EEE 314: Electromagnetic Fields and Waves I (3 Units)

Course outline
1. Overview of vector analysis.
2. Review of electromagnetics laws: Coulomb’s law, Gauss’ law, Ampere’s and Faraday’s laws
etc.
3. Electrostatics: Electric potential, Electrostatic fields due to distribution of charges, Energy
stored in Electric field.
4. Magneto-statics: magnetic fields in and around current carrying conductors of different shapes,
magnetic vector potential.
5. Electromagnetic fields: Time varying magnetic and electric fields, conduction and displacement
current in magnetic vector potential.

Lecture note #2 - Review of Electromagnetism Laws

INTRODUCTION
The fundamental electric charge in nature is the charge of the electron. The fact that an electric
charge exists was known to the ancient Greeks who knew that rubbing a piece of amber with fur
or silk caused an attraction of particles such as feathers, straw, or lint. Electron is the Greek name
for amber. The unit of charge is called a coulomb. The charge of an electron equals e = -1.6019 x
10-19C. It took many years before it was understood what actually happened in this type of
experiment or the amount of electric charge associated with the electron was established, but the
effects of the charge were all around to be observed. For a body to contain free charge, there must
be a way of removing electrons from one body and imparting them to another. The body from
which electrons are removed becomes positively charged (because of excess protons) while the
other body becomes negatively charged (excess electrons). Thus, one can argue that
electromagnetics is simply based on the following:
1. A charge exerts force on other charge.
2. A charge in motion exerts a force on another charge in motion.
3. All material is made up of charged particles.

Point charge: A charge that occupies a volume in space may be considered to be a point charge
for analysis purposes if this volume is small compared to the surrounding dimensions. The charges
of electrons or protons are often assumed to be point charges.
A charge density defines a distributed charge over a body. There are three types of charge densities:
Line charge density: A charge distributed in a linear fashion such as along a very thin wire is
given in charge per unit length. A charge density of 1 C/m means that one coulomb of charge is
distributed per each meter length of the device.
Surface charge density: A charge distributed over a given surface such as the surface of a sphere
or a sheet of paper. A surface charge density of 1 C/m2 means that one coulomb of charge is
distributed over each square meter of the surface.
Volume charge density: A charge distributed over a volume such as the volume of a cloud. A
volume charge density of 1 C/m3 means that one coulomb of charge is distributed over a one meter
cube of volume
Coulomb’s Law and the Electric Field
Coulomb's law is an experimental law obtained by Charles Augustin de Coulomb that defines
quantitatively the force between two charges. Coulomb studied the electric force on charged
particles. As depicted in Fig. 1, given two discrete particles carrying charge Q1 and Q2, the force
experienced by Q2 due to Q1 is along the line joining Q1 and Q2. The force is proportional to the
charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the charges. A
proportionality constant is needed to obtain Coulomb’s law which gives the equation of the force
on Q2 due to Q1:
𝑸 𝑸
̂𝟏𝟐 𝟏 𝟐𝟐
F12=𝒂 2.1
𝟒𝝅𝝐 𝑹 𝟎 𝟏𝟐

where aˆ12 is a unit vector pointing from Q1 to Q2, R12 is the distance between the charges, and
1/4πǫ0 is the proportionality constant. The constant ε0 is known as the permittivity of free space

F12 = Q2 E

+
Q1

Q2

Figure 1: The force experienced by charge Q2 due to charge Q1 is along the line which pass through
both charges. The direction of the force is dictated by the signs of the charges. Electric field is
assumed to point radially away from positive charges as is indicated by the lines pointing away
from Q1 (which is assumed here to be positive). The permittivity of free space equals
approximately 8.854 × 10−12 F/m. Charge is expressed in units of Coulombs (C) and can be either
negative or positive. When the two charges have like signs, the force will be repulsive: F12 will be
parallel to aˆ12. When the charges are of opposite sign, the force will be attractive so that F12 will
be anti-parallel to aˆ12.

