RB IITG NPTEL

Web Course
On

ELECTROMAGNETIC THEORY
Ratnajit Bhattacharjee
Department of ECE IIT Guwahati
Guwahati- 781039
Syllabus
1

Mathematical Fundamentals

Coordinate Systems and Transformations

Vector Analysis

Differential Length, Area and Volume

Line, Surface and Volume Integrals

Gradient, Divergence and Curl

Divergence Theorem and Stokes Theorem

Static Electric Fields

Coulombs Law

Electric Field & Electric Flux Density

Gausss Law with Application

Electrostatic Potential, Equipotential Surfaces

Boundary Conditions for Static Electric Fields

Capacitance and Capacitors

Electrostatic Energy

Laplaces and Poissons Equations

Uniqueness of Electrostatic Solutions

Method of Images

Solution of Boundary Value Problems in Different

Coordinate Systems.

3
Steady Electric Currents

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Current Density and Ohms Law

Electromotive

Force

and

Kirchhoffs

Voltage

Law,

Continuity Equation and Kirchhoffs Current Law

Power Dissipation and Joules Law

Boundary Conditions for Current Density.

Static Magnetic Fields

Biot-Savart Law and its Application

Amperes Law and its Application

Magnetic Dipole

Behavior of Magnetic Materials

Vector Magnetic Potential

Magnetic Boundary Conditions

Inductances and Inductors, Inductance Calculation for

Common Geometries

Energy Stored in a Magnetic Field.

Time Varying Fields & Maxwells Equations

Faradays law of Electromagnetic Induction

Maxwells Equations

Electromagnetic Boundary Conditions

Wave Equations and Their Solutions

Time Harmonic Fields.

Electromagnetic Waves

Plane Waves in Lossless Media

Plane Waves in Lossy Media

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Poynting Vector and Power Flow in Electromagnetic Field

Skin Effect

Wave Polarisation

Normal and Oblique Incidence of Plane wave at a

(i)

Plane Conducting Boundary

(ii)

Plane Dielectric Boundary

Fundamentals of Antennas and Radiating systems

Fundamentals of Radiation

Radiation Field of an Hertzian Dipole

Basic

Antenna

Parameters

like

Directivity,

Gain,

Beamwidth, Radiation Resistance, Effective Aperture and

Effective Height etc.

Half-wave Dipole Antenna

Quarter-wave Monopole Antenna

Small-Loop Antennas

Basics of Antenna Arrays

.
Introduction to Numerical Techniques in Electromagnetics

Finite Difference Equivalent of Laplaces and Poissons

Equation and Solution of Boundary-Value Problems.

Basic Concepts of the Method of Moments

Formulation of Integral Equations

Application of Method of Moments to Wire Antennas and

Scatterers.

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CHAPTER-1
1. Introduction
Electromagnetic theory is a discipline concerned with the study of
charges at rest and in motion. Electromagnetic principles are
fundamental to the study of electrical engineering and physics.
Electromagnetic theory is also indispensable to the understanding,
analysis and design of various electrical, electromechanical and
electronic systems. Some of the branches of study where
electromagnetic principles find application are:
RF communication
Microwave Engineering
Antennas
Electrical Machines
Satellite Communication
Atomic and nuclear research
Radar Technology
Remote sensing
EMI EMC
Quantum Electronics
VLSI
Electromagnetic theory is a prerequisite for a wide spectrum of studies
in the field of Electrical Sciences and Physics. Electromagnetic theory
can be thought of as generalization of circuit theory. There are certain
situations that can be handled exclusively in terms of field theory. In
electromagnetic theory, the quantities involved can be categorized as
source quantities and field quantities. Source of electromagnetic
field is electric charges: either at rest or in motion. However an
electromagnetic field may cause a redistribution of charges that in turn
change the field and hence the separation of cause and effect is not
always visible.
Electric charge is a fundamental property of matter. Charge exist only
in positive or negative integral multiple of electronic charge, -e,
e 1.60 10 19 coulombs. [It may be noted here that in 1962, Murray GellMann hypothesized Quarks as the basic building blocks of matters.
Quarks were predicted to carry a fraction of electronic charge and the
existence of Quarks have been experimentally verified.] Principle of
conservation of charge states that the total charge (algebraic sum of
positive and negative charges) of an isolated system remains
unchanged, though the charges may redistribute under the influence of

