Lecture 3

Vector Calculus

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Objectives
 Define differential length, area and volume in Cartesian,
Cylindrical and Spherical coordinate systems
 Understand line, surface and volume integrals
 Become familiar with del (nabla) operator
 Understand the gradient of a scalar and how to compute for
it
 Understand the divergence of a vector and how to compute
for it
 State divergence theorem and apply it to solve problems
 Understand the curl of a vector and how to compute for it
 State Stokes’s theorem and apply it to solve problems
 Define the Laplacian of a scalar and how to compute for it
 Become familiar with classification of vector fields 2
 Differential Length, Area and
Volume
 Cartesian Coordinate System
 Differential displacement is given by

 Differential normal surface area is given by

 Differential volume is given by

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Differential Length, Area and
Volume

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Differential Length, Area and
Volume

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 Differential Length, Area and
Volume
 Cylindrical Coordinate System
 Differential displacement is given by

 Differential normal surface area is given by

 Differential volume is given by

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Differential Length, Area and
Volume

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Differential Length, Area and
Volume

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 Differential Length, Area and
Volume
 Spherical Coordinate System
 Differential displacement is given by

 Differential normal surface area is given by

 Differential volume is given by

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Differential Length, Area and
Volume

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Differential Length, Area and
Volume

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 Example 1
 Consider the object shown below. Calculate
(a) The length BC (b) The length CD
(c) The surface area ABCD
(d) The surface area ABO
(e) The surface area AOFD
(f) The volume ABDCFO

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 Line, Surface and Volume
Integrals

 Given a vector field A and a curve L, we define

the integral

as the line integral of A

around L
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 Line, Surface and Volume
Integrals
 Ifthe path of integration is a closed curve, the
integral becomes a closed contour integral

which is called the circulation of A around L

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 Line, Surface and Volume
Integrals
 Given a vector field A, continuous in a region
containing the smooth surface S, we define the
surface integral or the flux of A through S as

or

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Line, Surface and Volume
Integrals

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 Line, Surface and Volume
Integrals
 Fora closed surface (defining a volume), the
integral becomes

which is referred to as the net outward flux of A

from S

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 Line, Surface and Volume
Integrals
 We define the integral

as the volume integral of the scalar ρv over the

volume v

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Example 2
 Given that F = x2ax - xzay - y2az, calculate the
circulation of F around the (closed) path shown
below

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 Del Operator
 The del (nabla) operator, written , is the vector
differential operator; in Cartesian coordinates,

 The operator is useful in defining

 The gradient of a scalar V, written as V
 The divergence of a vector A, written as = A
 The curl of a vector A, written as = A
 The Laplacian of a scalar V, written as 2V

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 Del Operator
 In cylindrical coordinates,

 In spherical coordinates,

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 Gradient of a Scalar
 The
gradient of a scalar field at any point is the
maximum rate of change of the field at that point

 The gradient of a scalar field V is a vector that

represents both the magnitude and the direction
of the maximum space rate of increase of V

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Gradient of a Scalar

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 Gradient of a Scalar
 In cartesian coordinates,

 In cylindrical coordinates,

 In spherical coordinates,

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 Gradient of a Scalar
 Take note of the following:

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 Gradient of a Scalar
 Fundamental properties of gradient:
 The magnitude of V equals the maximum rate of
change in V per unit distance
 V points in the direction of the maximum rate of
change in V
 V at any point is perpendicular to the constant V
surface that passes through that point
 If A = V, V is said to be the scalar potential of A

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 Example 3
 Find the gradient of the following scalar fields:
(a) V = e-z sin 2x cosh y
(b) U = ρ2z cos 2Φ
(c) W = 10r sin2 θ cos Φ

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Example 4
 Given W = x2y2 + xyz, compute W and the
directional derivative dW/dl in the direction 3ax +
4ay + 12az at (2, -1, 0).

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 Example 5
 Find the angle at which line x = y = 2z intersects
the ellipsoid x2 + y2 + 2z2 = 10.

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 Divergence of a Vector and
Divergence Theorem
 The divergence of A at a given point P is the
outward flux per unit volume as the volume
shrinks about P

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Divergence of a Vector and
Divergence Theorem

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 Divergence of a Vector and
Divergence Theorem
 In Cartesian coordinate system:

 In Cylindrical coordinate system:

 In Spherical coordinate system:

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 Divergence of a Vector and
Divergence Theorem
 Note the following properties of the divergence
of a vector field:
 It produces a scalar field
 (A + B) = A + B
 (VA) = V A + A V

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 Divergence of a Vector and
Divergence Theorem
 The divergence (Gauss–Otrogradsky) theorem
states that the total outward flux of a vector field
A through the closed surface S is the same as the
volume integral of the divergence of A

 For this reason, to determine the flux of A through a

closed surface, we simply find the right-hand side
instead of the left-hand side of the equation
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Example 6
 Determine the divergence of these vector fields:
(a) P = x2yzax + xzaz
(b) Q = ρsin Φ ar + ρ2z aΦ + zcos Φ az
(c) T = cos θ ar + rsin θ cos Φ aθ + cos θ aΦ

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 Example 7
 If G = 10e-2z(ρar + az), determine the flux of G out
of the entire surface of the cylinder ρ = 1, 0 ≤ z ≤
1. Confirm the result by using the divergence
theorem.

