Chapter 2: The Derivation of Maxwell Equations and the form of the

boundary value problem

In modern time, physics, including geophysics, solves real-world problems by applying

first principles of physics with a much higher capability than merely the analytical
solutions for simple, classic problems. This is done with great assistance of sophisticated
laboratory experiments and powerful computer techniques, including both the hardware
and the software. Nevertheless, all mathematical analysis still deeply roots with
fundamental mathematical physics. The mathematical physical principles to rule the
electromagnetic problems are the Maxwell equations. James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879,
Figure 2.1) elegantly integrated the electric, magnetic, and the electro-magnetic induction
theories prior to his era and formed a set of differential equations. This integration has
been known as the Maxwell equations thereafter.

Figure 2.1. James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879).

The next subsection gives the major derivation of the Maxwell equations. They integrated
the Ampere’s law, the Faraday’s law and two mathematical-physical theorems and
formed a set of four partial differential equations.
2.1 The Constitutive relations

Similar to the constitutive relations in continuous medium mechanics, there are also
constitutive relationships in electromagnetics. Constitutive relations describe the
medium’s properties and effects when two physical quantities are related. It cane be
viewed as the description of response of the medium as a system to certain input. For
example, in continuous medium mechanics, the response of a linear-elastic medium to
strain can be described by the Hooke’s law, and the resultant is the stress. The relation
between stress and strain is the Hooke’s law. In another word, Hooke’s law is the
constitutive relations for linear elasticity. In electromagnetics, there are four fundamental
constitutive relationships to describe the response of a medium to a variety of
electromagnetic input. Two of them describe the relationship between the electric field E
and the conductive current J, and the electric displacement D, and the other two describe
the relationship between the magnetic field H and the magnetic induction B, and the
magnetic polarization M. Quantitatively, these four constitutive relationships are

J = σE
D = εE
B = µH
M = χH

where σ is the electric conductivity, ε the dielectric permittivity, µ the magnetic

permeability, and χ the magnetic susceptibility. We will devote the entire Chapter 3 to
discuss the electromagnetic properties of earth material in terms of these four parameters.
It is noteworthy that the first relation is the well-known Ohm’s law in a microscopic
form. These four parameters exclusively describe the electromagnetic properties of a
material. It is necessary to point out that some of them are inter-related. To understand
the behavior of these electromagnetic parameters are the central piece to understand the
geophysical response when geophysical surveys are employed to solve any engineering,
exploration, and environmental problems. We will devote the entire Chapter 3 to discuss
these material property parameters in details.

2.2 The Derivation of Maxwell Equations

In this section we derive the Maxwell equations based of the differentiation form of a
number of physical principles.

First, we discuss the Ampere’s law. Ampere’s law describes the fact of that an electric
current can generate an induced magnetic field. It states that in a stable magnetic field the
integration along a magnetic loop is equal to the electric current the loop enclosed.
Mathematically, Ampere’s law can be expressed as:
 ∫ H ⋅ dl = j
L

Let us take a simple case to illustrate the Ampere’s law, as shown in Figure 2.2. Recall
that the curl of a vector field is defined as (any text book on vector field, and see
Appendix I)

∫ A ⋅ dl
curlA = ∇ × A = lim L
n
∆S →0 ∆S

replace A by the magnetic field H and consider the case of that the magnetic field is on
the plane of the paper and the electric current is flowing out from the paper with the
current normal to the paper we can have

∫ H ⋅ dl j
curlH = ∇ × H = lim L
n= =J
∆S →0 ∆S ∆S

where J is the current density in an infinitesimal area. Meanwhile, if the electric field E is
not stable, i.e., varying with respect to time, and the variation frequency is high enough
and extends into the radar frequency, there will be another current in the medium known
as the displacement current and is proportional to the variation of the electric fined E, and
the proportional factor is the dielectric permittivity ε. Thus, there will be another
contributor, dD/dt, to induce the magnetic field H. The displacement current works
exactly the same way as the conductive current J, so that the total current should be J+
dD/dt; put both contributors into the above equation ends up with the first equation of the
Maxwell equations:

∂D
∇×H = J +
∂t
Figure 2.2. Illustration of the Ampere’s law (a) and the Faraday’s law (b).

