ELEC3115

ELECTROMAGNETIC ENGINEERING
Course Convenor: A/Prof Rukmi Dutta,
Room 406, EET
rukmi.dutta@unsw.edu.au
Part A
Low frequency (i.e. 0-300Hz) very Part B
large wave-length considered more High frequency (> 1MHz) very
as a field*. small wave-length
treated as a wave.

*A field is a spatial distribution of a vector or scalar quantity, which may or may

not be functions of time.
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 PART A Electromagnetic Fields (low frequency EM)
Topic 1 - Static Electric Field and Capacitance (Week 1 and 2)
• Workshop 1, 2 and Lab 1
Topic 2 - Solutions of Electrostatic Problems (Week 3) Maxwell’s
• Workshop 3 equations
Topic 3 - Magnetic Field and Inductance (Week 4 and 5)
• Workshop 4, 5, Lab 2, and 3

Part B
Feedback quiz every week – 5%
Part A -Mid-term Test on Week 7, Tuesday (26/03/2024) – 15%
Lab starts from week 4 for even week and week 5 for odd week – 15%
Final exam - 50% (part A: part B = 60%:40%)
 ELEC 3115
Lecture 1: Week 1 , Tuesday

Topic 1- Static Electric Field and Capacitance

Outline
1.1 Finding of electric field and potentials
1.2 Electric field in material media
1.3 Capacitance formations
1.4 Electrostatic energy and force

Chapter 3 of your textbook by D.K Cheng

 Cables

Electric field? Inside? Around?

Any effects? How to design ?
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Today’s learning goals
After today’s lecture you will be able to

Demonstrate the assumed pre-knowledge on Electric field,

Electric potential and Gauss’s law

Explain the postulates of electrostatics and infer their relation

to Gauss’s law and electric potential.

Apply Gauss’s law to find electric field and potential in

Engineering problems.

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 What is an electric field?

Repelling force Attraction force

Electric field is the force experienced by a stationary unit charge and

defined in the surrounding space by flux lines (lines of force).
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 How do we measure electric field?
1. Electric field intensity 𝐸𝐸: Force per unit stationary
charge. SI unit N/C or V/m.

2. Electric flux density 𝐷𝐷: Electric flux lines per

unit area, SI unit C/m2. Cross-sectional area

    D
εE
D ∞E → D =
ε : Permittivity of the medium

E and D are vectors and directions are same as the force F experienced by the charge.

Vector notations used in this course:

 
E or E = E aR
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 How do we represent field quantities?
Field vectors such as E and D can be defined as a point in the 3-D space -
point vector.
• Cartesian or rectangular System: 𝐸𝐸(x,y,z)
• Cylindrical System : 𝐸𝐸 (r, θ, z)
• Spherical System : 𝐸𝐸 (R,θ,φ)

Can you express E in the cylindrical co-ordinate system

showing components in all three directions?

Cylindrical co-ordinate

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 Electric potential

What is it?

Electric potential (V) is the work is done to move a unit positive charge a distance dl in the
presence of an electric field E (from point b to a). Negative sign indicates work done is
against the electric field E.
 
b
− ∫ E • dl
Vba =
a
Note that V is also a 3-dimensional function but scalar.
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 How to characterize 3-d scalar and vector functions

A scalar can increase or decrease in certain

A vector can diverge/converge or circulate:
direction (partial differentiation of the 3-d
(partial differentiation of the 3-d vector
scalar function measures rate of increase/
function measures these.)
decrease i.e., Gradient)
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 
Partial derivation of 3-D functions and Del operator ∇

Short-hand form to express partial derivatives in 3 dimensional co-ordinates is called del

operator.
  ∂  ∂  ∂
For example, in the Cartesian co-ordinate: = ∇ a +a +a
x y z
∂x ∂y ∂z

Can you write the Del operator for the cylindrical coordinate?