There is a shortcoming with (2.1) in that it implies action at a distance. It appears from this equation
that the force F12 is established instantly. From this equation one could assume that a change in the
distance R12 results in an instantaneous change in the force F12, but this is not the case. A finite
amount of time is required to communicate the change in location of one charge to the other charge
(similarly, it takes a finite amount of time to communicate a change in the quantity of one charge
to the other charge). To overcome this shortcoming it is convenient to employ the concept of fields.
Instead of Q1 producing a force directly on Q2, Q1 is said to produce a field. This field then produces
a force on Q2. The field produced by Q1 is independent of Q2—it exists whether or not Q2 is there
to experience it.
In the static case, the field approach does not appear to have any advantage over the direct use
of Coulomb’s law. This is because for static charges Coulomb’s law is correct. Fields must be
time-varying for the distinction to arise. Nevertheless, to be consistent with the time-varying case,
fields are used in the static case as well. The electric field produced by the point charge Q1 is
𝑸
̂𝒓 𝟏 𝟐
E1=𝒂 (2.2)
𝟒𝝅𝝐 𝒓 𝟎

where aˆr is a unit vector which points radially away from the charge and r is the distance from the
charge. The electric field has units of volts per meter (V/m).
To find the force on Q2, one merely takes the charge times the electric field: F12 = Q2E1. In
general, the force on any charge Q is the product of the charge and the electric field at which the
charge is present, i.e., F = QE.
In an attempt to visualize the electric field, it is customary to draw the electric field intensity in
terms of field lines. These are imaginary lines that show the direction of force on an infinitesimal
positive point charge if it were placed in the field. The electric field is everywhere tangential to
field lines. Field lines can also be called force lines.

ELECTRIC FLUX DENSITY

All material is made up of charged particles. The material may be neutral overall because it has as
many positive charges as negative charges. Nevertheless, there are various ways in which the
positive and negative charges may shift slightly within the material, perhaps under the influence
of an electric field. The resulting charge separation will have an effect on the overall electric field.
Because of this it is often convenient to introduce a new field known as the electric flux density,
D, which has units of Coulombs per square meter (C/m2).1 Essentially the D field ignores the local
effects of charge which is bound in a material.
In free space, the electric field and the electric flux density are related by

D = Q0E. (2.3)

Gauss’s law is a consequence of and states that integrating D over a closed surface yields the
enclosed free charge

∮𝑆 𝐷. 𝑑𝑠= Qenc (2.4)

where S is the closed surface, ds is an incremental surface element whose normal is directed
radially outward, and Qenc is the enclosed charge. As an example, consider the electric field given
in (2.2). Taking S to be a spherical surface with the charge at the center, it is simple to perform the
integral in (2.4):

. (2.5)
The result is actually independent of the surface chosen (provided it encloses the charge), but the
integral is especially easy to perform for a spherical surface.
We want the integral in (2.4) always to equal the enclosed charge as it does in free space. However,
things are more complicated when material is present. Consider, as shown in Fig. 2, two large
parallel plates which carry uniformly distributed charge of equal magnitude but opposite sign. The
dashed line represents an integration surface S which is assumed to be sufficiently far from the
edges of the plate so that the field is uniform over the top of S. This field is identified as E0. The
fields are zero outside of the plates and are tangential to the sides of S within the plates.
Therefore the only contribution to the integral would be from the top of S. The result of the integral
∮𝑺 𝝐𝟎 E · ds is the negative charge enclosed by the surface (i.e., the negative charge on the bottom

plate which falls within S).

Now consider the same plates, carrying the same charge, but with a material present between the
plates. Assume this material is “polarizable” such that the positive and negative charges can shift
slightly. The charges are not completely free to move—they are bound charges. The positive
charges will be repelled by the top plate and attracted to the bottom plate. Conversely, the negative
charges will be repelled by the bottom plate and attracted to the top plate. This scenario is depicted
in Fig. 3.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

ε0 E0
D = ε0 E0

− − − − − − − − − − − − − − − − − − −

Figure 2: Charged parallel plates in free space. The dashed line represents the integration surface
S.
 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
− − − − − − − − −−
+ + + + + bound
... ...
− − − − −
Em surface E0
+ + + + + charge
− − − − −