Second, we take a look of the Faraday’s law. Faraday’s law states that a moving magnet
can generate an alternating electric field. Mathematically, the moving magnet can be
represented by the variation of a vector magnetic potential ψ and the Faraday’s law can
be mathematically expressed as

∂Ψ
E=−
∂t

by taking curl or cross product of both sides of the equation we have

∂Ψ ∂ ∂B
∇ × E = −∇ × = − (∇ × Ψ ) = −
∂t ∂t ∂t

Next, let us take a look of another 2 equations originated form a mathematical theory –
the Gaussian theorem. From the vector field theory (see Appendix I) we have learned that
the divergence of a vector field is defined as

∫∫ A ⋅ ds
divA = ∇ ⋅ A = lim S
∆v →0 ∆v

This relation actually comes from the well-known Gaussian theorem that states the
following relationship:
 ∫∫∫ ∇ ⋅ Adv = ∫∫ A ⋅ ds
v S

Gaussian theorem states that the integration of the divergence of a vector field over
a certain volume is equivalent to the vector field itself integrated over the entire
closed surface that contains the volume. Applying the divergence and Gaussian
theorem to the electric field E and the magnetic field H results in different results. Let’s
take a look of the electric field first. From the constitutive relationships we knew that
D=εE, and we also knew the electric field caused by an electric charge q is

qr
E=
4πεr 3
Replacing A with D in the definition of divergence and considering the Gaussian theorem
and take the closed surface as a spherical shell centered at the location of the electric
charge we have

qr
∫∫ D ⋅ ds ∫∫ εE ⋅ ds ∫∫ ε 4πεr 3
ds
q
∇ ⋅ D = lim S
= lim S
= lim S
= = ρe
v →0 v v →0 v v →0 v v

where ρe is the charge density in the infinitesimal volume confined by the enclosed
surface. In contrast, the magnetic field is a completely another story with the fact that the
magnetic field is a rotation field with only the dipole source at a singular location and the
south and north poles are only separated by a infinitesimal distance. Even when the
enclosed surface contains the magnetic source, the net magnetic charge, in analog with
the electric field, is still zero. Thus, when apply the divergence and Gaussian theorem to
the magnetic induction B we have

∫∫ B ⋅ ds ∫∫ µH ⋅ ds
∇ ⋅ B = lim S
= lim S
=0
v →0 v v →0 v

upon the fact that the net magnetic flux goes through the closed surface is zero (Figure
2.3).
Figure 2.3. The case of a rotation-free vector field (a) and a source-free vector field (b).

In summary, the Maxwell’s equations (Governing the electromagnetic fields) can be

expressed in the following form:

∂D
∇×H = J +
∂t
∂B
∇×E = −
∂t
∇⋅B = 0
∇ ⋅ D = ρe

The first equation is derived from the Ampere’s law, it denotes that the electrical current
(both the conductive current J and the displacement current dD/dt) induces the magnetic
field. The second equation is derived from the Faraday’s law; it denotes that the variation
of the magnetic field induces the electrical field. The third and the fourth equations are
derived from the Gaussian Theorem, one for the magnetic field, and the other for the
electrical field.

In solving the Maxwell’s equation, either analytically for simple problems or numerically
for more complicated problems, it is necessary to write up the Maxwell equations into
three components in accordance with certain given coordinates. The Maxwell’s equations
in Cartesian coordinate can be expressed:
 ∂H z ∂H y ∂D x
( − ) = Jx +
∂y ∂z ∂t
∂H ∂H z ∂D y
( x − ) = Jy +
∂z ∂x ∂t
∂H y ∂H x ∂D z
( − ) = Jz +
∂x ∂y ∂t
∂E ∂E y ∂B
( z − )=− x
∂y ∂z ∂t
∂E ∂E ∂B y
( x − z)=−
∂z ∂x ∂t
∂E y ∂E x ∂B
( − )=− z
∂x ∂y ∂t
∂H x ∂H y ∂H z
+ + =0
∂x ∂y ∂z
∂E x ∂E y ∂E z
+ + = ρe
∂x ∂y ∂z

Maxwell’s equations in the cylindrical coordinate can be expressed as:

∂H z ∂H θ ∂D
( − ) = Jr + r
r∂θ ∂z ∂t
∂H ∂H z ∂D
( r − ) = Jθ + θ
∂z ∂r ∂t
∂H θ ∂H r ∂D z
( − ) = Jz +
∂r r∂θ ∂t
∂E ∂E ∂B
( z − θ)=− r
r∂θ ∂z ∂t
∂E ∂E ∂B
( r − z)=− θ
∂z ∂r ∂t
∂E ∂E ∂B
( θ − r)=− z
∂r r∂θ ∂t
∂ ∂H θ ∂H z
(rH r ) + + =0
r∂r r∂θ ∂z
∂ ∂E ∂E
(rE r ) + θ + z = ρ e
r∂r r∂θ ∂z

Maxwell’s equations in the spherical coordinate are:

 1 ∂ ∂Hθ ∂D
( ( H ϕ sin θ ) − ) = Jr + r
r sin θ ∂θ ∂ϕ ∂t
1 ∂H ∂ ∂D
( r − (rH ϕ sin θ )) = Jθ + θ
r sin θ ∂ϕ ∂r ∂t
1 ∂ (rH θ ) ∂H r ∂D
( − ) = Jϕ + ϕ
r ∂r ∂θ ∂t
1 ∂ ∂E ∂B
( ( Eϕ sin θ ) − θ ) = − r
r sin θ ∂θ ∂ϕ ∂t
1 ∂E ∂ ∂B
( r − (rEϕ sin θ )) = − θ
r sin θ ∂ϕ ∂r ∂t
1 ∂ (rEθ ) ∂Er ∂B
( − )=− ϕ
r ∂r ∂θ ∂t
∂ ∂ ∂H ϕ
(r 2 H r ) + ( Hθ sin θ ) + =0
r ∂r
2
r sin θ∂θ r sin θ∂ϕ
∂ ∂ ∂Eϕ
( r 2 Er ) + ( Eθ sin θ ) + = ρe
r ∂r
2
r sin θ∂θ r sin θ∂ϕ

2.3 Dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability

We have shown that the constitutive equations are:

J = σE
D = εE
B = µH
M = χH

For a more convenient mathematical manipulation and using the SI unit system, the
magnetic permeability µ and the electric permittivity ε can be written into two parts as:

µ = µ0 µ r
ε = ε 0ε r

with the parameters with subscript zero defined as the magnetic permeability and the
electric permittivity in vacuum; and the ones with subscript r as the relative permeability
and relative permittivity (or the so-called dielectric constant). In vacuum we have

1
ε0 = × 10 −9 ( Farads / meter )
36π
µ 0 = 4π × 10 −7 ( Henries / meter )
and it is easy to recognize that the speed of light is the electromagnetic wave velocity in
vacuum as

1
c02 = = 9 × 1016 ( Jol / kg )
µ 0ε 0
1
c0 = = 3 × 108 ( meter / sec )
µ 0ε 0

The parameters of material property shown in these constitutive relationships are not
totally independent with one another. Their interrelationship is not constant over the
frequency band. From the magnetostatic point of view the magnetic permeability and the
magnetic susceptibility are related in the form of

χ = µ r − 1, or µ r = 1 + χ

and it is easy to see that

B
M = χH = ( µ r − 1)H = µ r H − H = −H
µ0
or
B = µ 0 H + µ 0 M = µ 0 H + µ 0 χH = µ 0 (1 + χ )H = µ 0 µ r H
Apparently, susceptibility χ is a more intrinsic parameter than permeability µ to describe
the magnetic property of a material. It expresses how easy or how hard a material can be
magnetized and how much it contributes to the magnetic induction B.

