A. F.

Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves Fields & Waves Note #3 Vector Integrals

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Objectives: Introduce vector line integrals and discuss the process of obtaining the differential length vector for arbitrary curves. Introduce vector surface integrals and the differential surface area vector. Electromagnetic fields are described by Maxwells equations. The integral form of these equations involve line and surface integrals. In preparation for our later study of Maxwells equations in integral form, this Note considers line and surface integrals. Line Integrals In physics, students learn that work is the product of force times distance. Force is actually a vector quantity, and the relation can be better expressed as W = F d (3.1)

where W is the work, F is the force vector, and d is the displacement vector along a straight-line path. If the work is done along a curved path, the path can be approximated by N short segments as shown in Figure 1, and the work can be approximated from the summation W @ F dn
n =1 N

(3.2)

In the limiting case as the segment lengths decrease to better approximate the curve, equation (3.2) becomes the integral W =

path

F dl

(3.3)

where d l is a differential length vector. This quantity has units of length, and is a vector that is tangential to the curve at each point. The differential length vector The general expression for the differential length vector is given in the Cartesian coordinate system by + dy y + dz z d l = dx x (3.4)

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

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For most calculations, equation (3.4) must be specialized to the particular path being considered. The following examples illustrate the procedure.

Example:

Find the differential length vector d l for the curve y= x, z = 0 (3.5)

Solution:

The curve in equation (3.5) is a parabola opening around the x-axis, as plotted in Figure 2. From the equation for the curve, we differentiate to obtain dy = 1 -1/ 2 x dx, dz = 0 2 (3.6)

Equation (3.6) provides a constraint that can be used to specialize equation (3.4) to the particular curve in question. By substitution, we obtain + dy y + dz z d l = dx x 1 -1/ 2 + + (0) z = dx x x dx y 2 1 + dx = x y 2 x We have now expressed d l entirely in terms of dx, which is appropriate if we intend to use x as the integration variable. As an alternative, we could leave d l entirely in terms of dy. From equation (3.6), we obtain the equivalent relation dx = 2 x dy = 2 y dy, dz = 0 By substitution into (3.4), we obtain + dy y + dz z d l = dx x +y ) dy = (2 y x + dy y + (0) z = (2 y dy ) x (3.8) (3.7)

(3.9)

We have now expressed d l entirely in terms of dy, which is appropriate if we intend to use y as the integration variable.

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

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It is worthwhile to verify that the d l vectors we obtain are in fact tangent vectors to the curve in (3.6). By evaluating the preceding expressions at specific points along the curve, we should be able to verify their directions. At the point (x=1, y=1, z=0) we find from (3.7) that 1 dl = x + y dx 2 and from (3.9) that +y ) dy d l = (2 x (3.11) (3.10)

These vectors point in the same direction, but appear different due to the fact that dx and dy are not the same at that particular point on the curve. The reader should sketch d l and the equation of the curve to determine whether or not d l is tangential. As a second example, consider the point (x=0, y=0, z=0). Equation (3.7) yields +y ) dx dl = (x (3.12)

The infinite nature of the y-coefficient reflects the fact that dx 0 at that point (the curve is perpendicular to the x-axis). From (3.9), we obtain the alternative expression d l = dy y which is clearly tangential to the curve at (x=0, y=0, z=0). (3.13)

Example:

Find the differential length vector d l in terms of the variable z for the straight line given by x = 2y = 4z (3.14)

Solution:

By differentiation, we obtain dx = 2 dy = 4 dz Therefore, dx = 4 dz (3.16) (3.15)

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves dy = 2 dz and by substitution we obtain + 2 dz y + dz z d l = 4 dz x +2 y +z ) dz = (4 x

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(3.17)

(3.18)

Example:

Find the differential length vector d l in terms of the variable z for the straight line passing through the points (0,3,0) and (0,0,1). In this case, the problem is easiest to solve by inspection. From Note #1, a vector drawn from a point (x, y, z) to a point (x, y, z) has the form + ( y - y ) y + ( z - z ) z R = ( x - x ) x Therefore, a vector connecting the two points in question is + (0 - 3) y + (1 - 0) z V = (0 - 0) x + z = -3 y (3.20) (3.19)

Solution:

The desired differential length vector must be along the same direction as (3.20), since it is also tangential to the line. However, it must have a z to be consistent with the general form in equation (3.4). component dz z Therefore, we simply scale the vector to an appropriate length: + z ) dz d l = (-3 y (3.21)

Since the vector is tangential and has the desired z-component, it is the result we seek.