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electric field. Kirchhoffs Current Law (KCL) is an assertion of the

conservative property of charges under the implicit assumption that
there is no accumulation of charge at the junction.
Electromagnetic theory deals directly with the electric and magnetic
field vectors where as circuit theory deals with the voltages and
currents. Voltages and currents are integrated effects of electric and
magnetic fields respectively. Electromagnetic field problems involve
three space variables along with the time variable and hence the
solution tends to become correspondingly complex. Vector analysis is a
mathematical tool with which electromagnetic concepts are more
conveniently expressed and best comprehended. Since use of vector
analysis in the study of electromagnetic field theory results in real
economy of time and thought, we first introduce the concept of vector
analysis.
2. Vector Analysis
The quantities that we deal in electromagnetic theory may be either
scalar or vectors [There are other class of physical quantities called
Tensors: scalars and vectors are special cases]. Scalars are quantities
characterized by magnitude only and algebraic sign. A quantity that
has direction as well as magnitude is called a vector. Both scalar and
vector quantities are function of time and position. A field is a function
that specifies a particular quantity everywhere in a region. Depending
upon the nature of the quantity under consideration, the field may be a
vector or a scalar field. Example of scalar field is the electric potential
in a region while electric or magnetic fields at any point is the example
of vector field.
Fundamentals Vector Algebra:
A vector is represented by a directed line segment: length of the line is
proportional to magnitude and the orientation of the directed line
segment with respect to some reference gives the vector.

r
r
r
A

A
, where
A vector r A can be written as A aA
is the magnitude
A
a
A
and
is the unit vector which has unit magnitude and direction
r
A
same as that of .
r
r
r
Two vectors A and B are added together to give another vector C . We
have:
r r r
C A B

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Figure 1: Vector addition

Vector subtraction is similarly carried out as:

r r r r
r
D A B A ( B)

Figure 2: Vector subtraction

r
r
r
Scaling of a vector is defined as C B , where C is a scaled version of
r
vector B and is a scalar.

Some important laws of vector algebra are:

r r r r
A B B A
r r r
r r
r
A ( B C ) ( A B) C
r r
r
r
( A B) A B

Commutative law
Associative law
Distributive law

r
P is the directed distance from the
The position vector rP of
r a point
r uuu
origin ( O ) to P i.e. rP OP .

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Figure 3: Distant vector

r
r uuu
rP OP

r uuur
rQ OQ

areuuuthe
of the points P and Q
r uuposition
ur uuur rvectors
r
PQ OQ OP rQ rP
then the distance vector
If

and

Product of Vectors

r
r
When two vectors A and B are multiplied, the result is either a scalar or a vector
depending how the two vectors were multiplied. The two types of vector
multiplication are:
r r
Scalar product (or dot product) AgB gives a scalar
r r
Vector product (or cross product) A B gives a vector
The dot product between two vectors is defined as

r r
AgB AB cos AB

Figure: Dot product

r r r r
commutative i.e. AgB BgA

The dot product is

and distributive
r r r
r r r r
Ag( B C ) AgB AgC . Associative law does not apply to scalar product.

i.e.

r
r r r r
r
A
B
A
The vector or cross product of two vectors
and
is denoted by B . A B is a
r
r
vector perpendicular to the plane containing A and B , the magnitude is given by
ABSin AB and direction is given by right hand rule as explained in Figure.

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Figure: Vector cross product

r r
A B an ABSin AB
, where
r r
Ar Br
n
A B

an

is the unit vector given by

The following relations hold for vector product.

r r
r r
A B B A

i.e. cross product is non commutative

r r r
r r r r
A (B C ) A B A C

i.e. cross product is distributive

r r r
r r r
A ( B C ) ( A B) C

i.e. cross product is non associative

Scalar and vector triple product

r r r
r r r
r r r
Scalar triple product Ag( B C ) B g(C A) C g( A B )
r r r
r r r r r r
A

(
B

C
)

B
( AgC ) C ( AgB )
Vector triple product

3. COORDINATE SYSTEMS
In order to describe the spatial variations of the quantities, we require using
appropriate co-ordinate system. A point or vector can be represented in a