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 Gradient (grad): Partial derivative of a three-dimensional scalar function.
  ∂  ∂  ∂ 
grad V or ∇V =  ax + ay + az  V Is it scalar or vector?
 ∂x ∂y ∂z 

Divergence (Div): (measures net outward flux per volume)

Partial derivatives of a three-dimensional vector function. It is a scalar function.

   ∂Dx ∂Dy ∂Dz

div D or ∇ •=
D + +
∂x ∂y ∂z

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Curl of a vector function measures the circulation and its direction per unit area of the vector
function. It is a vector function.
   ∂Ay    ∂Ax ∂Az    ∂Ay ∂Ax 
  ∂Az
Curl A or=
∇ × A ax  −  + ay  −  + az  − 
 ∂y ∂z   ∂z ∂x   ∂x ∂y 

If, ∇ × 𝐸𝐸 = 0 ∇𝑉𝑉 = 𝐸𝐸

If the curl of a vector field is zero (i.e. vector does not circulate around, irrotational), the vector
can be expressed as a gradient of a scalar function – Helmholtz's theorem .

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 Div and Curl of a static electric field E

Does the electric field have a source or sink ?

Is there circulation of flux lines ?
       
∇ ×=D 0 or ∇ ×=
E 0; D ? or ∇ •=
∇ •= E ?
 
E = −∇V
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 Source of an electric field: Charge densities
Smooth out average charge densities are often used instead of discrete point charge q to
define charges in a device:
∆q 3 (Subscript v could be omitted.)
• Volume charge density ρ = lim
v C/m
∆v→0 ∆v
∆q
• Surface charge density ρ s = lim C/m2
∆s →0 ∆s

∆q
• Line charge density ρ l = lim C/m
∆l →0 ∆l

Total charge q = ∫ ρ dv or ∫ ρ ds or ∫ ρ dl
v s
s
l
l

Charge densities are point functions in the space coordinate.

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 Fundamental equations of Electrostatics
Electric field (in a medium) diverse/converse from/to a source/sink.
      ρ
D ρ ; =
Postulate 1: ∇ •= D εE ∴ ∇=
•E
ε
Where 𝜺𝜺 is the permittivity of the medium (units: F/m)
ε = ε 0ε r ε o = 8.854 × 10 −12 F/m (permittivity of the free space).
𝜀𝜀𝑟𝑟 is a known as the relative permittivity or the dielectric constant . It has no unit. For air
or free space 𝜀𝜀𝑟𝑟 =1.
Electric field does not circulate around a point.
   
Postulate 2: =
∇ × E 0, or ∇
= ×D 0

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 How to use these postulates?
• Postulates are true at every point in the space of an electric field.
• If the Curl of a point vector is zero, but div is non-zero, the vector could be E and D.

    ρ ρ at a point can be found from the

∇•D ρ
Postulate 1:= or =
∇•E div of E or D.
ε
     
Postulate 2: =
∇ × E 0, or ∇
= ×D 0 E = −∇V
(Helmholtz's theorem)
where, scalar function V is the electric potential.

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   ρ
Integral form of the first postulate ∇•E =
ε
To find E or D at a point due to a charge density, we need the integral form:
Taking volume integral of postulate 1,
  1 Qenclosed
∫(
v
)
∇ • E dv = ∫ ρ dv
ε v
=
ε
Qenclosed : the total charge enclosed within the closed surface (volume).
   
By Divergence Theorem,
∫(
v
)
∇ • E dv
= ∫s
E • ds

   Note that,
Qenclosed 
∫
∴
s
E • ds
ε
or
= ∫ D • ds Qenclosed
s
Qenclosed = ∫ ρ dv or ∫ ρ ds or ∫ ρ dl
vol s
s
l
l

Does it look familiar? Gauss’s law

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Gauss’s Law and Gaussian surface
  Qenclosed
∫s E • ds = ε
The surface integral becomes simple when surfaces (called
Gaussian surfaces) can be found on which 𝐸𝐸 remains constant.