The final step of the preceding example leads to an important observation: If the differential length vector is expressed entirely in terms of x, y, or z, then the corresponding component of the vector must be dx, dy, or dz, respectively. (Note that the sign of the relevant term must be positive!) We next turn our attention to the evaluation of the line integrals involving d l .

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves Example: A force vector is given as +3y ) F = F0 ( 4 x Compute the work done along the path defined by the curve y = x 2, z = 0 from point A at (1, 1, 0) to the point B at (2, 4, 0). Solution:

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(3.22)

(3.23)

First, we construct the differential length vector for the curve. From (3.23), we obtain dy = 2 xdx, dz = 0 Substituting (3.24) into (3.4) yields + dy y + dz z d l = dx x + (2 xdx ) y + (0) z = dx x + 2x y ) dx = (x (3.24)

(3.25)

The integral to be evaluated is W = F dl

A B A B

+3y ) (x + 2x y ) dx = F0 ( 4 x

(3.26)

The differential length vector is defined in terms of x, and the path under consideration extends from x=1 to x=2. The integrand can be simplified by evaluating the dot product, yielding W =

x =1

F (4 + 6 x )dx
0

= F0 4 x + 3 x 2

= F0 [8 + 12 - 4 - 3] = 13F0 As an alternate approach, we could set the problem up using y as the integration variable. In that case, (3.24) is equivalent to

2 x =1

(3.27)

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves dx = 1 1 dy = dy, dz = 0 2x 2 y

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Substituting into (3.4) yields 1 + dy y + (0) z dl = dy x 2 y 1 + y dy = x 2 y The integral can be expressed as W = F dl

A B

(3.29)

1 B +3y ) + = F0 ( 4 x x A 2 y 2 = F0 ( + 3) dy y y =1 == F0 4 y + 3 y
4

dy y

(3.30)

4 y =1

= F0 [8 + 12 - 4 - 3] = 13F0

The same result for the total work is obtained either way.

Line integrals over closed paths In many situations of interest, line integrals are performed over closed paths (paths that start and end at the same point). To denote a closed path, the integral sign is written with a small circle around it: W = F dl (3.31)

The integral of a vector function F around a closed path is often called the circulation of F . The evaluation of closed-path integrals is fundamentally no different from those of open path integrals, as illustrated by the following example.

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves Example: Evaluate the line integral of - 4y y ) F = F0 (2 x x around the closed path indicated in Figure 3. Solution:

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(3.32)

The path in this situation can be conveniently broken up into three parts. We shall construct the integral by separately treating each part:

F dl =

F dl +

path 1

path 2

F dl +

path 3

F dl

(3.33)

Let path 1 be the part of the x-axis between x=0 and x=2. For this path, the differential length vector can be found by inspection to be d l1 = dx x The integral to be evaluated is (3.34)

path 1

F dl =

x =0

- 4y y ) dx x F0 (2 x x

= F0

x =0

2 x dx = F [ x ]
0

(3.35)
x =0

2 2

= 4 F0

Let path 2 be the skewed line from (2,0) to (0,2). The equation of that line is y = 2- x Therefore, the differential length vector can be found using dy = - dx, dz = 0 Assuming that we leave the integral in terms of x, we obtain - dx y d l 2 = dx x The integral to be evaluated is (3.38) (3.37) (3.36)

path 2

F dl =

x =2

- 4y y ) (x -y ) dx F0 (2 x x

= F0

x =2

(2 x + 4 y ) dx

(3.39)

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

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Note that we have used the limits of integration to assign a particular direction to the path. In addition, the integrand contains y, which is a function of x along path 2. Substituting for y using equation (3.36), the integral becomes

path 2

F d l = F0 = F0

x =2 0

(2 x + 4[2 - x ]) dx
(3.40)

= F0 - x 2 + 8 x = -12 F0

x =2

(-2 x + 8) dx

0 x =2

Let path 3 is the portion of the y-axis from y=2 to y=0. Along this path, the differential length vector is d l 3 = dy y (3.41)

, even though the path is along the y-axis in the Note that it is NOT - dy y negative direction! We will always use the limits of integration to identify the direction along a particular path, and choose d l according to the general form in (3.4) in other words, a positive reference. The integral to be evaluated is

path 3

F dl = =

y =2

- 4y y ) dy y F0 (2 x x F0 (-4 y ) dy (3.42)

y =2

= - F0 2 y 2

[ ]

0 y =2

= 8 F0

Finally, we add the three parts together to obtain

F dl = 4F

- 12 F0 + 8 F0 = 0

(3.43)

In this case, the result adds to zero. We do not always obtain zero for a closed-path integral, however. In fact, the zero result is usually indicative of a special type of vector field.