2.4 The formation of the Helmholtz Equations

It is noticeable that the first two equations, i.e., the two come out from the Ampere’s law
and the Faraday’s law, the electric field and the magnetic field are coupled with each
other. They are clearly states the coupling nature of the electromagnetic induction.
Mathematically, however, it is relative more cumbersome to solve and makes the
physical nature more implicit. In this section we will de-couple these two equations and
make their diffusion and wave propagation nature more explicit by some mathematical
manipulations. First we need to recall that in the vector field theory we have shown that
any given vector field A can be expressed as

A = ∇Φ + ∇ × Ψ

i.e., A can always be expressed as the sum of the gradient of a scalar potential Φ and the
curl of a vector potential ψ. And the following two equalities are always held.
 ∇ × ∇Φ ≡ 0
∇⋅∇× Ψ ≡ 0

also we have

∇ × ∇ × A = ∇(∇ ⋅ A) − ∇ 2 A

we will put these relationships into the first two equations of the Maxwell equations, i.e.,
the one derived from the Ampere’s law and the one from Faraday’s law. First let us get
the curl of the first equation and we have

∂D
∇×∇×H = ∇×J + ∇×
∂t
∂E
= ∇ × (σE) + ∇ × (ε )
∂t
∂
= σ (∇ × E) + ε (∇ × E)
∂t
∂B ∂ ∂B
= σ (− ) − ε
∂t ∂t ∂t
∂H ∂ 2H
= −σµ − εµ 2
∂t ∂t

The relationship of the second equation of the Maxwell equations (the Faraday’s law) and
the constitutive relationship were used in the above derivation. By using the relationship
of Eqn (2.x), and recall that the magnetic field is always only the curl of a vector
potential (magnetic field is a source-free field), the left hand side of the above becomes

1
∇ × ∇ × H = ∇(∇ ⋅ H ) − ∇ 2 H = ∇( ∇ ⋅ B) − ∇ 2 H = −∇ 2 H
µ

Thus eventually we get

∂H ∂2H
∇ 2 H = σµ + εµ 2
∂t ∂t

Using the same argument and similar approach we can get similar results for the second
equation of the Maxwell equations (the Faraday’s law) and we get a pair of the following
equations:

∂H ∂ 2H
∇ H = σµ
2
+ εµ 2
∂t ∂t
∂E ∂ 2E
∇ 2 E = σµ + εµ 2
∂t ∂t
Obviously the two equations have been decoupled, i.e., only one physical quantity (field),
either the electric field or the magnetic field, appears in one equation. After decoupling
the electric field and the magnetic field we can further the discussion by look into the
relativity of the material parameters for the electric and electromagnetic properties.
Without lose of generality, we can assume the time variation of the electric field is in a
simple harmonic form, i.e.,

∂E ∂ 2E
E = E0e − iωt , = −iωE0e − iωt = −iωE , = (−iω )(−iω )E0e − iωt = −ω 2E
∂t ∂t 2

Hereinafter we let that E is a newly defined quantity without time varying component and
omitted the subscript zero for the easy writing. Put this definition into the second
equation of eqn(2.x) we have

∂E ∂ 2E
∇ E = σµ
2
+ εµ 2
∂t ∂t
= −iωσµE − ω εµE2

σ
= −ω 2 εµ (1 + i )E
ωε
= −k 2 E

Follow a similar approach we can get the same results for the magnetic field and we thus
can arrive at a set of two the so-called Helmholtz equations. The Helmholtz equations

∇2H + k 2H = 0
∇ 2E + k 2E = 0

with the definition for

σ
k 2 = ω 2 µε (1 + i)
ωε
as the squared complex wave number. It is clear that in the above equation when the
second term in the bracket on the right hand side has a value much larger than one then
the k-square has a significant imaginary part so that the Helmholtz equation is essentially
representing a diffusion equation. Vice versa, if the ratio is much less than one, the k-
square has a significant real part so that the Helmholtz equation is essentially
representing a wave equation. That is to say, in the complete equations
 ∂H ∂ 2H
∇ 2 H = σµ + εµ 2
∂t ∂t
∂E ∂ 2E
∇ 2 E = σµ + εµ 2
∂t ∂t

if σ>>ωε, we have

∂H
∇ 2 H ≈ σµ
∂t
∂E
∇ 2 E ≈ σµ
∂t

Since most earth materials do not have strong magnetic susceptibility, the electric
conductivity is the controlling parameter in the process. Thus the above equation
represents a conductive, or diffusion process, similar to the diffusion equation used to
describe heat conduction, groundwater flow etc. Mathematically, this is a parabolic
equation. On the other hand, if σ<<ωε, we have

∂ 2H
∇ 2 H ≈ εµ
∂t 2
∂ 2E
∇ E ≈ εµ 2
2

∂t

In this equation the dielectric permittivity is the prevailing parameter (again, magnetic
permeability is relative weak for most earth materials). Dielectric polarization is the
controlling process other than conduction. The physical feature is the wave propagation
like process, similar to the mechanic waves. Mathematically, this is a hyperbolic
equation. We will discuss in a more detailed fashion on the diffusion equation in
electromagnetic induction, and the wave equation in ground penetrating radar. We also
define and discuss in details on the electric conduction and dielectric polarization in
material properties in Chapter 3.

