University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields

College of Engineering Stage: Third Year

Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel

Lecture No.3
Electric Flux
3.1 Net Charge in a Region
With charge density defined as in Section 2.3, it is possible to obtain the net
charge contained in a specified volume by integration. From

It follows that

In general, ρ will not be constant throughout the volume v.

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EXAMPLE 1 Find the charge in the volume defined by 1 ≤ r ≤ 2 m in spherical
coordinates, if

By integration,

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3.2 Electric Flux and Flux Density

Electric flux Ψ, a scalar field, and its density D, a vector field, are useful
quantities in solving certain problems, as will be seen in this and subsequent
chapters. Unlike E, these fields are not directly measurable; their existence was
inferred from nineteenth-century experiments in electrostatics.

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EXAMPLE 2 Referring to Fig. 3-1, a charge +Q is first fixed in place and a
spherical, concentric, conducting shell is then closed around it. Initially the shell
has no net charge on its surface. Now if a conducting path to ground is
momentarily completed by closing a switch, a charge −Q, equal in magnitude
but of opposite sign, is discovered on the shell. This charge −Q might be

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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel
accounted for by a transient flow of negative charge from the ground, through
the switch, and onto the shell. But what could provoke such a flow? The early
experimenters suggested that a flux from +Q to the conductor surface induced,
or displaced, the charge −Q onto the surface. Consequently, it has also been
called displacement flux, and the use of the symbol D is a reminder of this early
concept.

Fig. 3-1
By definition, electric flux Ψ originates on positive charge and terminates on
negative charge. In the absence of negative charge, the flux Ψ terminates at
infinity. Also by definition, one coulomb of electric charge gives rise to one
coulomb of electric flux. Hence,

Ψ=Q (C)

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In Fig. 3-2(a) the flux lines leave +Q and terminate on −Q. This assumes that
the two charges are of equal magnitude. The case of positive charge with no
negative charge in the region is illustrated in Fig. 3-2(b). Here the flux lines are
equally spaced throughout the solid angle and reach out toward infinity.

(a) (b)
Fig. 3-2

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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel

If in the neighborhood of point P the lines of flux have the direction of the unit
vector a (see Fig. 3-3) and if an amount of flux dΨ crosses the differential area
dS, which is a normal to a, then the electric flux density at P is

Fig. 3-3
A volume charge distribution of density ρ (C/m3) is shown enclosed by surface
S in Fig. 3-4. Since each coulomb of charge Q has, by definition, one coulomb
of flux Ψ, it follows that the net flux crossing the closed surface S is an exact
measure of the net charge enclosed. However, the density D may vary in
magnitude and direction from point to point of S; in general, D will not be along
the normal to S. If, at the surface element dS, D makes an angle θ with the normal,
then the differential flux crossing dS is given by

where dS is the vector surface element, of magnitude dS and direction an. The
unit vector an is always taken to point out of S, so that dΨ is the amount of flux
passing from the interior of S to the exterior of S through dS.

Fig. 3-4

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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel
3.3 Gauss's Law
Gauss’s law states that the total flux out of a closed surface is equal to the
net charge within the surface. This can be written in integral form as

A great deal of valuable information can be obtained from Gauss’s law through
clever choice of the surface of integration; see Section 2.3.

3.4 Relation between Flux Density and Electric Field Intensity

Consider a point charge Q (assumed positive, for simplicity) at the origin
(Fig. 3-5). If this is enclosed by a spherical surface of radius r, then, by
symmetry, D due to Q is of constant magnitude over the surface and is
everywhere normal to the surface. Gauss’s law then gives

Fig. 3-5
from which D = Q/4πr2. Therefore,

But, from Section 2.2, the electric field intensity due to Q is

It follows that D = 𝜖0 E.
More generally, for any electric field in an isotropic medium of
permittivity 𝜖,

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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel
Thus, D and E fields will have exactly the same form, since they differ only by
a factor which is a constant of the medium. While the electric field E due to a
charge configuration is a function of the permittivity 𝜖, the electric flux density
D is not. In problems involving multiple dielectrics, a distinct advantage will be
found in first obtaining D, then converting to E within each dielectric.

3.5 Special Gaussian Surfaces

The surface over which Gauss’s law is applied must be closed, but it can be
made up of several surface elements. If these surface elements can be selected
so that D is either normal or tangential, and if ⎪D⎪is constant over any element
to which D is normal, then the integration becomes very simple. Thus, the
defining conditions of a special Gaussian surface are:

1. The surface is closed.

2. At each point of the surface D is either normal or tangential to the surface.
3. D is sectionally constant over that part of the surface where D is normal.

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EXAMPLE 3. Use a special Gaussian surface to find D due to a uniform line
change with density 𝜌𝑙 (C/m).
Take the line charge as the z-axis of the cylindrical coordinate system (Fig. 3-6).
By cylindrical symmetry, D can only have an r component, and this component
can only depend on r. Thus, the special Gaussian surface for this problem is a
closed right circular cylinder whose axis is the z-axis (Fig. 3-7). Applying
Gauss’s law,

Fig. 3-6
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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel

Fig. 3-7
Over surfaces 1 and 3, D and dS are orthogonal, and so the integrals vanish. Over
2, D and dS are parallel (or antiparallel, if 𝜌𝑙 is negative), and D is constant
because r is constant. Thus,

where L is the length of the cylinder. But the enclosed charge is Q = 𝜌𝑙 L. Hence,

Observe the simplicity of the above derivation as compared to Problem 2.9.

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The one serious limitation of the method of special Gaussian surfaces is that
it can be utilized only for highly symmetrical charge configurations. However,
for other configurations, the method can still provide quick approximations to
the field at locations very close to or very far from the charges. See Problem
3.36.