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curvilinear coordinate system that may be orthogonal or non-orthogonal. An

orthogonal system is one in which the co-ordinates are mutually perpendicular.
Non-orthogonal co-ordinate systems are also possible, but their usage is very
limited in practice.
Let u =constant, v =constant and w =constant represent surfaces in a co-ordinate

system, the surfaces may be curved surfaces in general. Further, let au , av and aw
be the unit vectors in the three co-ordinate directions (base vectors). In a general
right-handed orthogonal curvilinear system, the vectors satisfy the following
relations.
au av aw
av aw au
aw au av
These equations are not independent and specification of one will automatically
imply the other two.
Furthermore, the following relations hold
au .av av .a w a w .au 0
au .au av .av a w .a w 1
A vector can be represented as sum of its orthogonal components
r
A Au au Av av Aw aw
In general u , v and w may not represent length. We multiply u , v and w by
conversion factors h1 , h2 and h3 respectively to convert differential changes du , dv
and dw to corresponding changes in length dl1 , dl2 and dl3 . Therefore
r
dl au dl1 av dl2 a w dl3
h1duau h2 dvav h3dwaw

In the same manner, differential volume dv can be written as dv h1h2 h3 dudvdw and

differential area ds1 normal to au is given by ds1 dl2 dl3 = h2 h3 dvdw and
r
ds1 h2 h3dvdwau . In the same manner, differential areas normal to unit vectors av

and aw can be defined.

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In the following sections we discuss three most commonly used orthogonal coordinate systems, viz:
1. Cartesian (or rectangular) co-ordinate system
2. Cylindrical co-ordinate system
3. Spherical polar co-ordinate system

Cartesian Co-ordinate System

In Cartesian co-ordinate system, we have, (u, v, w) ( x, y, z ) . A point P ( x0 , y0 , z0 ) in
Cartesian co-ordinate system is represented as intersection of three planes x x0 ,
y y0 and z z0 . The unit vectors satisfies the following relation:

a x a y a z
a y a z a x
a z a x a y
a x .a y a y .a z a z .a x 0
a x .a x a y .a y a z .a z 1

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Figure: Cartesian coordinate system

r
OP a x x0 a y y0 a z z0
r
r
A
a x Ax a y Ay a z Az
In cartesian coordinate system, a vector A can be written as
.
r
r
The dot and cross product of two vectors A and B can be written as follows:

r r
AgB Ax Bx Ay By Az Bz
r r
A B a x ( Ay Bz Az By ) a y ( Az Bx Ax Bz ) a z ( Ax B y Ay Bx )
a x
Ax
Bx

a y
Ay
By

a z
Az
Bz

Since x , y and z all represent lengths, h1 h2 h3 1 . The differential length, are

and volume are defined respectively as

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uu
r
dl dxa x dya y dza z
uu
r
ds x dydza x
uu
r
ds y dxdza y
uu
r
ds z dxdya x
dv dxdydz
Cylindrical Co-ordinate System
For cylindrical coordinate systems we have (u, v, w) ( , , z) and a point
P( 0,0 , z0 )
is determined as the point of intersection of a cylindrical

0 , half plane containing the z-axis and making an angle

surface

0 with the xz plane and a plane parallel to xy plane located at

z z0 as shown in figure.

Fig.
In cylindrical coordinate system, the unit vectors satisfy the following
relations:

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a a a z
a a z a
a z a a
r
A vector A can be written as

r
A A a A a Az a z

The differential length is defined as

dl a d d a dza z

h1 1, h2 h3 1

Differential volume element in cylindrical coordinates

Differential areas are

Differential volume

uuur
ds d dza
uuu
r
ds d dza
uuu
r
dsz d d a z

dv d d dz

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Transformation between Cartesian and Cylindrical coordinates

r
A a A a A a z Az

Let us consider a vector

is to be expressed in
r
A a x Ax a y Ay a z Az
Cartesian coordinates as
. In doing so we note that
r
Ax Aga x (a A a A a z Az )ga x
and it applies for other components as
well.

Unit vectors in Cartesian and Cylindrical coordinates

From the figure we note that:

a ga x cos
a ga y sin

a ga x cos( ) sin
2
a ga y cos
Therefore we can write

r
Ax Aga x A cos A sin
r
Ay Aga x A sin A cos
r
Az Aga z Az
These relations can be put conveniently in the matrix form as:

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Ax
A
y
Az
A

cos
sin

sin 0 A
cos 0 A
0 1 Az

, Az and Az themselves may be functions of , and z . These

variables are transformed in terms of

x , y and z

x cos
y sin
zz

as:

The inverse relation ships are:

x2 y 2
tan 1

y
x

zz
Thus we see that a vector in one coordinate system is transformed to
another coordinate system through two-step process: Finding the
component vectors and then variable transformation.