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 Curl of a Vector and Stokes’s
Theorem
 The curl of A is an axial (or rotational) vector
whose magnitude is the maximum circulation of
A per unit area as the area tends to zero and
whose direction is the normal direction of the
area when the area is oriented to make the
circulation maximum

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 Curl of a Vector and Stokes’s
Theorem
 In Cartesian coordinate system:

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 Curl of a Vector and Stokes’s
Theorem
 In Cylindrical coordinate system:

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 Curl of a Vector and Stokes’s
Theorem
 In Spherical coordinate system:

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 Curl of a Vector and Stokes’s
Theorem
 Note the following properties of the curl:

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 Curl of a Vector and Stokes’s
Theorem
 Thecurl of a vector field A at a point P may be
regarded as a measure of the circulation or how
much the field curls around P

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 Curl of a Vector and Stokes’s
Theorem
 Stokes’s theorem states that the circulation of a
vector field A around a (closed) path L is equal to
the surface integral of the curl of A over the open
surface S bounded by L, provided A and A are
continuous on S

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 Curl of a Vector and Stokes’s
Theorem
 Illustration of Stokes's theorem:

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Example 8
 Determine the curl of each of the vector fields in
Example 6

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 Example 9
 IfA = ρ cos Φ aρ + sin Φ aΦ, evaluate dl around
the path shown below. Confirm this by using
Stokes’s theorem.

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 Example 10
 For a vector field A, show explicitly that A = 0;
that is, the divergence of the curl of any vector
field is zero

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 Laplacian of a Scalar
 The Laplacian of a scalar field V, written as V, is
the divergence of the gradient of V

 In cartesian coordinates,

 In cylindrical coordinates,

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 Laplacian of a Scalar
 In spherical coordinates,

 A scalarfield V is said to be harmonic in a given

region if its Laplacian vanishes in that region;
that is
V = 0 (Laplace’s Equation)

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 Laplacian of a Scalar
 Laplacian of a vector A

 In Cartesian coordinates,

 In Cylindrical coordinates,

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 Laplacian of a Scalar
 In Spherical coordinates,

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 Example 11
 Find the Laplacian of the following scalar fields:
(a) V = e-z sin 2x cosh y
(b) U = ρ2z cos 2Φ
(c) W = 10r sin2 θ cos Φ

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 Classification of Vector Fields
 Allvector fields can be classified in terms of
their vanishing or nonvanishing divergence or
curl as follows:

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Classification of Vector Fields

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 Classification of Vector Fields
 A vector field A is said to be solenoidal (or
divergenceless) if = A = 0
 Examples of solenoidal fields are incompressible
fluids, magnetic fields, and conduction current
density under steady-state conditions
 A solenoidal field A can always be expressed in
terms of another vector F; that is,

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 Classification of Vector Fields
 A vector field A is said to be irrotational (or
potential) if A = 0
 An irrotational field is also known as a
conservative field
 Examples of irrotational fields include the
electrostatic field and the gravitational field
 The field of gradient V (for any scalar V) is
purely irrotational, since

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 Classification of Vector Fields
 An irrotational field A can always be expressed
in terms of a scalar field V; that is,

 Forthis reason, A may be called a potential field

and V the scalar potential of A

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 Classification of Vector Fields
 Helmholtz’s theorem:
 Any vector A satisfying

with both ρv and ρs vanishing at infinity can be written

as the sum of two vectors: one irrotational (zero curl),
the other solenoidal (zero divergence); thus we may
write,

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 Classification of Vector Fields
 Any vector field has a Laplacian that satisfies

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Example 12
 Show that the vector field A is conservative if A
possesses one of these two properties:
(a) The line integral of the tangential component
of A along a path extending from a point P to a
point Q is independent of the path
(b) The line integral of the tangential component
of A around any closed path is zero

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 Solved Problems
 Using the differential length dl, find the length of
r = 1, θ = 30º, 0 < Φ < 60º
 Calculate the area of the surface z = 1, 1 < ρ < 3, 0
< Φ < π/4
 Use the differential volume dv to determine the
volume of 1 < r < 3, π/2 < θ < 2π/3, π/6 < Φ < π/2
 Determine the circulation of B = xyax - yzay +
xzaz around the path L on the x = 1 plane, shown
in the figure below
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 Solved Problems

 Let A = yax + zay + xaz. Find the flux of A

through surface y = 1, 0 < x < 1, 0 < z < 2
 Consider the scalar function T = r sin θ cos Φ.
Determine the magnitude and direction of the
maximum rate of change of T at P(2, 6º, 30º)
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 Solved Problems
 Let H = 4ρ2ar - 2zaz. Verify the divergence
theorem for the cylindrical region defined by ρ =
10, 0 < Φ < 2π, 0 < z < 3
 If F = 2ρzaρ + 3zsin ΦaΦ - 4ρcos Φaz, verify
Stokes’s theorem for the open surface defined by
z = 1, 0 < ρ < 2, 0 < Φ < 45°
 Show that the vector field B = (3x2z + y2)ax +
2xyay + x3az is conservative

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 Solved Problems
 Consider the following vector fields:
A = xax + yay + zaz
B = 2ρcos Φar - 4ρsin ΦaΦ + 3az
C = sin θar + r sin θaΦ
Which of these fields are (a) solenoidal and (b)
irrotational?

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Danke!
END

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