2.5 Electromagnetic boundary conditions

Electromagnetic shows that the normal component of current, electric displacement, and
magnetic induction should be continuous when cross a material interface or boundary;
while the tangential component of the electric field and the magnetic field should be
continuous cross the material interface. Let us take the magnetic boundary condition as
the example to illustrate the calculation. From the Gaussian theorem we have

∫∫∫ ∇ ⋅ Adv = ∫∫ A ⋅ ds
v S
Replacing A by the magnetic induction vector B and make a small disc with the thickness
of ∆h and its central line is coincident with the boundary of two media (Figure 2.4) we
have

∫∫∫ ∇ ⋅ Bdv = ∫∫ B ⋅ ds = ∫∫ B ⋅ ds + ∫∫ B ⋅ ds + ∫∫ B ⋅ ds
v S uppersurface lowersurface sidesurface

= ∫∫ B ⋅ ds + ∫∫ B ⋅ ds +0 = ∫∫ B
uppersurface lowersurface S1
2 ⋅ nds − ∫∫ B 1 ⋅ nds = 0
S1

Figure 2.4. Illustration of the electromagnetic boundary conditions.

In the above derivation, we can see that after define the small volume enclosed by this
small disc, and eventually let the thickness of the disc ∆h tends to be zero, the flux
through the area of the side surface is also zero. The upper and lower surfaces have the
same area but opposite external normal direction, thus the dot products of the magnetic
induction and the surface normal have opposite polarity. Using subscript 1 and 2 to
denote the induction in two medium we get B1 and B2. From the Maxwell equation we
knew that the divergence of the magnetic induction is zero, this leads to the last step in
the above derivation. Finally we get

n ⋅ (B 2 − B1 ) = 0 , or B2 n = B1n

This means that the normal component of the magnetic induction B is continuous
crossing the medium boundary. Combining with other physical principles as shown in the
Maxwell’s equations, we can get the following set of the so-called electromagnetic
boundary conditions. In these statements we assume there is no free electric charge
everywhere. These relationships of boundary conditions can be mathematically expressed
as
 n ⋅ (J 2 − J 1 ) = 0
n ⋅ (B 2 − B 1 ) = 0
n ⋅ (D 2 − D1 ) = 0
n × (H 2 − H 1 ) = 0
n × ( E 2 − E1 ) = 0

After we discussed the physical equations (the Maxwell’s equations), the constitutive
relationships, and the boundary conditions, we are ready to discuss the electromagnetic
phenomena in the earth materials.

Attenuation:
The unit of attenuation coefficient is in Nepers for science and decibels (dB) for
engineering. The definitions are

x1 x
α = ln( ) (Np), and α = 20log10 ( 1 ) (dB),
x2 x2
so that the conversion is

x1 x1 x1
20log 10 ( ) ln(
x2
) 20 ln( )log10 (e)
x2 20log10 (e ) x2
1 Np = dB = dB = dB = 20 log10 (e)dB = 8.686dB
x1 x x
ln( ) ln( 1 ) ln( 1 )
x2 x2 x2
The following equalities are used in deriving the above relation.

1
x = ln e x = e lnx , and log b a = , if a>0, and b>0
log a b
1
log10 (e) = = 0.4342945
ln(10)

In summary, neper (Np) is a unit used to express ratios, such as gain, loss, and relative
values, here is the attenuation coefficient. The neper is analogous to the decibel, except
that the Naperian base e=2.718281828 is used in computing the ratio in nepers. One
neper (Np) = 8.686 dB, where 8.686 = 20log(e)=20/(ln 10). The neper is often used to
express the ratio of amplitude, whereas the decibel is usually used to express power
ratios. Like the dB, the Np is a dimensionless unit.