+ + + +
+ + + ++ +

− − − − − − − − − − − − − − − − − − −

Figure 3: Charged parallel plates with a polarizable material present between the plates. The
elongated objects represent molecules whose charge orientation serves to produce a net bound
negative charge layer at the top plate and a bound positive charge layer at the bottom plate. In the
interior, the positive and negative bound charges cancel each other. It is only at the surface of the
material where one must account for the bound charge. Thus, the molecules are not drawn
throughout the figure. Instead, as shown toward the right side of the figure, merely the bound
charge layer is shown. The free charge on the plates creates the electric field E0. The bound charge
creates the electric field Em which opposes E0 and hence diminishes the total electric field.
The dashed line again represents the integration surface S.

STATIC ELECTRIC FIELDS

With the material present the electric field due to the charge on the plates is still E0, i.e., the same
field as existed in Fig. 2. However, there is another field present due to the displacement of the
bound charge in the polarizable material between the plates. The polarized material effectively acts
to establish a layer of positive charge adjacent to the bottom plate and a layer of negative charge
adjacent to the top plate. The field due to these layers of charge is also uniform but it is in the
opposite direction of the field caused by the “free charge” on the plates. The field due to bound
charge is labeled Em in Fig. 3. The total field is the sum of the fields due to the bound and free
charges, i.e., E = E0 + Em. Because E0 and Em are anti-parallel, the magnitude of the total electric
field E will be less than E0.
Since the material is neutral, we would like the integral of the electric flux over the surface S to
yield just the enclosed charge on the bottom plate—not the bound charge due to the material. In
some sense this implies that the integration surface cannot separate the positive and negative bound
charge of any single molecule. Each molecule is either entirely inside or outside the integration
surface. Since each molecule is neutral, the only contribution to the integral will be from the free
charge on the plate.
With the material present, the integral of ∮𝑺 𝝐𝟎 E · ds yields too little charge. This is because, as
stated above, the total electric field E is less than it would be if only free space were present. To
correct for the reduced field and to obtain the desired result, the electric flux density is redefined
so that it accounts for the presence of the material. The more general expression for the electric
flux density is
D = ϵrϵ0E = ǫE (2.6)
where ǫr is the relative permittivity and ǫ is called simply the permittivity. By accounting for the
permittivity of a material, Gauss’s law is always satisfied.
In (2.6), D and E are related by a scalar constant. This implies that the D and E fields are related
by a simple proportionality constant for all frequencies, all orientations, and all field strengths.
Unfortunately the real world is not so simple. Clearly if the electric field is strong enough, it would
be possible to tear apart the bound positive and negative charges. Since charges have some mass,
they do not react the same way at all frequencies. Additionally, many materials may have some
structure, such as crystals, where the response in one direction is not the same in other directions.
Nevertheless, Gauss’s law is the law and thus always holds. When things get more complicated
one must abandon a simple scalar for the permittivity and use an appropriate form to ensure
Gauss’s law is satisfied. So, for example, it may be necessary to use a tensor for permittivity that
is directionally dependent. However, with the exception of frequency-dependent behavior (i.e.,
dispersive materials), we will not be pursuing those complications. A scalar permittivity will
suffice.
Static Electric Fields
Ignoring possible nonlinear behavior of material, superposition holds for electromagnetic fields.
Therefore we can think of any distribution of charges as a collection of point charges. We can get
the total field by summing the contributions from all the charges (and this summing will have to
be in the form of an integration if the charge is continuously distributed).
Note from (2.2) that the field associated with a point charge merely points radially away from the
charge. There is no “swirling” of the field. If we have more than a single charge, the total field
may bend, but it will not swirl. Imagine a tiny wheel with positive charge distributed around its
circumference. The wheel hub of the wheel is held at a fixed location but the wheel is free to spin
about its hub. For static electric fields, no matter where we put this wheel, there would be no net
force on the wheel to cause it to spin. There may be a net force pushing the entire wheel in a
particular direction (a translational force), but the forces which are pushing the wheel to spin in the
clockwise direction are balanced by the forces pushing the wheel to spin in the counterclockwise
direction.
Another property of electrostatic fields is that the electric flux density only begins or terminates
on free charge. If there is no charge present, the lines of flux continue.
The lack of swirl in the electric field and the source of electric flux density are fairly simple
concepts. However, to be able to analyze the fields properly, one needs a mathematical statement
of these concepts. The appropriate statements are

∇×E=0 (2.7)

and
 ∇ · D = ρv (2.8)

where ∇ is the del or nabla operator and ρv is the electric charge density (with units of C/m3).
Equation (2.7) is the curl of the electric field and (2.8) is the divergence of the electric flux density.
These two equations are discussed further in the following section.

