Optical Electronics 1

Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

Maxwell's Equations
Review

University of Reddit
thebaroque
Optical Electronics 1
Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

WARNING

Everything in this lecture is probably wrong.

Optical Electronics 1
Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

Maxwell, in the late 1800s found that electric

and magnetic constants predict the speed of
light, so light must travel as an EM wave.

He went on to derive 4 elegant equations that

explain how nature works with charges and
fields.
Optical Electronics 1
Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

Referred to by
electromagnetism
enthusiasts as:

Gauss' law for electricity

Gauss' law for magnetism

Faraday's law of induction

Ampere's law

It's very likely that you have seen (or will see) Maxwell's equations in
different forms. If we ignore the fancy notation and just learn what the
equations are telling us, it won't matter to us in the end. They really are
nothing but simple, well formed sentences.

1(1): Maxwell's Equations

Optical Electronics 1
Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

I like this
version...
Gauss' law for electricity

Gauss' law for magnetism

Faraday's law of induction

Ampere's law

Before we can read these equations as sentences, let's remind ourselves

what that upside down triangle is supposed to mean.

1(2): Maxwell's Equations

Optical Electronics 1
Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

The upside down triangle is the del or nabla operator. It's defined as partial
derivatives of the dimensions of a system. Our system is the 3D Cartesian
coordinate system, so...

Applying the del operator to a scalar field is called taking the gradient.
If you're feeling rusty, as an exercise, take the gradient of:

Your answer should be in the form of the del operator definition.

We are dealing with electric and magnetic fields (they have direction, they are
not scalar), so the del operator comes in two flavors: divergence ( ) and
curl ( ).

1(1): Vector Calculus Review

Optical Electronics 1
Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

It's never that big of a deal if you don't get the maths in a particular slide, but
always have an intuitive sense of what's going on.

Divergence is obtained by taking the scalar product of the vector operator del
applied to the vector field F(x, y). It's a measure of a vector field's increase or
decrease (tenancy to converge) in the direction it points.

If we are speaking in the context of electric and magnetic fields, which we can
imagine to be fluids, divergence refers to the amount at which the fluid is
spreading out.

For a vector field , the divergence is:

Note that the divergence of a vector field is a scalar field.

1(2): Vector Calculus Review

Optical Electronics 1
Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

Curl is obtained by taking the vector (cross) product of the vector operator del
applied to the vector field F (x, y, z). It's a measure of a vector field's spin or
circulation.

Again, if we think of it in terms of fluids, it represents the amount of rotation

(angular momentum) an infinitesimal wheel would have if it were dropped in this
imaginary fluid.

For the same vector field , the curl is:

Note that the curl of a vector field is again, a vector field.

Now, let's make sure we are clear on what all the quantities are...

1(3): Vector Calculus Review

Optical Electronics 1
Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

Electric field V/m Electric displacement field

(electric flux density) C/m³

Magnetic field T

Permittivity of free space (constant) F/m

Permittivity means 'the ability to polarize in
response to an electric field'. The constant
refers to the amount of resistance
encountered when forming an electric field
in a vacuum.

Current density A/m²

Time s

Permeability of free space (constant) A/m

Permeability means 'the ability to support
formation of a magnetic field'. The constant
is related to magnetic fields in a similar
way permittivity is to electric fields.

1(3): Maxwell's Equations

Optical Electronics 1
Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

Few more things, for the sake of completeness...

In different versions of Maxwell's equations, D (Electric displacement field) and E

(Electric field) are often used interchangeably according to the following relation:

C/m²

Similarly, with H (Magnetizing field, Maxwell called it magnetic intensity) and B

(Magnetic field):
A/m

Understanding the subtle difference between D & E and B & H is not terribly
important in understanding Maxwell's equations. Basically, B is a weighted
version of H, modified by the intrinsic properties of the material, and similar with D
and E. One lesson to take from this slide could be D and B are material
dependent, E and H are material independent.

1(4): Maxwell's Equations

Optical Electronics 1
Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

Besides the interchangeable quantities, the two main forms are the integral form (first
slide of this lecture) and the differential form (second slide). Their equivalence is
proved using the divergence theorem

Which states that the outward flux of a vector field through a closed surface is equal
to the volume integral of the divergence of the region inside the surface. WHAT? The
sum of all sources minus the sum of all sinks gives the net flow out of a region.
Let's show this with Gauss' Law (1st Maxwell Equation):

Integral form

By divergence theorem

Since ,

Awwwyeaahh

1(5): Maxwell's Equations

Optical Electronics 1
Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

Gauss' law of electricity (Maxwell's Equation #1)

How the electric field is mapped in space depends on the charge.

Reading this statement in the integral version would go something like...

Electric flux through a closed surface is related to the charge enclosed by that area.

1(6): Maxwell's Equations

Optical Electronics 1
Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

Gauss' law of magnetism (Maxwell's Equation #2)

A magnetic field has no divergence.

This is equivalent to saying magnetic monopoles do not exist. For example, the
south pole of the magnet is exactly as strong as the north pole, and free-floating
south poles without accompanying north poles (magnetic monopoles) are not
allowed.

1(7): Maxwell's Equations

Optical Electronics 1
Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

Faraday's law of induction (Maxwell's Equation #3)

We can create a rotating magnetic field by changing an electric field or applying current.

This is how electromagnets and induction motors work. Running current through a
coil creates a magnetic field around it, which could be used to pick stuff up or get
transformed into mechanical energy in the form of a motor.

1(8): Maxwell's Equations

Optical Electronics 1
Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

Ampere's law (Maxwell's Equation #4)

We can create a rotating electric field by changing a magnetic field.

This is how generators work. A periodically changing magnetic field causes an

electric field to occur, which pushes charges around and causes current.

1(9): Maxwell's Equations

Optical Electronics 1
Lecture 1 / July 1, 2010

This is not how Maxwell's equations are meant to be explained, and certainly not
how it historically developed. For the sake of keeping things as conceptual as
possible I have surely committed a few crimes here and there. It won't matter in
terms of the rest of our syllabus. Hopefully you feel a bit more comfortable with
these fundamental equations.

Let me know of any mistakes!

1(10): Maxwell's Equations