheedgeoftheopensurfaceA(anysurfacewiththecurvesasitsedgeisokayhere),andIencircledisthe
currentencircledbythecurves(thecurrentthroughanysurfaceisdefinedbytheequation:IthroughA=
AJdA).
Iftheelectricfluxdensitydoesnotchangeveryfast,thesecondtermontherighthandside(the
displacementflux)isverysmallandcanbeleftout,andthentheequationisthesameasAmpere'slaw.

CovariantFormulation
ThereareonlytwocovariantMaxwellEquations,becausethecovariantfieldvectorincludestheelectrical
andthemagneticalfield.
Mathematicalnote:Inthissectiontheabstractindexnotationwillbeused.
Inspecialrelativity,Maxwell'sequationsforthevacuumarewrittenintermsoffourvectorsandtensorsin
the"manifestlycovariant"form.ThishasbeendonetoshowmoreclearlythefactthatMaxwell'sequations
(invacuum)takethesameforminanyinertialcoordinatesystem.Thisisthe"manifestlycovariant"form:
,
and

Thesecondequationisthesameas:

Here isthe4current,
isthefieldstrengthtensor(writtenasa44matrix),
istheLevi
Civitasymbol,and
isthe4gradient(sothat
isthed'Alembertianoperator).
(The inthefirstequationisimplicitlysummedover,accordingtoEinsteinnotation.)Thefirsttensor
equationsaysthesamethingasthetwoinhomogeneousMaxwell'sequations:Gauss'lawandAmpere'slaw
withMaxwell'scorrection.Thesecondequationsaythesamethingastheothertwoequations,the
homogeneousequations:Faraday'slawofinductionandtheabsenceofmagneticmonopoles.
canalsobedescribedmoreexplicitlybythisequation:
(asacontravariantvector),
whereyouget fromthechargedensityandthecurrentdensity .The4currentisasolutiontothe
continuityequation:

Intermsofthe4potential(asacontravariantvector)
isthemagneticvectorpotentialintheLorentzgauge

whichleadstothe44matrixrank2tensor:

,whereistheelectricpotentialand
,Fcanbewrittenas:

Thefactthatbothelectricandmagneticfieldsarecombinedintoasingletensorshowsthefactthat,
accordingtorelativity,bothofthesearedifferentpartsofthesamethingbychangingframesofreference,
whatlookslikeanelectricfieldinoneframecanlooklikeamagneticfieldinanotherframe,andtheother
wayaround.
UsingthetensorformofMaxwell'sequations,thefirstequationimplies
(SeeElectromagneticfourpotentialfortherelationshipbetweenthed'Alembertianofthe
fourpotentialandthefourcurrent,expressedintermsoftheoldervectoroperatornotation).
Differentauthorssometimesusedifferentsignconventionsforthesetensorsand4vectors(butthisdoesnot
changewhattheymean).
and
arenotthesame:theyarerelatedbytheMinkowskimetrictensor :
.
ThischangesthesignofsomeofF'scomponentsmorecomplexmetricdualitiescanbeseeningeneral
relativity.
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