GRADIENT, DIVERGENCE, AND CURL

The del operator is independent of the coordinate system used—naturally the behavior of the fields
should not depend on the coordinate system used to describe the field. Nevertheless, the del
operator can be expressed in different coordinates systems. In Cartesian coordinates del is

(2.9)
where the symbol ≡ means “defined as.”

Del acting on a scalar field produces the gradient of the field. Assuming f is a some scalar field,
∇f produces the vector field given by

. (2.10)
The gradient of f points in the direction of greatest change and is proportional to the rate of change.
Assume we wish to find the amount of change in f for a small movement dx in the x direction. This
can be obtained via ∇f · aˆxdx, to wit

(rate of change in x direction) × (movement in x direction). (2.11)

This can be generalized for movement in an arbitrary direction. Letting an incremental small length
be given by
dℓ = aˆxdx + aˆydy + aˆzdz, (2.12)
GRADIENT, DIVERGENCE, AND CURL
Dy(x,y+∆y/2)

Dx(x−∆x/2,y) Dx(x+∆x/2,y)

y
Dy(x,y−∆y/2)

Figure 4: Discrete approximation to the divergence taken in the xy-plane.

the change in the field realized by moving an amount dℓ is

(2.13)
Returning to (2.8), when the del operator is dotted with a vector field, one obtains the divergence
of that field. Divergence can be thought of as a measure of “source” or “sink” strength of the field
at a given point. The divergence of a vector field is a scalar field given by

. (2.14)
Let us consider a finite-difference approximation of this divergence in the xy-plane as shown in
Fig. 4. Here the divergence is measured over a small box where the field is assumed to be constant
over each edge of the box. The derivatives can be approximated by central differences:

where this is exact as ∆x and ∆y go to zero. Letting ∆x = ∆y = δ, (2.15) can be written

Inspection of (2.16) reveals that the divergence is essentially a sum of the field over the faces with
the appropriate sign changes. Positive signs are used if the field is assumed to point out of the box
and negative signs are used when the field is assumed to point into the box. If the sum of these
values is positive, that implies there is more flux out of the box than into it. Conversely, if the sum
is negative, that means more flux is flowing into the box than out. If the sum is zero, there must
Ex(x,y+∆y/2)

Ey(x−∆x/2,y) Ey(x+∆x/2,y)
( x, y)

y
Ex(x,y−∆y/2)

Figure 5: Discrete approximation to the curl taken in the xy-plane.

be as much flux flowing into the box as out of it (that does not imply necessarily that, for instance,
Dx (x + δ/2,y) is equal to Dx (x − δ/2,y), but rather that the sum of all four fluxes must be zero).
Equation (2.8) tells us that the electric flux density has zero divergence except where there is
charge present (as specified by the charge-density term ρv). If the charge density is zero, the total
flux entering some small enclosure must also leave it. If the charge density is positive at some
point, more flux will leave a small enclosure surrounding that point than will enter it. On the other
hand, if the charge density is negative, more flux will enter the enclosure surrounding that point
than will leave it.
Finally, let us consider (2.7) which is the curl of the electric field. In Cartesian coordinates it is
possible to treat this operation as simply the cross product between the vector operator ∇ and the
vector field E:

Let us consider the behavior of only the z-component of this operator which is dictated by the field
in the xy-plane as shown in Fig. 2.5. The z-component of ∇ × E can be written as

The finite-difference approximations of the derivatives are again based on the fields on the edges
of a box surrounding the point of interest. However, in this case the relevant fields are tangential
to the edges rather than normal to them. Again letting ∆x = ∆y = δ, (2.18) can be written
In the sum on the right side, the sign is positive if the vector component points in the
counterclockwise direction (relative to rotations about the center of the box) and is negative if the
vector points in the clockwise direction. Thus, if the sum of these vector components is positive,
that implies that the net effect of these electric field vectors is to tend to push a positive charge in
the counterclockwise direction. If the sum were negative, the vectors would tend to push a positive
charge in the clockwise direction. If the sum is zero, there is no tendency to push a positive charge
around the center of the square (which is not to say there would not be a translation force on the
charge—indeed, if the electric field is non-zero, there has to be some force on the charge).

