
6 Time Dependent Problems I (Quasi Stationary
Approximation)
Maxwell’s equations were introduced in Chapter 1, but with a few exceptions, we
have not discussed them in their complete form. So far, we have focused on time
independent problems, specifically electrostatics in Chapter 2 and 3, stationary
electric currents in Chapter 4 and magnetostatics in Chapter 5. Now, we turn to
time dependent problems. We will do this in two steps. The time dependent
Maxwell equations differ from the stationary ones by two terms, the displacement
current in the first and the magnetic induction in the second
Maxwell equation. We will account for this fact in our proceedings. Specifically,
the displacement current may be neglected in a first approximation, while the law
of induction needs to be considered. This approximation does not allow us to
describe electromagnetic waves, since the displacement current is vital for these.
On the other hand, skin effect, eddy currents, and similar effects can be described
without the displacement current term. The applicability of this so-called quasi
stationary approximation is limited to cases where the temporal changes do not
occur too rapidly. We will postpone the discussion of the complete version of
Maxwell’s equations to the next chapter, (Chapter 7), where we will study
electromagnetic waves by including the displacement current term.
6.1 Faraday’s Law of Magnetic Induction
6.1.1 Induction by a Temporal Change of B
Consider a time dependent magnetic field described by the magnetic induction or
also called the magnetic flux density and a contour C, fixed in space. The
contour may be implemented by an infinitely thin, conducting material. If A is the
area that C circumscribes, then by our definition, eq. (1.66), the magnetic flux
penetrating this area is
.
(6.1)
The time dependent magnetic field induces an electric field , which
can be described using eq. (1.68)
.
(6.2)
The line integral of the electric field is given by the time derivative of the magnetic
flux:
.
(6.3)
Expressed in a different form, one writes
∂D ∂t⁄∂B ∂t⁄
Brt,()
φ Brt,()Ad•
A
∫
=
Brt,() Ert,()
Ert,()∇×
t∂
∂
Brt,()–=
Esd•
C
∫
°
E∇×()Ad•
A
∫
∂B
∂t
-------
Ad
A
∫
–
t∂
∂
BAd•
A
∫
–
t∂
∂φ
–====
G. Lehner, Electromagnetic Field Theory for Engineers and Physicists,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-540-76306-2_6, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010