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These equations can be simplified by taking advantage of the fact that the electric and magnetic fields are physically meaningful quantities that can be measured; the potentials are not. There is a freedom to constrain the form of the potentials provided that this does not affect the resultant electric and magnetic fields, called gauge freedom.
Continuous charge distribution. The volume charge density ρ is the amount of charge per unit volume (cube), surface charge density σ is amount per unit surface area (circle) with outward unit normal nĚ‚, d is the dipole moment between two point charges, the volume density of these is the polarization density P.
In the electric and magnetic field formulation there are four equations that determine the fields for given charge and current distribution. A separate law of nature, the Lorentz force law, describes how the electric and magnetic fields act on charged particles and currents. By convention, a version of this law in the original equations by ...
The electromagnetic wave equation is a second-order partial differential equation that describes the propagation of electromagnetic waves through a medium or in a vacuum. It is a three-dimensional form of the wave equation. The homogeneous form of the equation, written in terms of either the electric field E or the magnetic field B, takes the form:
The separation of the electric and magnetic fields into components is mathematical, rather than clearly physical, and is based on the relative rates at which the amplitude of different terms of the electric and magnetic field equations diminish as distance from the radiating element increases.
The magnetic field of permanent magnets can be quite complicated, especially near the magnet. The magnetic field of a small [note 6] straight magnet is proportional to the magnet's strength (called its magnetic dipole moment m). The equations are non-trivial and depend on the distance from the magnet and the orientation of the magnet.
(The magnetic fields can also be related using similar coefficients.) These ratios are generally complex, describing not only the relative amplitudes but also the phase shifts at the interface. The equations assume the interface between the media is flat and that the media are homogeneous and isotropic. [1]
Similarly, if only the magnetic field (B) is non-zero and is constant in time, the field is said to be a magnetostatic field. However, if either the electric or magnetic field has a time-dependence, then both fields must be considered together as a coupled electromagnetic field using Maxwell's equations. [9]