LAPLACIAN
In addition to the gradient, divergence, and curl, there is one more vector operator to consider.
There is a vector identity that the curl of the gradient of any function is identically zero

∇ × ∇f = 0. (2.20)
This is simple to prove by merely performing the operations in Cartesian coordinates. One obtains
several second-order partial derivatives which cancel if the order of differentiation is switched.
Recall that for a static distribution of charges, ∇ × E = 0. Since the curl of the electric field is zero,
it should be possible to represent the electric field as the gradient of some scalar function

E = −∇V. (2.21)
The scalar function V is the electric potential and the negative sign is used to make the electric
field point from higher potential to lower potential (by historic convention the electric field points
away from positive charge and toward negative charge). By expressing the electric field this way,
the curl of the electric field is guaranteed to be zero.
Another way to express the relationship between the electric field and the potential is via
integration. Consider movement from an arbitrary point a to an arbitrary point b. The change in
potential between these two points can be expressed as

(2.22)
The integrand represent the change in the potential for a movement dℓ and the integral merely
sums the changes over the path from a to b. However, the change in potential must also be
commensurate with the movement in the direction of, or against, the electric field. If we move
against the electric field, potential should go up. If we move along the electric field, the potential
should go down. In other words, the incremental change in potential for a movement dℓ should be
dV = −E · dℓ (if the movement dℓ is orthogonal to the electric field, there should be no change in
the potential). Summing change in potential over the entire path yields
 (2.23)
The integrals in (2.22) and (2.23) can be equated. Since the equality holds for any two arbitrary
points, the integrands must be equal and we are again left with E = −∇V .

The electric flux density can be related to the electric field via D = ǫE and the behavior of the flux
density D is dictated by ∇ · D = ρv. Combining these with (2.21) yields

E (2.24)
Taking the divergence of both sides yields

(2.25)
Rearranging this yields Poisson’s equation given by

(2.26)
where ∇2 is the Laplacian operator

. (2.27)
Note that the Laplacian is a scalar operator. It can act on a scalar field (such as the potential V as
shown above) or it can act on a vector field as we will see later. When it acts on a vector field, the
Laplacian acts on each component of the field.
In the case of zero charge density, (2.26) reduces to Laplace’s equation

∇2V = 0. (2.28)

GAUSS’S AND STOKES’ THEOREMS

Equation (2.4) presented Gauss’s law which stated the flux of D through a closed surface S is equal
to the enclosed charge. There is an identity in vector calculus, known as Gauss’s theorem, which
states that the integral of the flux of any vector field through a closed surface equals the integral
of the divergence of the field over the volume enclosed by the surface. This holds for any vector
field, but using the D field, Gauss’s theorem states

∮𝑆 𝐷. 𝑑𝑠 = ∫𝑉 ∇. Ddv (2.30)

Which is derived from:

𝑸
̂𝒓 𝟏 𝟐
E1=𝒂 (2.31)
𝟒𝝅𝝐 𝒓𝟎
where V is the enclosed volume and dv is a differential volume element. Note that the left-hand
side of (2.31) is the left-hand side of (2.4).
The right-hand side of (2.4) is the enclosed charge Qenc which could be determined either by
evaluating the left-hand side of (2.4) or by integration of the charge density ρv over the volume
enclosed by S. (This is similar to determining the mass of an object by integrating its mass density
over its volume.) Thus,

(2.32)
Equating the right-hand sides of (2.31) and (2.32) yields

∫𝑉 ∇. Ddv =∫𝑉 𝜌𝑣 𝑑𝑣.(2.33)

