6.3 The Auxiliary Field H: / Z (Fig. 6.18 (B) ), So (J) M y M Z

6.
3 The Auxiliary Field H 279
By the same token, a nonuniform magnetization in the y direction would con-

tribute an amount −∂ M y /∂z (Fig. 6.18(b)), so
∂ Mz ∂ My
(Jb )x = − .
∂y ∂z
In general, then,
Jb = ∇ × M,
consistent, again, with the result of Sect. 6.2.1.
Incidentally, like any other steady current, Jb should obey the conservation law
5.33:
∇ · Jb = 0.
Does it? Yes, for the divergence of a curl is always zero.
6.2.3 The Magnetic Field Inside Matter

Like the electric field, the actual microscopic magnetic field inside matter fluc-
tuates wildly from point to point and instant to instant. When we speak of “the”
magnetic field in matter, we mean the macroscopic field: the average over regions
large enough to contain many atoms. (The magnetization M is “smoothed out” in
the same sense.) It is this macroscopic field that one obtains when the methods of
Sect. 6.2.1 are applied to points inside magnetized material, as you can prove for
yourself in the following problem.
Problem 6.11 In Sect, 6.2.1, we began with the potential of a perfect dipole
(Eq. 6.10), whereas in fact we are dealing with physical dipoles. Show, by the
method of Sect. 4.2.3, that we nonetheless get the correct macroscopic field.
6.3 THE AUXILIARY FIELD H
6.3.1 Ampère’s Law in Magnetized Materials

In Sect. 6.2, we found that the effect of magnetization is to establish bound cur-
rents Jb = ∇ × M within the material and Kb = M × n̂ on the surface. The field
due to magnetization of the medium is just the field produced by these bound cur-
rents. We are now ready to put everything together: the field attributable to bound
currents, plus the field due to everything else—which I shall call the free current.
The free current might flow through wires imbedded in the magnetized substance
or, if the latter is a conductor, through the material itself. In any event, the total
current can be written as
J = Jb + J f . (6.17)
There is no new physics in Eq. 6.17; it is simply a convenience to separate the
current into these two parts, because they got there by quite different means: the
280 Chapter 6 Magnetic Fields in Matter
free current is there because somebody hooked up a wire to a battery—it involves

actual transport of charge; the bound current is there because of magnetization—it
results from the conspiracy of many aligned atomic dipoles.
In view of Eqs. 6.13 and 6.17, Ampère’s law can be written
1
(∇ × B) = J = J f + Jb = J f + (∇ × M),
μ0
or, collecting together the two curls:

1
∇× B − M = Jf.
μ0
The quantity in parentheses is designated by the letter H:
1
H≡ B − M. (6.18)
μ0
In terms of H, then, Ampère’s law reads
∇ × H = Jf, (6.19)
or, in integral form,

H · dl = I fenc , (6.20)
where I fenc is the total free current passing through the Amperian loop.
H plays a role in magnetostatics analogous to D in electrostatics: Just as D
allowed us to write Gauss’s law in terms of the free charge alone, H permits us to
express Ampère’s law in terms of the free current alone—and free current is what
we control directly. Bound current, like bound charge, comes along for the ride—
the material gets magnetized, and this results in bound currents; we cannot turn
them on or off independently, as we can free currents. In applying Eq. 6.20, all
we need to worry about is the free current, which we know about because we put
it there. In particular, when symmetry permits, we can calculate H immediately
from Eq. 6.20 by the usual Ampère’s law methods. (For example, Probs. 6.7 and
6.8 can be done in one line by noting that H = 0.)
Example 6.2. A long copper rod of radius R carries a uniformly distributed

(free) current I (Fig. 6.19). Find H inside and outside the rod.
Solution
Copper is weakly diamagnetic, so the dipoles will line up opposite to the field.
This results in a bound current running antiparallel to I , within the wire, and
parallel to I along the surface (Fig. 6.20). Just how great these bound currents will

6.3 The Auxiliary Field H: / Z (Fig. 6.18 (B) ), So (J) M y M Z

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6.

3 The Auxiliary Field H 279

By the same token, a nonuniform magnetization in the y direction would con-

6.2.3 The Magnetic Field Inside Matter

6.3 THE AUXILIARY FIELD H

6.3.1 Ampère’s Law in Magnetized Materials

free current is there because somebody hooked up a wire to a battery—it involves

In terms of H, then, Ampère’s law reads

or, in integral form,

Example 6.2. A long copper rod of radius R carries a uniformly distributed

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