Chapter-4

4.1 Lorentz force law

It may have occurred to you that the combination of directions in the figure below is just right for
a cross product. In fact, the magnetic force in a charge Q, moving with velocity v in a magnetic
field B, is

This is known as the Lorentz force law. In the presence of both electric and magnetic fields, the
net force on Q would be

Cyclotron motion
The archetypical motion of a charged particle in a magnetic field is circular, with the magnetic
force providing the centripetal acceleration. In the following figure, a uniform magnetic field
points into the page; if the charge Q moves counterclockwise, with speed v, around a circle of
radius R, the magnetic force points inward, and has a fixed magnitude QvB - just right to sustain
uniform circular motion:

where m is the particle's mass and p = mv is its momentum. The above equation is known as the
cyclotron formula because it describes the motion of a particle in a cyclotron-the first of the
modem particle accelerators. It also suggests a simple experimental technique for finding the
momentum of a particle: send it through a region of known magnetic field, and measure the radius
of its circular trajectory. This is in fact the standard means for determining the momenta of
elementary particles.

Incidentally, we assumed that the charge moves in a plane perpendicular to B. If it starts out with
some additional speed v parallel to B, this component of the motion is unaffected by the magnetic
field, and the particle moves in a helix (as shown in the figure below). The radius is still given by
the above equation, but the velocity in question is now the component perpendicular to B.

Cycloid Motion
A more exotic trajectory occurs if we include a uniform electric field, at right angles to the
magnetic one. Suppose, for instance, that B points in the x-direction, and E in the z-direction, as
shown in figure below. A particle at rest is released from the origin; what path will it follow?

Let's think it through qualitatively, first. Initially, the particle is at rest, so the magnetic force is
zero, and the electric field accelerates the charge in the z-direction. As it picks up speed, a magnetic
force develops which pulls the charge around to the right. The faster it goes, the stronger Fmag
becomes; eventually, it curves the particle back around towards the y axis. At this point the charge
is moving against the electrical force. so it begins to slow down-the magnetic force then decreases,
and the electrical force takes over, bringing the charge to rest at point a. There the entire process
commences anew, carrying the particle over to point b, and so on.

Now let's do it quantitatively. There being no force in the x-direction, the position of the particle
at any time t can be described by the vector (0, y(t), z(t)); the velocity is therefore

where dots indicate time derivatives. Thus

and hence, applying Newton's second law,

Or, treating the y and z components separately,

For convenience, let

(This is the cyclotron frequency, at which the particle would revolve in the absence of an~ electric
field.) Then the equations of motion take the form

Their general solution is

One feature of the magnetic force law warrants special attention: Magnetic forces do no work. For
if Q moves an amount dl = v dt, the work done is

Magnetic forces may alter the direction in which a particle moves, but they cannot speed it up or
slow it down.

4.2 Biot-Savart’s law and its applications

Stationary charges produce electric fields that are constant in time; hence the term electrostatics.
Steady currents produce magnetic fields that are constant in time; the theory of steady currents is
called magnetostatics. By steady current we mean a continuous flow that has been going on
forever, without change and without charge piling up anywhere. The magnetic field of a steady
line current is given by the Biot-Savart law:

The integration is along the current path, in the direction of the flow; dl' is an element of length
along the wire, and 𝓇, as always, is the vector from the source to the point r. The constant ε0 is
called the permeability of free space:

These units are such that B itself comes out in newtons per ampere-meter (as required by the
Lorentz force law), or teslas (T):
As the starting point for magnetostatics, the Biot-Savart law plays a role analogous to Coulomb's
law in electrostatics. Indeed, the 1/𝓇 2 dependence is common to both laws.