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves Conservative vector fields and path independent integrals

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A vector field whose circulation is always zero, regardless of the path, is known as a conservative vector field. In equation form, A is conservative if

any path

A dl = 0

(3.44)

The static electric field, to be studied beginning in Note #4, is a conservative vector field. A conservative vector field has the property that its integral along an open path is independent of the path taken. In equation form, if A is conservative,

A dl = K

(3.45)

where K is the same regardless of the path taken from A to B. Figure 4 illustrates a simple proof of this statement, by depicting several paths between A and B. Since A is conservative, the integral of A along any closed path is zero. Therefore, the integral from B to A along the upper path in Figure 4, when added to the result of the integral along any of the other paths from A to B, must add to zero. It follows that the integral over any of the paths from A to B must be identical. Cylindrical and spherical coordinates The fundamental differential length vector d l may be expressed directly in the cylindrical and spherical systems as + dz z + rdf f d l = dr r + r sin qdf f + rdq q d l = dr r (3.46) (3.47)

These forms of d l are often convenient when constructing line integrals in the cylindrical or spherical coordinate systems.

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves Vector surface integrals In the Notes to follow, we will also encounter vector surface integrals of the form

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B dS
S

(3.48)

where dS is a differential surface area vector that points in a direction perpendicular to the surface. This type of integral arises when we need to calculate the amount of vector flux crossing a surface S. In the general case, the dS vector on a particular surface can be constructed from two independent d l vectors, each representing a curve on that surface: dS = d l1 d l 2 (3.49)

(Recall that the cross product of two vectors has a magnitude that is the area of the parallelogram associated with the two vectors.) However, most of the time we will be able to determine dS by inspection.

Example:

Find the dS vector for (a) the plane y=3 (b) a portion of the surface of a sphere of radius r (c) a portion of the curved surface of a cylinder

Solution:

In this situation, we can determine the dS vectors by inspection. For the direction, and the magnitude of dS plane y=3, the normal vector is in the y should equal the differential surface area dxdz. Therefore, we obtain dxdz (a) dS = y For the sphere of radius r, the integration variables are q and f, indicating that we need to work with the differential lengths rdq and rsinq df to construct the differential surface area. Following the reasoning of part (a), we find ( rdq )( r sin qdf ) (b) dS = r For the cylinder surface, a similar approach yields ( rdf )( dz) (c) dS = r

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

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In the preceding example, the direction of dS was not specified. In most situations, that direction will be prescribed by the specific situation under consideration. The exception to that is the case of a closed surface, for which the integral can be written as

B dS
S

(3.50)

For a closed surface, the dS vector will always point out of the surface. As a final example, we illustrate the construction of the dS vector in a more general situation.

Example:

(Optional) Find the dS vector for the skewed planar surface shown in Figure 5.

Solution:

Here, it is best to construct dS from the cross product of two differential length vectors, using equation (3.49). For simplicity, consider the line passing through the points (1, 0, 0) and (0, 0, 3). The equation of that line is z = 3(1 - x ), y = 0 Therefore, dz = -3dx, dy = 0 and we obtain - 3dx z d l1 = dx x This is one differential length vector on the surface. An independent line on the same surface is that passing through points (1, 0, 0) and (0, 2, 0). The equation of that line is y = 2(1 - x ), z = 0 Therefore, dy = -2 dx, dz = 0 (3.55) (3.54) (3.53) (3.52) (3.51)

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

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and a second differential length vector is found as 1 + dy y d l 2 = - dy x 2 The dS vector is given by dS = d l1 d l 2 1 - 3dx z ) (- dy x + dy y ) = ( dx x 2 x = 1 1 2 + = (3 x z y 0 -3 dxdy 1 0 3 +z ) dxdy y 2 (3.57) (3.56)

Using this dS vector, integrals could be evaluated using the projection onto the x-y plane to define the limits of integration. Of course, other choices for the d l vectors could be made, leading to integrals in terms of x and z or y and z. Examples illustrating the evaluation of surface integrals will be deferred to later Notes.