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Basic Concepts:
Maxwells equations are expressed in terms of two important vector eld concepts: ux and circulation. The
ux of a vector eld A through some surface S is dened as
ux of A through S A dS
S
Another important operation involves the gradient of a vector eld, which is essentially the vector equivalent
of a derivative operation. The gradient only operates on scalar elds, , and is written as . The gradient
produces a vector which points in the direction of greatest change of the scalar eld.
The Helmholtz Theorem states that any arbitrary vector function A can be decomposed as A = E +F where
E = 0 and F = 0. An important corollary of this theorem is that a vector function is completely
determined only if both its divergence and curl are specied.
() = + = 0
(A) = A + A ( A) = 0
(A) = A A A = ( A) 2 A
(A B) = B ( A) A ( B)
(A B) = A( B) B( A) + (B )A (A )B
(A B) = A ( B) + B ( A) + (B )A + (A )B
Differential operations for some coordinate systems:
Rectangular Coordinates (x, y, z):
= x + y + z
x y z
Ax Ay Az
A= + +
x y z
Az Ay Ax Az Ay Ax
A = x + y + z
y z z x x y
2 2 2
2 = + +
x2 y2 z 2
2 A = x2 Ax + y2 Ay + z2 Az