4.3.1 Magnetic field due to a straight current carrying wire

In the above diagram, 𝒅𝒍′ × 𝓻

̂ points out of the page, and has the magnitude

Thus

The above equation gives the field of any straight segment of wire, in terms of the initial and final
angles θ1 and θ2 (as shown in the figure below). Of course, a finite segment by itself could never
support a steady current (where would the charge go when it got to the end?), but it might be a
piece of some closed circuit, and the above equation would then represent its contribution to the
total field. In the case of an infinite wire, θ1 = -π/2 and θ2 = π /2, so we obtain
As an application, let's find the force of attraction between two long, parallel wires a distance
d apart, carrying currents I1 and I2 as shown in the figure below. The field at (2) due to (1) is

and it points into the page. The Lorentz force law (in the form appropriate to line currents ) predicts
a force directed towards (l), of magnitude

The total force, not surprisingly, is infinite, but the force per unit length is
4.3.2 Magnetic field on the axis of current carrying circular Loop

From Biot-Savart law the magnetic field exerted by an element length of a loop carrying current
I is given by

where

Any element of the loop will be perpendicular to the displacement vector from the element to the
axial point. For example, the element dl present in the figure is in the y-z plane. Whereas, the
displacement vector r from dl to the axial point P is in the x-y plane.

Hence,

Thus,

The direction of dB is as shown in the figure and is perpendicular to the plane formed by dl and
r. It has an x-component dBx and a component perpendicular to x-axis, dB⊥

A null result is obtained when the components perpendicular to the x-axis are summed over, and
they cancel out.
The dB⊥ component due to dl is cancelled by the contribution due to the diametrically opposite dl
element. This is represented in the above figure. Hence, only the x-component survives. The net
contribution along the x-direction can be obtained by integrating dBx = dBcosθ over the loop.

Thus,

The summation of elements dl over the loop yields 2πR, the circumference of the loop. Thus, the
magnetic field at P due to the entire circular loop is

When x=0, we may obtain the field at the center of the loop

4.4 Ampere’s law

The equation for the curl of B

is called Ampere's law (in differential form). It can be converted to integral form by the usual
device of applying one of the fundamental theorems-in this case Stokes' theorem:

Now, ∫ 𝑱. 𝒅𝒂 is the total current passing through the surface, which we call Ienc (the current
enclosed by the Amperian loop). Thus
Just as the Biot-Savart law plays a role in magnetostatics that Coulomb's law assumed in
electrostatics, so Ampere's plays the role of Gauss's. In particular, for currents with appropriate
symmetry, Ampere's law in integral fonn offers a lovely and extraordinarily efficient means for
calculating the magnetic field.

Exercise: Find the magnetic field a distance s from a long straight wire, carrying a steady current
I.

Magnetic field of a long Solenoid

So the magnetic field of an infinite, closely wound solenoid runs parallel to the axis. From the
right-hand rule, we expect that it points upward inside the solenoid and downward outside.
Moreover, it certainly approaches zero as you go very far away. With this in mind, let's apply
Ampere's law to the two rectangular loops as shown in the figure below. Loop 1 lies entirely
outside the solenoid, with its sides at distances a and b from the axis:

So

Evidently the field outside does not depend on the distance from the axis. But we know that it goes
to zero for large s. It must therefore be zero everywhere!

As for loop 2, which is half inside and half outside, Ampere's law gives

where B is the field inside the solenoid. (The right side of the loop contributes nothing, since B
=°out there.) Conclusion:

Notice that the field inside is uniform; in this sense the solenoid is to magnetostatics what the
parallel-plate capacitor is to electrostatics: a simple device for producing strong uniform fields.
4.5 Magnetic Flux Density and Gauss’s law in magnetostatics
Magnetic Flux density (B) is the measure of the number magnetic field lines per unit of cross-
sectional area. In another word it is magnetic flux (Φ)per unit of cross-sectional area. Generally,
the main differences between magnetic flux and magnetic flux density are:
• Magnetic flux is a scalar quantity, while magnetic flux density is a vector quantity.
• Magnetic flux is the scalar product of the magnetic flux density and the area vector.
• Magnetic flux is the amount of magnetic field passing through a given area, while
magnetic flux density is the amount of magnetic field passing through a unit area.
• Magnetic flux is a measurement of the total number of magnetic field lines passing
through a given area, while flux density is a measurement of the density of magnetic
field lines.
• Magnetic flux density is another name for the magnetic field strength B.
The SI unit of magnetic flux density is Tesla, while that of magnetic flux is Weber.
1𝑇 = 1 𝑊𝑏/𝑚2
Gauss’ Law for Magnetic Fields (GLM) is one of the four fundamental laws of classical
electromagnetics, collectively known as Maxwell’s Equations. Gauss’ Law for Magnetic Fields
states that the flux of the magnetic field through a closed surface is zero. This is expressed
mathematically as follows:

For the magnetic flux through a closed surface to be zero, every field line entering the volume
enclosed by S must also exit this volume – field lines may not begin or end within the volume. The
only way this can be true for every possible surface S is if magnetic field lines always form closed
loops. This is in fact what we find in practice, as shown in the figure below.
For the surface S=SA, every field line entering S also leaves S, so the flux through S is zero. For
the surface S=SB, every field line within S remains in S, so the flux through S is again zero.

Following this argument one step further, GLM implies there can be no particular particle or
structure that can be the source of the magnetic field (because then that would be a start point for
field lines). This is one way in which the magnetic field is very different from the electrostatic
field, for which every field line begins at a charged particle. So, when we say that current (for
example) is the source of the magnetic field, we mean only that the field coexists with current,
and not that the magnetic field is somehow attached to the current. Summarizing, there is no
“localizable” quantity, analogous to charge for electric fields, associated with magnetic fields. This
is just another way in which magnetic fields are weird! In conclusion, Gauss’ Law for Magnetic
Fields requires that magnetic field lines form closed loops. Furthermore, there is no particle that
can be identified as the source of the magnetic field.

4.6 Divergence and curl of B

The Biot-Savart law for the general case of a volume current reads
This formula gives the magnetic field at a point r = (x, y, z) in terms of an integral over the current
distribution J(x' , y', Z'). It is best to be absolutely explicit at this stage:

The integration is over the primed coordinates; the divergence and the curl are to be taken with
respect to the unprimed coordinates. Applying the divergence to the Biot-Savart law, we obtain:

Invoking product rule number

𝑟̂
But 𝛁 × 𝐉 = 0, because J doesn't depend on the unprimed variables (x, y, z), whereas ∇ × 𝑟 2 = 0,

so

Evidently, the divergence of the magnetic field is zero. Applying the curl toBiot-Savart law, we
obtain:
Again, our strategy is to expand the integrand, using the appropriate product rule-in this case
number

The term involving derivatives of J becomes zero, because J does not depend on x, y, z.

Thus

4.7 Comparison of electrostatics and magnetostatics

The divergence and curl of the electrostatic field are

These are Maxwell's equations for electrostatics. Together with the boundary condition E → 0 far
from all charges, Maxwell's equations determine the field, if the source charge density  is given;
they contain essentially the same information as Coulomb's law plus the principle of superposition.
The divergence and curl of the magnetostatic field are

These are Maxwell's equations for magnetostatics. Again, together with the boundary condition
B→ 0 far from all currents, Maxwell's equations determine the magnetic field: they are equivalent
to the Biot-Savart law (plus superposition). Maxwell's equations and the force law

constitute the most elegant formulation of electrostatics and magnetostatics.

The electric field diverges away from a (positive) charge; the magnetic field line curls around a
current (as shown in the figure below). Electric field lines originate on positive charges and
terminate on negative ones; magnetic field lines do not begin or end anywhere-to do so would
require a nonzero divergence. They either form closed loops or extend out to infinity. To put it
another way, there are no point sources for B, as there are for E; there exists no magnetic analog
to electric charge. This is the physical content of the statement 𝛁. 𝑩 = 0. Coulomb and others
believed that magnetism was produced by magnetic charges (magnetic monopoles, as we would
now call them), and in some older books you will still.

find references to a magnetic version of Coulomb's law, giving the force of attraction or repulsion
between them. It was Ampere who first speculated that all magnetic effects are attributable to
electric charges in motion (currents). As far as we know, Ampere was right; nevertheless, it
remains an open experimental question whether magnetic monopoles exist in nature (they are
obviously pretty rare, or somebody would have found one), and in fact some recent elementary
particle theories require them. For our purposes, though, B is divergenceless and there are no
magnetic monopoles. It takes a moving electric charge to produce a magnetic field, and it takes
another moving electric charge to "feel" a magnetic field.

Reading Assignment: Magnetic vector potential and Magnetostatic boundary conditions