CHAPTER ONE

MAXWELL’S EQUATIONS
1.1. Prerequisites
To understand electromagnetic theory and Maxwell’s equations the student should;
Electrostatics
- be familiar with Coulomb’s law and they should be able to calculate forces between static
charges.
- understand the concept of the electric field and they should be able to calculate electric
fields from given charge distributions.
- understand the concepts of linearity and superposition in the consideration of such
problems.
- understand the physical information contained in Gauss’s law and they should be able to
apply this law to the calculation of field distributions in systems with specified symmetry.
- be able to calculate the work done when a charge is moved in an electric field and
connection that this has with electrostatic potential.
- be able to find the electric field for a system when the electrostatic potential is specified.
Students should be familiar with the concept of a capacitor and its capacitance.
- understand the idea of regarding an electric field as containing energy.
- be able to calculate that energy in simple cases.
- understand that the electrostatic potential obeys the equations of Laplace and Poisson under
appropriate circumstances. Solutions of these equations in the general case are not
expected.
- understand and be able to explain the important properties of conductors as arising from
their free electric charge.
Steady currents
- be familiar with the definition of electric current and electric current density.
- understand the important information contained in the equation of continuity and they
should be able to solve simple problems involving this equation.
- understand the physical origin of the electrical conductivity of metals and the collision
model for Ohm’s law.
- be able to relate resistivity to power dissipation.
- understand the physical origin of Kirchhoff’s two circuit laws and be able to use them in
solving circuit network problems.
- understand how Laplace’s equation applies in conductors.
- understand how the conductivity and resistivity of an anisotropic conductor is described by
the use of a tensor quantity.
Magnetic effects of currents
- be familiar with the Biot-Savart law and be able to calculate the magnetic field and
magnetic forces in flowing currents.
- understand the concept of the magnetic field and be able to calculate this from given current
distributions.
- be familiar with the Lorentz force formula and the should be able to use it in calculating
the force on a charged particle in an electric and magnetic fields.
- understand how Ampere’s law arises as a consequence of the Biot-savart law.
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 - know about the divergence and the curl of the magnetic field.

1.2. Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to do the following:

i. Restate Maxwell’s equations

ii. be familiar with the static properties of electric and magnetic fields.
iii. understand Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction and how it relates to the curl of
the electric field.
iv. be able to connect the current flowing into a capacitor and the law of conservation of
charge with the idea of the displacement current.
v. understand how the Maxwell equations arise as a synthesis of the various individual
electromagnetic phenomena considered so far.
vi. understand how Maxwell’s equations lead to electromagnetic waves and how the speed
of light is related to static properties of the vacuum.
vii. be able to solve simple problems involving electromagnetic waves in free space.

1.3. Introduction
Maxwell's equations represent one of the most elegant and concise ways to state the fundamentals
of electricity and magnetism.

Symbols Used
E = Electric field ρ = charge density i = electric current
B = Magnetic field ε0 = permittivity J = current density
D = Electric displacement μ0 = permeability c = speed of light
H = Magnetic field strength M = Magnetization P = Polarization

Integral and differential form in the absence of magnetic or polarizable media:

Integral
Gauss' law for electricity. 𝑞
∮ 𝐸⃗ . 𝑑𝐴 =
𝜀0

Gauss' law for magnetism ⃗ . 𝑑𝐴 = 0

∮𝐵

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 Faraday's law of induction
𝑑Φ𝐸
∮ 𝐸⃗ . 𝑑𝑆 = −
𝑑𝑡

Ampere's law 1 𝜕
⃗ . 𝑑𝑆 = 𝜇0 𝑖 +
∮𝐵 ∫ 𝐸⃗ . 𝑑𝐴
𝑐 2 𝜕𝑡

Note:

here represent the vector operations divergence and curl, respectively.

1.4. Coulombs law

1.4.1. From Coulombs law to Gauss' Law for Electricity

Consider the field of a single positive point charge q and place this charge at the center of an
imaginary spherical surface S, with radius r. From Coulomb’s law, we know that:

𝑞
𝐸⃗ = 𝑟̂
4𝜋𝜀𝑜 𝑟 2
The magnitude of electric field is then:

𝑞
𝐸 =
4𝜋𝜀𝑜 𝑟 2
We will now attempt to get the essence of Gauss’s law from Coulomb’s law. Rearranging the
above equation:

𝑞
𝐸 × 4𝜋𝑟 2 =
𝜀𝑜

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We will focus on the left hand side of the equation first. Note that 4𝜋𝑟 2

is the surface area of a sphere.

𝐸 × 4𝜋𝑟 2 = 𝐸𝑥 ∮ 𝑑𝐴
𝑆

Since E is a constant everywhere on the surface of S, we can bring E into the integral.