Since this must hold over an arbitrary volume, the integrands must be equal which yields (2.8).
Another useful identity from vector calculus is Stokes’ theorem which states that the integral of a
vector field over any closed path is equal to the integral of the curl of that field over a surface
which has that path as its border. Again, this holds for any vector field, but using the electric field
as an example one can write:
∮𝑆 𝐸. 𝑑𝑙 = ∫𝑉 ∇xE. ds. (2.34)
The surface normal is assumed to follow the right-hand convention so that when the fingers of
the right hand are oriented along the path of the loop, the thumb points in the positive direction
of the surface normal.
Static electric fields are conservative which means that the network required to move a charge in
a closed path is always zero. Along some portion of the path positive work would have to be done
to push the charge against the field, but this amount of work would be given back by the field as
the charge travels along the remaining portions of the path. The integrand on the left-hand side in
(2.34) is the field dotted with an incremental length. If the integrand were multiplied by a unit
positive charge, the integrand would represent work, since charge times field is force and force
times distance is work. Because the electric field is conservative, the integral on the left-hand side
of (2.34) must be zero. Naturally this implies that the integral on the right-hand side must also be
zero. Since this holds for any loop L (or, similarly, any surface S), the integrand itself must be zero.
Equating the integrand to zero yields (2.7).

ELECTRIC FIELD BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

Consider an interface between two homogeneous regions. Because electric flux density only begins
or ends on charge, the normal component of D can only change at the interface if there is charge
on the interface, i.e., surface charge is present. This can be stated mathematically as

nˆ · (D1 − D2) = ρs (2.35)

where ρs is a surface charge density (C/m ), nˆ is a unit vector normal to the surface, and D1 and
2

D2 are the field to either side of the interface. One should properly argue this boundary condition
by an application of Gauss’s law for a small volume surrounding the surface, but such details are
left to other classes (this is just a review!). If no charge is present, the normal components must be
equal
 nˆ · D1 = nˆ · D2. (2.36)
The boundary conditions on the tangential component of the electric field can be determined by
integrating the electric field over a closed loop which is essentially a rectangle which encloses a
portion of the interface. By letting the sides shrink to zero and keeping the “top” and “bottom” of
the rectangle small but finite (so that they are tangential to the surface), one essentially has that the
field over the top must be the same as the field over the bottom (owing to the fact that total integral
must be zero since the field is conservative). Stated mathematical, the boundary condition is
nˆ × (E1 − E2) = 0. (2.37)

CONDUCTIVITY AND PERFECT ELECTRIC CONDUCTORS

In electrostatics, charges do not move. This certainly does not mean that charges cannot move.
They can and they do, but, if they do, the relations developed so far cannot be used because of our
basic assumptions. A conductor is a material that allows free movement of charge within its
volume. In other words, if a charge is introduced into a conductor, it can move freely until
something prevents it from moving. This something may be an electric field or the surface of the
conductor. It is possible for the charge in materials to move under the influence of an electric field
such that currents flow. If the material has a non-zero conductivity σ, the current density is given
by
J = σE. (2.38)
2
The current density has units of A/m and the conductivity has units of S/m.
If charge is building up or decaying in a particular region, the divergence of the current density
must be non-zero. If the divergence is zero, that implies as much current leaves a point as enters it
and there is no build-up or decay of charge. This can be stated as

. (2.39)
If the divergence is positive, the charge density must be decreasing with time (so the negative sign
will bring the two into agreement). This equation is a statement of charge conservation.
Perfect electric conductors (PECs) are materials where it is assumed that the conductivity
approaches infinity. If the fields were non-zero in a PEC, that would imply the current was infinite.
Since infinite currents are not allowed, the fields inside a PEC are required to be zero. This
subsequently requires that the tangential electric field at the surface of a PEC is zero (since
tangential fields are continuous across an interface and the fields inside the PEC are zero).
Correspondingly, the normal component of the electric flux density D at the surface of a PEC must
equal the charge density at the surface of the PEC. Since the fields inside a PEC are zero, all points
of the PEC must be at the same potential.

