Electromagnetic Wave Equation
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Electromagnetic Wave Equation
The electromagnetic wave equation is a second-order partial differential equation that describes the propagation of electromagnetic waves through a medium or in a vacuum. It is a three-dimensional form of the wave equation. The homogeneous form of the equation, written in terms of either the electric field or the magnetic field , takes the form: \begin \left(v_^2\nabla^2 - \frac \right) \mathbf &= \mathbf \\ \left(v_^2\nabla^2 - \frac \right) \mathbf &= \mathbf \end where v_ = \frac is the speed of light (i.e. phase velocity) in a medium with permeability , and permittivity , and is the Laplace operator. In a vacuum, , a fundamental physical constant. The electromagnetic wave equation derives from Maxwell's equations. In most older literature, is called the ''magnetic flux density'' or ''magnetic induction''. The following equations\begin \nabla \cdot \mathbf &= 0\\ \nabla \cdot \mathbf &= 0 \endpredicate that any electromagnetic wave must be a transverse wave, whe ...
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Partial Differential Equation
In mathematics, a partial differential equation (PDE) is an equation which imposes relations between the various partial derivatives of a Multivariable calculus, multivariable function. The function is often thought of as an "unknown" to be solved for, similarly to how is thought of as an unknown number to be solved for in an algebraic equation like . However, it is usually impossible to write down explicit formulas for solutions of partial differential equations. There is, correspondingly, a vast amount of modern mathematical and scientific research on methods to Numerical methods for partial differential equations, numerically approximate solutions of certain partial differential equations using computers. Partial differential equations also occupy a large sector of pure mathematics, pure mathematical research, in which the usual questions are, broadly speaking, on the identification of general qualitative features of solutions of various partial differential equations, such a ...
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D'Alembert Operator
In special relativity, electromagnetism and wave theory, the d'Alembert operator (denoted by a box: \Box), also called the d'Alembertian, wave operator, box operator or sometimes quabla operator (''cf''. nabla symbol) is the Laplace operator of Minkowski space. The operator is named after French mathematician and physicist Jean le Rond d'Alembert. In Minkowski space, in standard coordinates , it has the form : \begin \Box & = \partial^\mu \partial_\mu = \eta^ \partial_\nu \partial_\mu = \frac \frac - \frac - \frac - \frac \\ & = \frac - \nabla^2 = \frac - \Delta ~~. \end Here \nabla^2 := \Delta is the 3-dimensional Laplacian and is the inverse Minkowski metric with :\eta_ = 1, \eta_ = \eta_ = \eta_ = -1, \eta_ = 0 for \mu \neq \nu. Note that the and summation indices range from 0 to 3: see Einstein notation. We have assumed units such that the speed of light = 1. (Some authors alternatively use the negative metric signature of , with \eta_ = -1,\; \eta_ = \eta_ = \ ...
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Lorenz Gauge Condition
In electromagnetism, the Lorenz gauge condition or Lorenz gauge, for Ludvig Lorenz, is a partial gauge fixing of the electromagnetic vector potential by requiring \partial_\mu A^\mu = 0. The name is frequently confused with Hendrik Lorentz, who has given his name to many concepts in this field. The condition is Lorentz invariant. The condition does not completely determine the gauge: one can still make a gauge transformation A^\mu \to A^\mu + \partial^\mu f, where \partial^\mu is the four-gradient and f is a harmonic scalar function (that is, a scalar function satisfying \partial_\mu\partial^\mu f = 0, the equation of a massless scalar field). The Lorenz condition is used to eliminate the redundant spin-0 component in the representation theory of the Lorentz group. It is equally used for massive spin-1 fields where the concept of gauge transformations does not apply at all. Description In electromagnetism, the Lorenz condition is generally used in calculations of time-dependent ...
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Electromagnetic Four-potential
An electromagnetic four-potential is a relativistic vector function from which the electromagnetic field can be derived. It combines both an electric scalar potential and a magnetic vector potential into a single four-vector.Gravitation, J.A. Wheeler, C. Misner, K.S. Thorne, W.H. Freeman & Co, 1973, As measured in a given frame of reference, and for a given gauge, the first component of the electromagnetic four-potential is conventionally taken to be the electric scalar potential, and the other three components make up the magnetic vector potential. While both the scalar and vector potential depend upon the frame, the electromagnetic four-potential is Lorentz covariant. Like other potentials, many different electromagnetic four-potentials correspond to the same electromagnetic field, depending upon the choice of gauge. This article uses tensor index notation and the Minkowski metric sign convention . See also covariance and contravariance of vectors and raising and lowering in ...
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Covariance And Contravariance Of Vectors
In physics, especially in multilinear algebra and tensor analysis, covariance and contravariance describe how the quantitative description of certain geometric or physical entities changes with a change of basis. In modern mathematical notation, the role is sometimes swapped. In physics, a basis is sometimes thought of as a set of reference axes. A change of scale on the reference axes corresponds to a change of units in the problem. For instance, by changing scale from meters to centimeters (that is, ''dividing'' the scale of the reference axes by 100), the components of a measured velocity vector are ''multiplied'' by 100. A vector changes scale ''inversely'' to changes in scale to the reference axes, and consequently is called ''contravariant''. As a result, a vector often has units of distance or distance with other units (as, for example, velocity has units of distance divided by time). In contrast, a covector, also called a ''dual vector'', typically has units of th ...
