A. F.

Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves Fields & Waves Note #7 Gauss Law in Differential Form

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Objectives: Use the integral form of Gauss Law in a limiting case to motivate the divergence operation and obtain the law in its differential form. Consider examples that illustrate the calculation and significance of divergence. The integral form of Gauss Law relates the total flux out of a closed surface to the enclosed charge. Since it essentially involves only the average values of the flux and charge, it is less useful than we might like. In fact, as observed in the examples of Note #6, the integral form of Gauss Law can only be used to solve for the electric field when the problem under consideration has substantial symmetries. In the following, we use the integral form of Gauss Law to derive the equivalent differential law. The differential form of Gauss Law can be applied at points and therefore may have broader applicability for our study of electromagnetic fields. Application of Gauss Law to a small volume Consider the point (x0, y0, z0) and a small rectangular volume of dimension Dx by Dy by Dz (Figure 1), having surface S. If the field and charge density are assumed to be slowly varying with respect to the dimensions Dx, Dy, and Dz, the left-hand side of Gauss Law

D
S

dS = rv dv
V

(7.1)

applied to S can be expressed as the sum of six integrals, one over each of the six faces of the box in Figure 1. Since the dS vector captures the outward normal component of the D -field over each face, and since the D -field is slowly varying (and can be assumed to be constant over each face), these integrals can be written approximately as

D
S

dS @ Dx x = x + Dz z = z - Dy

+ Dx

DyDz + Dy

y = y 0 + Dy

DxDz (7.2)

+ Dz

DxDy - Dx x = x DyDz
0 0

y = y0

DxDz - Dz z = z DxDy

In a similar manner, the right-hand side of Gauss Law can be approximated by

r dv @ r
v V

v x = x ,y = y ,z = z 0 0 0

DxDyDz

(7.3)

By equating these expressions and rearranging terms, we obtain

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves Dx x = x - Dx x = x Dy - Dy

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0 + Dx

Dx

y = y 0 + Dy

Dy Dz

y = y0

Dz z = z

- Dz z = z + Dz

(7.4)
0

@ rv x = x

0 ,y = y 0 ,z = z0

In the limiting case as Dx 0, Dy 0, and Dz 0, the three terms on the left-hand side of (7.4) tend to derivatives, and the equation becomes Dy D Dx + + z = rv x y z (7.5)

This equation, which holds at any point (x0, y0, z0) where D and rv are defined, is the differential form or point form of Gauss Law. The differential operator on the lefthand side of (7.5) arises in connection with a number of engineering applications, and is known as the divergence operator. Divergence The divergence operator div D = D = Dy D Dx + + z x y z (7.6)

is a differential operator that converts a vector quantity, D , into a scalar quantity most often denoted as D . In Cartesian coordinates, it takes the form in equation (7.6), but it can also be expressed directly in cylindrical coordinates as D= or in spherical coordinates as D= Df 1 ( r 2 Dr ) 1 (sin q Dq ) 1 + + 2 r r r sin q r sin q f q (7.8) D 1 ( rDr ) 1 Df + + z r r r f z (7.7)

The formal definition of the divergence is A = lim

Dv 0

dS

Dv

(7.9)

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves

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Example:

Find the divergence of + 3y 2 y + 5z 3 z A = 4x x + 3z 2 y + 5x3 z B = 4y x + r sin f ( z - 1) z + r 2 cosf f C = 3r 2 r + r sin q f + r cosq sin f q D = ( r - 3) r (7.10) (7.11) (7.12) (7.13)

Solution:

Equation (7.6) applied to the vector A yields (4 x ) (3y 2 ) (5 z 3 ) + + A= x y z = 4 + 6 y + 15 z

2

(7.14)

If applied to B , (7.6) produces B= (4 y ) ( 3z 2 ) (5 x 3 ) =0 + + x y z (7.15)

Equation (7.7), the cylindrical coordinate form of the divergence, gives C= 1 ( 3r 3 ) 1 ( r 2 cosf ) ( r sin f ( z - 1)) + + z r r r f = 9 r - r sin f + r sin f = 9 r

(7.16)

when applied to the vector C . Finally, applying (7.8) to the vector D yields D= 1 ( r 2 ( r - 3)) 1 ( r sin q cosq sin f ) + 2 r r r sin q q 1 ( r sin q ) + r sin q f 6 sin f = 3- + (cos2 q - sin 2 q ) r sin q 6 cos 2q sin f = 3- + r sin q

(7.17)

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves Example:

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Use the differential form of Gauss Law to verify that the charge distribution associated with the electric field Kr 3 , r< a 5e 0 Er = 5 Ka , r > a 2 5e 0 r is given by Kr 2 rv ( r,q,f ) = 0 r<a r>a (7.19)

(7.18)

This E -field was obtained in the last example of Note #6, using the integral form of Gauss Law. Solution: We need to verify that D = (e 0 E ) = rv (7.20)

We note that the field in question is only a function of r; therefore the divergence operation simplifies to 1 ( r 2 Dr ) D= 2 r r Carrying out the calculation for the region r < a, we obtain Kr 5 Kr 3 1 5 = 2 r (e 0 E ) = = Kr 2 5 r r In the region r > a, we obtain Ka 5 Ka 5 1 5 = (e 0 E ) = 2 r =0 r 5r r 2 (7.21)

(7.22)

(7.23)

While this test is not a guarantee that the problem was correctly solved E could be off by a factor of 1/r2, for instance, and still produce the results in (7.22) and (7.23) it gives us some confidence in the answer we obtained earlier.

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves

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Physical meaning of divergence Consider the vector function A ( x, y ) = ( x - 2) 2 x (7.24)

This vector function is sketched in Figure 2. Observe that the vector arrows are all pointing parallel to the x-axis, and away from x = 2, and that they grow with distance away from that point. The divergence of this function is A = 2( x - 2) (7.25)

which is plotted in Figure 3. The divergence is positive for x > 2, and negative for x < 2. Suppose we had a ring-like device that we could insert into the x-y plane of Figure 2. The device would measure the average length of the vectors that crossed its surface in the outward direction, and report that value as a positive number if that average was greater than zero. If there were more vectors coming in than going out, the ring would report that result as a negative number. As illustrated in Figure 4, the ring reports a negative result when applied to the vector function A for x < 2, and a positive result when x > 2. When centered at x = 2, the ring reports a result of zero because the vectors emanating out of the ring are balanced by vectors emanating in. The output from the ring-like device, as a function of x, correlates with the divergence of the vector as sketched in Figure 2. Consider a second vector function (Figure 5) B ( x, y ) = cos x x (7.26)

If we employ the ring device to measure the behavior of the vector function B , we observe that in various locations we obtain a positive value and in other locations a negative value. These values correlate with the divergence of this function, given by B = - sin x The divergence is plotted in Figure 6. These examples suggest that the divergence operation is a measure of the extent to which the vector function points away or diverges away at a particular point. A constant vector, with magnitude and direction that do not change with position, exhibits no divergence. The opposite extreme might involve the electric field of a point charge, for which the divergence is infinite at the charge! (7.27)

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves Summary The differential form of Gauss Law D = rv

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(7.28)

relates the divergence of the electric flux density D (or electric field E ) to the volume charge density rv at any point. At a location where the charge density is positive, the field will exhibit positive divergence. If the charge density is zero in a region, there will be no divergence of the field in that region. If the charge density is negative, the field lines will be coming together causing negative divergence. Gauss Law therefore describes one aspect of the nature of the field associated with a distribution of charge.