ELECTROMAGNETICS I

3. TIME-VARYING ELECTROMAGNETIC
FIELDS

Dr Houssem BOUCHEKARA
1
2
 The basic relationships of electrostatics and the magnetostatics field were obtained
in the previous chapters, and we are now ready to discuss time-varying fields. The discussion
will be short, for vector analysis and vector calculus should now be more familiar tools; some
of the relationships are unchanged, and most of the relationships are changed only slightly.

Two new concepts will be introduced: the electric field produced by a changing
magnetic field and the magnetic field produced by a changing electric filed. The first of these
concepts resulted from experimental research by Michael Faraday, and the second from
theatrical efforts of James Clerk Maxwell.

3
 In 1831 Michael Faraday performed experiments to check whether current is produced
in a closed wire loop placed near a magnet, in analogy to dc currents producing magnetic fields.

His experiment showed that this could not be done, but Faraday realized that a time-
varying current in the loop was obtained while the magnet was being moved toward it or away
from it.

The law he formulated is known as Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction. It is

perhaps the most important law of electromagnetism.

Without it there would be no electricity from rotating generators, no telephone, no

radio and television, no magnetic memories, to mention but a few applications.

4
 The phenomenon of electromagnetic induction has a simple physical interpretation.
Two charged particles (‘‘charges’’) at rest act on each other with a force given by Coulomb’s
law.

Two charges moving with uniform velocities act on each other with an additional
force, the magnetic force. If a particle is accelerated, there is another additional force that it
exerts on other charged particles, stationary or moving.

As in the case of the magnetic force, if only a pair of charges is considered, this
additional force is much smaller than Coulomb’s force.

However, time-varying currents in conductors involve a vast number of accelerated

charges, and produce effects significant enough to be easily measurable.

5
 The induced electric field and electromagnetic induction have immense practical
consequences. Some examples include:

1. The electric field of electromagnetic waves (e.g., radio waves or light) is

basically the induced electric field;
2. In electrical transformers, the induced electric field is responsible for
obtaining higher or lower voltage than the input voltage;
3. The skin effect in conductors with ac currents is due to induced electric field;
4. Electromagnetic induction is also the cause of ‘‘magnetic coupling’’ that may
result in undesired interference between wires (or metal traces) in any
system with time-varying current, an effect that increases with frequency.

6
 Faraday's original experiments consisted of a conducting loop through which he could impose
a dc current via a switch. Another short circuited loop with no source attached was nearby, as
shown in Figure 3.1. When a dc current flowed in loop 1, no current flowed in loop 2. However,
when the voltage was first applied to loop 1 by closing the switch, a transient current flowed in the
opposite direction in loop 2.

Figure 3. 1: Faraday's
experiments showed that a
time varying magnetic flux
through a closed conducting
loop induced a current in the
direction so as to keep the
flux through the loop
constant.

When the switch was later opened, another transient current flowed in loop 2, this time in the
same direction as the original current in loop 1. Currents are induced in loop 2 whenever a time
varying magnetic flux due to loop 1 passes through it. 7
 Figure: Faraday's law states that the line integral
of the electric field around a closed loop equals
the time rate of change of magnetic flux through
the loop. The positive convention for flux is
determined by the right-hand rule of curling the
fingers on the right hand in the direction of
traversal around the loop. The thumb then points
in the direction of positive magnetic flux.

In general, a time varying magnetic flux can pass through a circuit due to its own or
nearby time varying current or by the motion of the circuit through a magnetic field.

For any loop, as in Figure , Faraday's law is

𝑑Φ 𝑑
VEMF = 𝐄. 𝐝𝐥 = − =− 𝐁. 𝐝𝐒 (3. 1)
𝐿 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑆

where EMF is the electromotive force defined as the line integral of the electric field.
8
 VEMF = 𝐄. 𝐝𝐥
𝐿
𝑑Φ 𝑑 (1))
=− =− 𝐁. 𝐝𝐒
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑆

The variation of flux with time as in eq. (1) may be caused in three ways:

1. By having a stationary loop in a time-varying B field.

2. 2. By having a time-varying loop area in a static B field
3. 3. By having a time-varying loop area in a time-varying B field.

Each of these will be considered separately.

9
 1. STATIONARY LOOP IN TIME-VARYING B FIELD (TRANSFORMER
EMF)

This is the case is where a stationary conducting loop is in a time varying magnetic B
field. Equation (1) becomes

𝑑𝐁
VEMF = 𝐄. 𝐝𝐥 = − . 𝐝𝐒 (2)
𝐿 𝑆 𝑑𝑡
This emf induced by the time-varying current (producing the time-varying B field) in a
stationary loop is often referred to as transformer emf in power analysis since it is due to
transformer action. By applying Stokes's theorem to the middle term in eq. (2), we obtain

𝑑𝐁
𝐄. 𝐝𝐥 = ∇ × 𝐄 dS = − . 𝐝𝐒
𝐿 𝑆 𝑆 𝑑𝑡
Which is equivalent to:

𝑑𝐁
∇×𝐄+ . 𝐝𝐒 = 0
𝑆 𝑑𝑡

10
 1. STATIONARY LOOP IN TIME-VARYING B FIELD (TRANSFORMER
EMF)

Since this last relation is true for any surface, the integrand itself must be zero, which
yields Faraday's law of induction in differential form as

𝑑𝐁
∇×𝐄 = −
𝑑𝑡
This is one of the Maxwell's equations for time-varying fields. It shows that the time
varying E field is not conservative (∇ × 𝐄 ≠ 0). This does not imply that the principles of energy
conservation are violated. The work done in taking a charge about a closed path in a time-
varying electric field, for example, is due to the energy from the time-varying magnetic field.