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Formulation Of Maxwell's Equations In Special Relativity
The covariant formulation of classical electromagnetism refers to ways of writing the laws of classical electromagnetism (in particular, Maxwell's equations and the Lorentz force) in a form that is manifestly invariant under Lorentz transformations, in the formalism of special relativity using rectilinear inertial coordinate systems. These expressions both make it simple to prove that the laws of classical electromagnetism take the same form in any inertial coordinate system, and also provide a way to translate the fields and forces from one frame to another. However, this is not as general as Maxwell's equations in curved spacetime or non-rectilinear coordinate systems. This article uses the classical treatment of tensors and Einstein summation convention throughout and the Minkowski metric has the form . Where the equations are specified as holding in a vacuum, one could instead regard them as the formulation of Maxwell's equations in terms of ''total'' charge and current. Fo ...
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Time Dilation02
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to compare the duration of events or the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change of quantities in material reality or in the conscious experience. Time is often referred to as a fourth dimension, along with three spatial dimensions. Time has long been an important subject of study in religion, philosophy, and science, but defining it in a manner applicable to all fields without circularity has consistently eluded scholars. Nevertheless, diverse fields such as business, industry, sports, the sciences, and the performing arts all incorporate some notion of time into their respective measuring systems. 108 pages. Time in physics is operationally defined as "what a clock reads". The physical nature of time is addressed ...
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Dyadics
In mathematics, specifically multilinear algebra, a dyadic or dyadic tensor is a second order tensor, written in a notation that fits in with vector algebra. There are numerous ways to multiply two Euclidean vectors. The dot product takes in two vectors and returns a scalar, while the cross product returns a pseudovector. Both of these have various significant geometric interpretations and are widely used in mathematics, physics, and engineering. The dyadic product takes in two vectors and returns a second order tensor called a ''dyadic'' in this context. A dyadic can be used to contain physical or geometric information, although in general there is no direct way of geometrically interpreting it. The dyadic product is distributive over vector addition, and associative with scalar multiplication. Therefore, the dyadic product is linear in both of its operands. In general, two dyadics can be added to get another dyadic, and multiplied by numbers to scale the dyadic. However, the ...
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Vector Calculus Identities
The following are important identities involving derivatives and integrals in vector calculus. Operator notation Gradient For a function f(x, y, z) in three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate variables, the gradient is the vector field: \operatorname(f) = \nabla f = \begin \frac,\ \frac,\ \frac \end f = \frac \mathbf + \frac \mathbf + \frac \mathbf where i, j, k are the standard unit vectors for the ''x'', ''y'', ''z''-axes. More generally, for a function of ''n'' variables \psi(x_1, \ldots, x_n), also called a scalar field, the gradient is the vector field: \nabla\psi = \begin\frac, \ldots,\ \frac \end\psi = \frac \mathbf_1 + \dots + \frac\mathbf_n . where \mathbf_ are orthogonal unit vectors in arbitrary directions. As the name implies, the gradient is proportional to and points in the direction of the function's most rapid (positive) change. For a vector field \mathbf = \left(A_1, \ldots, A_n\right) written as a 1 × ''n'' row vector, also called a tenso ...
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Curl (mathematics)
In vector calculus, the curl is a vector operator that describes the infinitesimal circulation of a vector field in three-dimensional Euclidean space. The curl at a point in the field is represented by a vector whose length and direction denote the magnitude and axis of the maximum circulation. The curl of a field is formally defined as the circulation density at each point of the field. A vector field whose curl is zero is called irrotational. The curl is a form of differentiation for vector fields. The corresponding form of the fundamental theorem of calculus is Stokes' theorem, which relates the surface integral of the curl of a vector field to the line integral of the vector field around the boundary curve. is a notation common today to the United States and Americas. In many European countries, particularly in classic scientific literature, the alternative notation is traditionally used, which is spelled as "rotor", and comes from the "rate of rotation", which it rep ...
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Faraday's Law Of Induction
Faraday's law of induction (briefly, Faraday's law) is a basic law of electromagnetism predicting how a magnetic field will interact with an electric circuit to produce an electromotive force (emf)—a phenomenon known as electromagnetic induction. It is the fundamental operating principle of transformers, inductors, and many types of electrical motors, generators and solenoids. The Maxwell–Faraday equation (listed as one of Maxwell's equations) describes the fact that a spatially varying (and also possibly time-varying, depending on how a magnetic field varies in time) electric field always accompanies a time-varying magnetic field, while Faraday's law states that there is emf (electromotive force, defined as electromagnetic work done on a unit charge when it has traveled one round of a conductive loop) on the conductive loop when the magnetic flux through the surface enclosed by the loop varies in time. Faraday's law had been discovered and one aspect of it (transformer emf ...
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