11.4.1 The curl operator
The differential form of Gauss' law is more physically satisfying than the integral form, because it relates the charges that are present at some point to the properties of the electric field at the same point. Likewise, it would be more attractive to have a differential version of Ampère's law that would relate the currents to the magnetic field at a single point.
a / The div-meter, 1, and the curl-meter, 2 and 3.
- Ampere's law in a capacitor circuit. Although the surface shown in Figure 35.1 does not intercept any current, it intercepts electric flux. Suppose the capacitor is an ideal capacitor, with a homogeneous electric field E between the plates and no electric field outside the plates.
- Physics - E&M: Maxwell's Equations (28 of 30) Faraday's Law in Differential Form Ex. 1 - Duration: 8:51. Michel van Biezen 14,095 views. What is a Transformer And How Do They Work?
The integral form of Amperes’ Circuital Law (ACL) for magnetostatics relates the magnetic field along a closed path to the total current flowing through any surface bounded by that path. 7.4: Ampere’s Circuital Law (Magnetostatics) - Integral Form - Engineering LibreTexts.
Intuitively, the divergence was based on the idea of the div-meter, a/1. The corresponding device for measuring the curliness of a field is the curl-meter, a/2. If the field is curly, then the torques on the charges will not cancel out, and the wheel will twist against the resistance of the spring. If your intuition tells you that the curlmeter will never do anything at all, then your intuition is doing a beautiful job on static fields; for nonstatic fields, however, it is perfectly possible to get a curly electric field.Gauss' law in differential form relates (rm div mathbf{E}), a scalar, to the charge density, another scalar. Ampère's law, however, deals with directions in space: if we reverse the directions of the currents, it makes a difference. We therefore expect that the differential form of Ampère's law will have vectors on both sides of the equal sign, and we should be thinking of the curl-meter's result as a vector. First we find the orientation of the curl-meter that gives the strongest torque, and then we define the direction of the curl vector using the right-hand rule shown in figure a/3.
Ampere's Circuital Law Differential Form
To convert the div-meter concept to a mathematical definition, we found the infinitesimal flux, (dPhi) through a tiny cubical Gaussian surface containing a volume (dv). By analogy, we imagine a tiny square Ampèrian surface with infinitesimal area (dmathbf{A}). We assume this surface has been oriented in order to get the maximum circulation. The area vector (dmathbf{A}) will then be in the same direction as the one defined in figure a/3. Ampère's law is
Ampere S Law Calculator
The complete set of Maxwell's equations in differential form is collected on page 914.
11.4.2 Properties of the curl operator
Contributors and Attributions
Benjamin Crowell (Fullerton College). Conceptual Physics is copyrighted with a CC-BY-SA license.