Spherical polar coordinate

For spherical polar coordinate system, we have,

(u , v, w) (r , , ) . A

point P(r0 , 0 , 0 ) is represented as the intersection of

(i)
(ii)
(iii)

Spherical surface r r0
Conical surface 0 , and
Half plane containing z -axis making angle 0 with the
xz plane as shown in the figure.

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Figure:
The unit vectors satisfy the following relations

ar a a
a a a
a ar a
The orientation of the unit vectors are shown in the figure

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Figure:
A

vector

in

spherical

r
A Ar a r A a A a

and

polar

co-ordinate

is

written

as:

For

uu
r
dl ar dr a rd a r sin d

spherical polar coordinate system we have h1 1 , h2 r sin and h3 r

.

Figure:

With reference to the Figure, the elemental areas are:

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uuu
r
dsr r 2 sin d d ar
uuu
r
ds r sin drd a
uuu
r
ds rdrd a
and elemental volume is given by
Coordinate
transformation
spherical polar

dv r 2 sin drd d
between

rectangular

With reference to the Figure we can write the following:

ar ga x sin cos
ar ga y sin sin
ar ga z cos
a ga x cos cos
a ga y cos sin

a ga z cos( ) sin
2

a ga x cos( ) sin
2
a ga y cos
a ga z 0

and

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Figure
r
A Ar ar A a A a

Given a vector
in the Spherical Polar coordinate
system, its component in the Cartesian coordinate system can be
found out as follows:

r
Ax A.a x Ar sin cos A cos cos A sin
Similarly,

r
Ay A.a y Ar sin sin A cos sin A cos
r
Az A.a z Ar cos A sin

The above expressions may be put in a compact form:

Ax sin cos
Ay
sin sin

Az
cos

cos cos
cos sin
sin

sin
cos
0

Ar
A

A
The components Ar , A and themselves will be function of r ,
and . r , and are related to x , y and z as

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x r sin cos
y r sin sin
z r cos
and conversely,

r x2 y 2 z 2
z

cos 1
tan 1

x2 y2 z 2
y
x

Using the variable transformation listed above, the vector

components, which are functions of variables of one coordinate
system, can be transformed to functions of variables of other
coordinate system and a total transformation can be done.
Line, surface and volume integrals
In electromagnetic theory we come across integrals, which contain
vector functions. Some representative integrals are listed below:
uu
r
r
r
r r
r uu
Fdv

dl
F
.
dl
F
.
ds

S
V
C
C
etc.
r
In the above integrals, F and respectively represent vector and
scalar function of space coordinates. C , S & V represent path,
surface and volume of integration. All these integrals are evaluated
using extension of the usual one-dimensional integral as the limit of
a sum, i.e., if a function f ( x) is defined over arrange a to b of values
of x, then the integral is given by
b

Lim

f ( x)dx n f x
a

i 1

where the interval (a, b) is subdivided into n continuous interval of

lengths x1........... xn .
Line integral

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r
r uu
E
.
dl

Line integral C
is the dot product of a vector with a specified
path C ; in other words it is the integral of the tangential component
r
of E along the curve C .

Figure: Line integral

r
As shown in the figure, given a vector field E around C , we define

r
r uu
b
E
g
dl

E cos dl

the integral C
as the line integral of E along the
curve C . If the path of integration is a closed path as shown in
Figure, the line integral becomes a closed line integral and is called

r
the circulation of E around C and denoted as

r
r uu
E
g
dl

Figure: Closed line integral

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Surface integral

r
Given a vector field A , continuous in a region containing the smooth
r
surface S , we define the surface integral or the flux of A through S
as

r
r
r uu
A cos ds Agan ds Agds
S

Figure: Computation of surface integral

If the surface integral is carried out over a closed surface, then we

r
r uu

A
g
ds

r
S
write:
which gives the net outward flux of A from S .
Volume integrals

fdv

fdv

as the volume integral of the scalar function f

(function of spatial coordinates) over the volume V . Evaluation of
r
V Fdv
integral of the form
can be carried out as a sum of three scalar
volume integrals, where each scalar volume integral is a component of
r
the vector F .
We define

or

The Del Operator

The vector differential operator was introduced by Sir W. R. Hamilton
and later on developed by P. G. Tait.

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Mathematically the vector differential operator can be written in the

general form as:

1
1
1
au
av
a w
h1 u
h2 v
h3 w

In Cartesian coordinates:

a x a y a z
x
y
z

In cylindrical coordinates:

a
a a z

and in spherical polar coordinates:

1
1

ar
a
a
r
r
r sin

Gradient of a Scalar