MAGNETIC FIELDS
We observe that magnets have several effects: the first effect to notice is that there is a force
between any two magnets; the magnets either attract or repel each other. Since attraction happens
at a distance, each magnet must have a domain in which it attracts the other magnet. This is exactly
what we called a field. We can establish that the field is a vector field, using a compass as a
measuring device. This simple measurement establishes the following:
(1) A field exists throughout space.
(2) The field is stronger closer to the magnet.
(3) The two ends of the magnet have different properties; one attracts the north pole of the compass
and is labeled the south pole; the other attracts the south.
Magnetic fields circulate around, but they do not terminate on anything—there is no (known)
magnetic charge. Nevertheless, it is often convenient to define magnetic charge and magnetic
current. These fictions allow one to simplify various problems such as integral formulations of
scattering problems. However for now we will stick to reality and say they do not exist.
The magnetic flux density B is somewhat akin to the electric field in that the force on a charge in
motion is related to B. If a charge Q is moving with velocity u in a field B, it experiences a force
F = Qu × B. (2.40)
Because B determines the force on a charge, it must account for all sources of magnetic field.
When material is present, the charge in the material can have motion (or rotation) which influences
the magnetic flux density.
Alternatively, similar to the electric flux density, we define the magnetic field H which ignores the
local effects of material. These fields are related by
B = µrµ0H = µH (2.41)
−7
where µr is the relatively permeability, µ0 is the permeability of free space equal to 4π×10 H/m,
and µ is simply the permeability. Typically the relative permeability is greater than unity (although
usually only by a small amount) which implies that when a material is present the magnetic flux
density is larger than when there is only free space.
Charge in motion is the source of magnetic fields. If a current I flows over an incremental distance
dℓ, it will produce a magnetic field given by:
dH = Idℓ × r ar /(4πr2) (2.42)
where ar points from the location of the filament of current to the observation point and r is the
distance between the filament and the observation point. Equation (2.42) is known as the Biot -
Savart equation. Of course, because of the conservation of charge, a current cannot flow over just
a filament and then disappear. It must flow along some path. Thus, the magnetic field due to a loop
of current would be given by

(2.43)
If the current was flowing throughout a volume or over a surface, the integral would be
correspondingly changed to account for the current wherever it flowed.
From (2.43) one sees that currents (which are just another way of saying charge in motion) are the
source of magnetic fields. Because of the cross-product in (2.42) and (2.43), the magnetic field
essentially swirls around the current. If one integrates the magnetic field over a closed path, the
result is the current enclosed by that path L
ʃH · dℓ = Ienc. (2.44)
MAGNETIC FIELD BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
The enclosed current Ienc is the current that passes through the surface S which is bound by the loop
L.
The left-hand side of (2.44) can be converted to a surface integral by employing Stokes’ theorem
while the right-hand side can be related to the current density by integrating over the surface of the
loop. Thus,
ʃ H · dℓ = ʃʃ∇ × H · ds = Ienc = ʃʃ J · ds. (2.45)

Since this must be true for every loop (and surface), the integrands of the second and fourth
terms can be equated. This yields
∇ × H = J. (2.46)

The last equation needed to characterize static fields is

∇ · B = 0. (2.47)
This is the mathematical equivalent of saying there is no magnetic charge.
Note that the equation governing B is similar to the equation which governed D. In fact, since the
right-hand side is always zero, the equation for B is simpler. The arguments used to obtain the
boundary condition for the normal component of the D field can be applied directly to the B field.
Thus,
nˆ · (B1 − B2) = 0. (2.48)

For the magnetic field, an integration path is constructed along the same lines as the one used to
determine the boundary condition on the electric field. Note that the equations governing E and H
are similar except that the one for H has a non-zero right-hand side. If the current density is zero
over the region of interest, then there is really no distinction between the two and one can say that
the tangential magnetic fields must be equal across a boundary. However, if a surface current exists
on the interface, there may be a discontinuity in the tangential fields. The boundary condition is
given by
nˆ × (H1 − H2) = K (2.49)

where K is the surface current density (with units of A/m).