11
 2. MOVING LOOP IN STATIC B FIELD (MOTIONAL EMF)
When a conducting loop is moving in a static B field, an emf is induced in the loop. We
recall that the force on a charge moving with uniform velocity u in a magnetic field B is:

𝐅𝑚 = 𝑄𝐮 × 𝐁
We define the motional electric field 𝐄𝑚 as

𝐅𝑚
𝐄𝑚 = =𝐮×𝐁
𝑄
If we consider a conducting loop, moving with uniform velocity u as consisting of a large
number of free electrons, the emf induced in the loop is

VEMF = 𝐄𝑚 . 𝑑𝐥 = 𝐮 × 𝐁 . 𝑑𝐥
𝐿 𝐿
This type of emf is called motional emf or flux-cutting emf because it is due to motional
action. It is the kind of emf found in electrical machines such as motors, generators, and
alternators.
12
 3. MOVING LOOP IN STATIC B FIELD (MOTIONAL EMF)
By applying Stokes’s theorem:

∇ × 𝐄𝑚 . d𝐒 = ∇ × 𝐮 × 𝐁 . 𝑑𝐒
𝑺 𝑆
Or

∇ × 𝐄𝑚 = ∇ × 𝐮 × 𝐁

13
 A conducting bar can slide freely over two conducting rails as shown in Figure Calculate the
induced voltage in the bar

14
15
16
17
 For static EM fields, we recall that

∇×𝐇 = 𝐉
But the divergence of the curl of any vector field is identically zero. Hence,

∇. ∇ × 𝐇 = ∇. 𝐉 = 0
However, the continuity equation of current is given by

𝜕𝜌𝑣
∇. 𝐉 = −
𝜕𝑡
Thus,

∇ × 𝐇 = 𝐉 + 𝐉d
where 𝐉d is to be determined and defined. Again, the divergence of the curl of any
vector is zero. Hence:

∇. ∇ × 𝐇 = ∇. 𝐉 + ∇. 𝐉d = 0

18
 Thus,

𝜕𝜌𝑣 𝜕 𝜕𝐃
∇. 𝐉d = −∇. 𝐉 = = ∇. 𝐃 = ∇.
𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑡
Or

𝜕𝐃
𝐉d =
𝜕𝑡
Finally we can write

𝜕𝐃
∇×𝐇 = 𝐉+
𝜕𝑡
This is Maxwell's equation (based on Ampere's circuit law) for a time-varying field. The
𝜕𝐃
term 𝐉d = is known as displacement current density and J is the conduction current density
𝜕𝑡
(𝐉 = 𝜎𝐄).

19
 A parallel-plate capacitor with plate area of 5 cm2 and plate separation of 3 mm has
a voltage 50 sin 103 𝑡 V applied to its plates. Calculate the displacement current
assuming 𝜀 = 2𝜀0 .

20
21
 The laws of electromagnetism that Maxwell put together in the form of four
equations were presented in previous chapter for static conditions. The more generalized
forms of these equations are those for time-varying conditions summarized in this section.

Differential Form Integral Form Remarks

∇. 𝐃 = 𝜌𝑣 𝐃. 𝒅𝐒 = 𝝆𝒗 𝒅𝒗 Gauss’s law
𝑺 𝒗

Nonexistence of isolated
∇. 𝐁 = 0 𝐁. 𝒅𝐒 = 𝟎
𝑺 magnetic charge

𝜕𝐁 𝝏
∇×𝐄=− 𝐄 . 𝒅𝐥 = − 𝐁. 𝒅𝐒 Faraday’s law
𝜕𝑡 𝑺 𝝏𝒕 𝒗

𝜕𝐃 𝝏𝐃
∇×𝐇=𝐉+ 𝐇 . 𝒅𝐥 = 𝐉+ . 𝒅𝐒 Amper’s circuit law
𝜕𝑡 𝑳 𝐒 𝝏𝒕

22
 For a field to be "qualified" as an electromagnetic field, it must satisfy all four
Maxwell's equations. The importance of Maxwell's equations cannot be overemphasized
because they summarize all known laws of electromagnetism.

23
 Just as the potential energy in an electrostatic field was derived as

1 1
𝑊𝐸 = 𝐃. 𝐄 𝑑𝑣 = 𝜀𝐸 2 𝑑𝑣
2 2
Thus the energy in a magnetostatic field in a linear medium is

1 1
𝑊𝐸 = 𝐁. 𝐇 𝑑𝑣 = 𝜇𝐻 2 𝑑𝑣
2 2

24