𝐸 × 4𝜋𝑟 2 = ∮ 𝐸𝑑𝐴 == ∮ 𝐸⃗ 𝑑𝐴
𝑆 𝑆

⃗⃗
Recall that, the elemental flux, 𝑑Φ𝐸 = ⃗⃗𝐸𝑑𝐴

Hence, the above equation is just Φ𝐸 . Combining with the right hand side of the original equation
𝑞
from Coulomb’s Law, you obtain Φ𝐸 = 𝜀
𝑜

𝑞
This says that the total electric flux through the spherical surface is given by
𝜀𝑜

, where q is the charge enclosed by the spherical surface.

Notice that the total electric flux is independent of the radius r of the sphere. We can see this by
calculating the electric flux for two spheres of radius R and 2 R respectively.

For sphere of radius R:

For sphere of radius 2R:

You can continue on for all the different radius, and this result will still hold. This is because as
1
the radius increases, E decreases by a factor of . In other words, this result will only hold if the
𝑟2
E∝1r2 exactly.

Gauss’s law will hold for a surface of any shape or size, provided that it is a closed surface
enclosing the charge q.

The electric flux out of any closed surface is proportional to the total charge enclosed within
the surface.

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The integral form of Gauss' Law finds application in
calculating electric fields around charged objects.

In applying Gauss' law to the electric field of a point charge,

one can show that it is consistent with Coulomb's law.

While the area integral of the electric field gives a measure

of the net charge enclosed, the divergence of the electric
field gives a measure of the density of sources. It also has
implications for the conservation of charge.

1.4.1. Gauss' Law for Magnetism

The net magnetic flux out of any closed surface is zero. This amounts to a
statement about the sources of magnetic field. For a magnetic dipole, any
closed surface the magnetic flux directed inward toward the south pole will
equal the flux outward from the north pole. The net flux will always be zero
for dipole sources. If there were a magnetic monopole source, this would give
a non-zero area integral. The divergence of a vector field is proportional to
the point source density, so the form of Gauss' law for magnetic fields is then
a statement that there are no magnetic monopoles.

1.5. Faraday's Law of Induction

The induced e.m.f in a coil is proportional to the negative of the rate of change of magnetic flux.
𝑑Φ𝐵
ℇ=−
𝑑𝑡
⃗ can be
Recall that the electric potential difference between two points A and B in an electric field 𝐸
written as ,

Therefore we conclude that there is a non-conservative electric field 𝐸⃗𝑛𝑐 associated with an
induced emf:

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Combining with Faradays law the yields,

i.e. The line integral of the electric field around a closed loop is
equal to the negative of the rate of change of the magnetic flux
through the area enclosed by the loop.

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This line integral is equal to the generated voltage or emf in the
loop, so Faraday's law is the basis for electric generators. It also
forms the basis for inductors and transformers.

1.6. Ampere's Law

1.6.1. Magnetic Field and Biot Savart Law

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 The form of the magnetic field from a current element in
the Biot-Savart law becomes

which in this case simplifies greatly because the angle

=90 ° for all points along the path and the distance to the
field point is constant. The integral becomes

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In the case of static electric field, the line integral of the magnetic field around a closed loop is
proportional to the electric current flowing through the loop. This is useful for the calculation of
magnetic field for simple geometries.

1.6.2. Ampere’s Law

Ampere determined that if we take any closed path around a current carrying wire and looked only
at the vector component of the magnetic field parallel to that closed path, you would find
∑ 𝐵𝑑𝑙 = µ0 𝐼
Where
- dl is a little segment of length,
- B is the magnetic field parallel to that little segment of length,
- "∑" means to take the sum over B times dl, and
- I is the current flowing through the wire. (Actually this is a calculus relationship with an
integral.)
If we look at a single wire, we see that B is always parallel to a circle around the wire, so dl is just
the circumference of the circle, and
𝐵(2𝜋𝑟) = µ0 𝐼,
Which implies,
µ0 𝐼
𝐵=
2𝜋𝑟
which is what we got before.

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 1.6.3. Modification of Amperes law

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Using Faradays law of induction, Amperes law is modified from,
𝑑Φ𝐸
⃗ . 𝑑𝑆 = 𝜇𝑜 𝑖
∮𝐵 𝑡𝑜 ⃗ . 𝑑𝑆 = 𝜇𝑜 𝑖 + 𝜇𝑜 𝜀𝑜
∮𝐵
𝑑𝑡
This can be written as
𝜕
⃗ . 𝑑𝑆 = 𝜇𝑜 𝑖 + 𝜇𝑜 𝜀𝑜
∮𝐵 ∮ 𝐸⃗ . 𝑑𝐴
𝜕𝑡
Since

Φ𝐸 = ∮ 𝐸⃗ . 𝑑𝐴

Is the electric flux.