When a system is not changing with respect to time, the governing equations are
∇ · D =ρv, (2.50)
∇ · B =0, (2.51)
∇ × E =0, (2.52)
∇ × H = J. (2.53)
If a loop carries a current but is otherwise neutral, it will produce a magnetic field and only a
magnetic field. If a charge is stationary, it will produce an electric field and only an electric field.
The charge will not “feel” the loop current and the current loop will not feel the stationary charge
(at least approximately). The magnetic field and electric field are decoupled. If a charge Q moves
with velocity u in the presence of both an electric field and a magnetic field, the force on the charge
is the sum of the forces due to the electric and magnetic fields
 F = Q (E + u × B). (2.54)
What happens when a point charge moves? We know that charge in motion gives rise to a magnetic
field, but if the charge is moving, its associated electric field must also be changing. Thus, when a
system is time-varying the electric and magnetic fields must be coupled.
There is a vector identity that the divergence of the curl of any vector field is identically zero.
Taking the divergence of both sides of (2.53) yields

(2.55)
where the conservation of charge equation was used to write the last equality. Since the first term
must be zero, this implies that ∂ρv/∂t must also be zero. However, that is overly restrictive. In
general, for a time-varying system, the charge density will change with respect to time. Therefore
something must be wrong with (2.53) as it pertains to time-varying fields. It was Maxwell who
recognized that by adding the temporal derivative of the electric flux density to the right-hand side
of (2.53) the equation would still be valid for the time-varying case. The correct equation is given
by
∇ × H = J +∂D/∂t (2.56)

The term ∂D/∂t is known as the displacement current while J is typically called the conduction
current. Equation (2.56) is known as Ampere’s law.
Taking the divergence of the right-hand side of (2.56) yields

(2.57)
where use was made of (2.8) and the conservation of charge equation (2.39).
The electromotive force (EMF) is the change in potential over some path. It has been observed
experimentally that when a magnetic field is time-varying there is a non-zero EMF over a closed
path which encloses the varying field (i.e., the electric field is no longer conservative). The symbol
λ is often use to represent total magnetic flux through a given surface, i.e.
λ= ʃʃ B · ds. (2.58)

For time-varying fields, the EMF over a closed path L can be written

(2.59)

,
(2.60)

(2.61)
where Stokes’ theorem was used to write the last equation. Since this equality holds over any
surface, the integrands must be equal. This yields
∇ × E = −∂B/∂t (2.62)
which is known as Faraday’s law.
When a system is changing with respect to time, the governing equations are

∇·D= ρv , (2.63)

∇·B= 0, (2.64)
∂B
∇×E= − , (2.65)
∂t
∇ × H = J + ∂D/∂t (2.66)
Note that the divergence equations are unchanged from the static case. The two curl equations have
picked up terms which couple the electric and magnetic fields. Since the additional terms both
involve temporal derivatives, they go to zero in the static case and the equations reduce to those
which governed static fields.
For time-varying fields the same boundary conditions hold as in the static case.

AMPERE’S LAW
A useful law that relates the net magnetic field along a closed loop to the electric current passing
through the loop was proposed by André-Marie Ampère in 1826
Definition of Ampere’s law:
The integral around a closed path of the component of the magnetic field tangent to the direction
of the path equals µ0 times the current intercepted by the area within the path.

∫ 𝐻. 𝑑𝑙 = 𝐼
𝑠

∫ 𝐵. 𝑑𝑠 = µ𝐼
𝑠

Thus the line integral (circulation) of the magnetic field around some arbitrary closed curve is
proportional to the total current enclosed by that curve.
In order to apply Ampère’s Law all currents have to be steady (i.e. do not change with time)
Only currents crossing the area inside the path are taken into account and have some
contribution to the magnetic field
Currents have to be taken with their algebraic signs (those going “out” of the surface are
positive, those going “in” are negative)- use right hand’s rule to determine directions and signs
The total magnetic circulation is zero only in the following cases:
-the enclosed net current is zero
 -the magnetic field is normal to the selected path at any point
-the magnetic field is zero
Ampère’s Law can be useful when calculating magnetic fields of current distributions with a
high degree of symmetry (similar to symmetrical charge distributions in the case of Gauss’
Law).