SAMARA UNIVERSITY

College of Engineering & Technology

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

EM WAVES AND GUIDE STRUCTURES

REVIEW OF VECTORS AND MAXWELL’S

EQUATIONS

By:- Aregahegn M.
Nov/2022
 Contents
• Scalar & Vector Fields;
• Coordinate systems and transformation;
• Line, Surface, & Volume Integrals;
• Gradient, Divergence, Curl and Laplacian.
• Maxwell equations
 1. Scalar & Vector Fields
• A scalar:-
– Is a quantity that has only magnitude.
– Examples; time, mass, distance, temperature, entropy,
electric potential, and population
• A vector:-
– Is a quantity that has both magnitude and direction.
– Examples; velocity, force, displacement, and electric
field intensity
• A field:-
– Is a function that specifies a particular quantity
everywhere in a region
 2. Coordinate systems
a) Cartesian Coordinates (X, Y, Z)
– A vector A in Cartesian (otherwise known as
rectangular) coordinates can be written as

where , , and
are unit vectors along
the x-, y-, and z-
directions
b) Circular Cylindrical Coordinates ( , , )
• A vector A in cylindrical coordinates can be
written as

• where , , and are unit vectors in the -,

-, and -directions.
• The magnitude of A is
• Since the unit vectors are perpendicular
Cntd…
 Conversion between cartesian and
cylindrical
• Coordinate variables

• Unit vectors
 Cntd….
• Vector components

• In matrix form
 c) Spherical coordinates( , , )
• A vector A in spherical coordinates can be
written as

• The magnitude of A is

• Unit vectors
Contd…
 Conversion between cartesian and
spherical coordinates
• Space variables

• Unit vectors
 Contd…

• Vector components
 Contd…
• Or in matrix form
 1. Differential elements
• Cartesian coordinates
• From Figure 1.1, we notice that
1) Differential displacement is
given by

2) Differential normal area is

given by

3) Differential volume is given by

Fig 1.1 Differential elements in
Cartesian coordinate system.
Cntd…

General
expression
for dS
Cylindrical coordinates
Contd…
Contd…
Spherical coordinates
(3)
Contd…
LINE, SURFACE, AND VOLUME INTEGRALS
1. The line (curve, contour) integral

• If the path of integration is a closed

curve the integral becomes a closed contour
integral which is called the circulation of A
around L.
Contd…
 Contd…
2. The surface integral or the flux
• Given a vector field A, continuous in a region
containing the smooth surface S,

• For a closed surface, the integral becomes

which is referred to as the net outward flux of A

from S.
Contd…
 Contd…
3. The volume integral
• The volume integral of the scalar over the
volume is defined as
•
 Contd…
• Example
• the circulation of F around the (closed) path
shown below
 The del operator
1. In Cartesian form

2. In cylindrical form

3. In spherical form
 Gradient of a Scalar Field
• The gradient of a scalar field V is a vector that
represents both the magnitude and the direction of the
maximum space rate of increase of V.
Contd….
 Contd…
• Note:

where U and V are scalars and n is an integer.

 Divergence of A vector
• The divergence of A at a given point P is the
outward flux per unit volume as the
volume shrinks about P.

• In Cartesian coordinate system;

 Contd….
• In cylindrical coordinates;

• In spherical coordinates;
Contd….
 The divergence theorem
• The divergence theorem stales that the total
outward flux of a vector field A through the
closed surface s is the same as the volume
integral of the divergence of A

Proof
Contd….
 Curl of A Vector
• The curl of A is an axial (or rotational) vector
whose magnitude is the maximum circulation
of A per unit area as the area lends to zero
and whose direction is the normal direction of
the area when the area is oriented so as to
make the circulation maximum
 Contd…
• In cartesian coordinates
 Contd….
• In cylindrical coordinates
 Contd….
• In spherical coordinates
Properties of the curl
 Stokes's theorem
• Stokes's theorem states that the circulation of
a vector field A around a (closed) path
L is equal to the surface integral of the curl of
A over the open surface S bounded by
L provided that A and ∇X are continuous on
S.
 Laplacian of a Scalar
• An operator which is the composite of
gradient and divergence operators.
• The Laplacian of a scalar field V, written as
∇ is the divergence of the gradient of V

• In cartesian coordinates;
 Contd….
• In cylindrical coordinates,

• In spherical coordinates,

• A scalar field V is said to be harmonic in a given

region if
(Laplace's equation)
 Vector fields
1. Solenoidal (or divergenceless) fields
• = 0
• Since the field of curl F (for any F) is purely
solenoidal because • ( ) = 0, a
solenoidal field A can always be expressed in
terms of another vector F; that is,
 Vector fields
2. Irrotational (or potential) fields
= 0
• Since the field of gradient V (for any scalar V) is
purely irrotational because ∇ (∇ ) = 0, an
irrotational field A can always be expressed in
terms of a scalar field V; that is
 Helmholtz 's theorem
• Let
• = and =ρ
• Any vector A satisfying the above equations
with both and vanishing at infinity can
be written as the sum of two vectors: one
irrotational (zero curl), the other solenoidal
(zero divergence). This is called Helmholtz 's
theorem.
Maxwell’s equations