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 1.7. Conclusion on Maxwell’s equations
One of the things we expect from Maxwell’s equations is that they be internally consistent with
each other and also consistent with known conservation laws such as conservation of momentum,
energy, etc. For example, you can check the internal consistency of two Maxwell’s Equations by

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considering various higher derivatives. As an example, consider the curl equation for E and
Gauss’s Law for B.
⃗
𝜕𝐵
⃗ 𝑥 𝐸⃗ = −
∇
𝜕𝑡
⃗∇. 𝐵
⃗ =0

a. Consider divergence of the curl equation and argue how the second equation is necessary
for the internal consistency of the theory.
𝜕𝐵⃗ ⃗ .𝐵
𝜕∇ ⃗
⃗∇. (∇⃗ 𝑥𝐸⃗ ) = ⃗∇. − =−
𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑡
However ∇ ⃗ . (∇
⃗ 𝑥𝐴𝑛𝑦 𝑣𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑)) = 0
So we must have
𝜕 ⃗∇. 𝐵
⃗
− =0
𝜕𝑡
⃗ ⃗
for consistency. Fortunately ⃗∇. 𝐵⃗ = 0 by gauss law for magnetism,. So − 𝜕 ∇.𝐵 does equal
𝜕𝑡
to zero. The equation are consistent.

b. Next, consider the divergence of the curl equation for B-field. Form an argument using
whatever other of Maxwell’s Equations plus known conservation laws to argue that this
equation is consistent with the other equations and known conserved quantities.

𝜕𝐸⃗
⃗∇𝑥 𝐵
⃗ = 𝜇𝑜 𝐽 + 𝜇𝑜 𝜀𝑜
𝜕𝑡
⃗ both sides, we have
Take ∇

⃗ . 𝐸⃗
𝜕∇
⃗ (∇
∇ ⃗𝑥𝐵
⃗ ) = 𝜇𝑜 ⃗∇ 𝐽 + 𝜇𝑜 𝜀𝑜
𝜕𝑡
⃗∇ (∇
⃗𝑥𝐵
⃗)=0

And
𝜌
⃗∇ . 𝐸⃗ = … 𝑔𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑠 ′ 𝑠 𝑙𝑎𝑤
𝜀𝑜
Therefore

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 𝜕ρ
⃗ 𝐽+
∇ =0
𝜕𝑡
Therefore we must have
𝜕ρ
⃗∇ 𝐽 + =0
𝜕𝑡
For consistency,
Luckly
𝜕ρ
⃗∇ 𝐽 + =0
𝜕𝑡
Is the statement of conservation of charge. Hence the equation are consistent with each other and
with conservation of charge.

1.8. Questions
See examples and Problems in the book, ‘A-students-guide-to-Maxwell’s-equations’ by D. Fleisch

Magnetization and Magnetic Susceptibility

1. Derive Gauss’s law using coulombs law.

2. What Does Gauss' Law For Magnetism Tell Us?
a. The Net Charge In Any Given Volume.
b. The Magnetic Field of a current element.
c. That charges must be moving to produce magnetic fields
d. That magnetic monopoles do not exist.
e. That the line integral of a magnetic field around any closed loop vanishes.
3. What is the unit of Magnetic Intensity?
4. What could be the equation for Gauss' law of magnetism, if a monopole of pole strength p
is enclosed by a surface?
5. Explain Gauss's law for magnetic fields.
6. Which of the following correctly describes how Maxwell modified Ampere's Law?
a. He added a term for the current of magnetic monopoles (called "displacement current")
b. He changed the integral of the magnetic field to a derivative of the field
c. He added a term that depended on a time-varying electric flux
d. He removed the term involving electric current
7.
a. State Ampere’s law.
b. Show that there is an inconsistency when ampere’s law is applied to a charging
capacitor.
c. Write down the ampere-Maxwell law (integral form of Maxwell’s fourth equation).
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 d. Write down the differential form of Ampere-Maxwell law.
8. Determine whether each of the following statements regarding Gauss' law for the magnetic
field B is true or false.
a. The integral form of Gauss law for the magnetic field can be derived from Biot-Savart
law that respects the inverse square law. T
b. he magnetic flux passing the closed surface S that is the boundary of any volume V is
always vanishing: ∫𝑠=𝜕𝑉 𝐵 𝑑𝜎 = 𝑂.
c. The reason for b is that the magnetic charges are always coupled to construct dipoles
and there is no experimental evidence of the existence of the magnetic monopole, yet
d. The differential form of Gauss' law for the magnetic field that can be derived by
applying divergence theorem to the integral form ∇. 𝐵 = 0

9. Write the linear relationship between the magnetic field ⃗𝑩 ⃗ , magnetic strength ⃗𝑯
⃗⃗ and the
magnetization ⃗𝑴⃗⃗ .
10. Differentiate between magnetic materials using magnetic susceptibility 𝜒𝑀 .
⃗ and the electric field 𝐸⃗ for
11. What is the relation between the dielectric displacement field 𝐷
a linearly polarizable and isotropic medium?
12. What is the relation between the magnetic field 𝐻 ⃗ and the magnetic induction 𝐵 ⃗ for a
linearly magnetisable and isotropic medium?
13. Faraday's Law Of Induction For The Case Of A Loop With Area A And Magnetic Field B
𝑑
Is Given By 𝜀 = − 𝑑𝑡 (𝐵𝐴 cos 𝜃). What does the angle represent in the above law and what
is its SI unit?

14.

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 15.

16.

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