Gaussian surface is equipotential

Imagine you have a uniform electric field. Which of the following

shapes could be a Gaussian surface for calculating the electric flux
through it?
(a) A closed sphere with the source charge at its center.
(b) A cylinder with its axis parallel to the electric field lines.
(c) A cube with one face perpendicular to the electric field lines.
(d) A cone with its vertex pointing towards the source charge.
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  
Integral form of the second Postulate ∇ × E = 0
Taking surface integral of postulate 2 and then applying Stokes’s theorem, we get the integral
from of the second postulate.    
∫ ( ∇ × E ) • ds =

0 → ∫ E • dl =
0
  s C
Substituting E = −∇V   
∫ ( )  dV
−∇V =
• dl ∫=
dV 0  ∇V • al =
dl
C c

The sum of the electrical potential differences (voltages) around any closed path (i.e. circuit) is
zero. Does this sound familiar? What is the common circuit theory law for voltage?
Kirchhoff's voltage law (KVL).
  b b  
Vba = − ∫ E • dl = − ∫ −∇V • dl ( )
Potential difference between two arbitrary points: b
a a

= ∫ dV=
a
Vb − Va

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 Example 1
A scientist studying the prediction of storm, needs to find the electrical field E inside and outside
of a charged cloud and the variation of E at a radial distance R from the centre of the cloud. How
can it be done?
Solution steps: Radius of the sphere : b
Volume charge density : ρ
1. Make assumptions to find a Gaussian
surface to apply Gauss’s Law:
  Qenclosed ρ ∫vol dv
∫ E •=
ds =
ε0 ε0
R
s ρ b
2. Find Einside at an arbitrary radius 0<R<b

ρ 4 3
E 4π R =  π R 
2

ε0  3 
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 E at any arbitrary radial distance R inside the sphere:
 1 4 3 
Einside = ρ  π R  aR ρ
R
4πε 0 R  3
2
 b

ρR 
aR V/m, for 0 < R ≤ b
3ε 0

3. Define Gaussian surface to find E at any radial distance R outside.

Note that the total charge of the sphere is enclosed by the chosen surface (dotted spherical
surface).
4 3
 Qsphere  ρ πb
3 
Eoutside
= = a ,
2 R 2
aR R>b
4πε 0 R 4πε 0 R

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  ρR  Variation of E with R
Einside a R V/m for 0 < R ≤ b
3ε o

  ρ b 3
Eoutside aR V/m for R > b
3ε o R 2

Where does the electric field reach the maximum E

value? If Emax = 3MV/m and b = 10m, what is the Inside
value of charge density in the cloud? Outside

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 Example 2
Consider a very long transmission line located above the ground at a height, where any
influence of ground is negligible. The line is charged with a uniform line charge density ρl .
(i) Find an expression of electric field E everywhere in the space around the transmission line

(ii) Find the magnitude of the electric field intensity at ground level directly below the line
when height from the ground to the line is 10m and the uniform line charge density ρl is
10-7 C/m.

.
10 m

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 Solution   Qenclosed
∫
s
E • ds =
ε
What should be the Gaussian surface here?

What is the Qenclosed in the Gaussian surface ?

L
Qenclosed
= ∫=
ρ dl
l ρl L
L
E

0

r ∫ ds = 2π rL
What is Gaussian surface area? 
s

  Qenclosed  ρl L
Cylindrical

∫ E •=
ds →2π rL E =
aR
Gaussian

ε0 ε0
surface

 ρl 
∴E = ar V/m
2πε 0 r
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(ii) Find the magnitude of the electric field intensity at ground level directly below the line when
height from the ground to the line is 10m and the uniform line charge density ρl is 10-7 C/m.

ε o = 8.854 × 10 −12 F/m Ans: 179.755 N/C or V/m

 ρl 
E= ar V/m
2πε 0 r

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