Maxwell's equations, or Maxwell–Heaviside equations, are a set of coupled partial

differential equations that, together with the Lorentz force law, form the foundation
of classical electromagnetism, classical optics, and electric circuits. The equations
provide a mathematical model for electric, optical, and radio technologies, such as
power generation, electric motors, wireless communication, lenses, radar, etc. They
describe how electric and magnetic fields are generated by charges, currents, and
changes of the fields.[note 1] The equations are named after the physicist and
mathematician James Clerk Maxwell, who, in 1861 and 1862, published an early form of
the equations that included the Lorentz force law. Maxwell first used the equations to
propose that light is an electromagnetic phenomenon. The modern form of the
equations in their most common formulation is credited to Oliver Heaviside.[1]

Maxwell's equations may be combined to demonstrate how fluctuations in

electromagnetic fields (waves) propagate at a constant speed in
vacuum, c (299792458 m/s).[2] Known as electromagnetic radiation, these waves occur
at various wavelengths to produce a spectrum of radiation from radio waves to gamma
rays.

The equations have two major variants. The microscopic equations have universal
applicability but are unwieldy for common calculations. They relate the electric and
magnetic fields to total charge and total current, including the complicated charges and
currents in materials at the atomic scale. The macroscopic equations define two new
auxiliary fields that describe the large-scale behaviour of matter without having to
consider atomic-scale charges and quantum phenomena like spins. However, their use
requires experimentally determined parameters for a phenomenological description of
the electromagnetic response of materials. The term "Maxwell's equations" is often also
used for equivalent alternative formulations. Versions of Maxwell's equations based on
the electric and magnetic scalar potentials are preferred for explicitly solving the
equations as a boundary value problem, analytical mechanics, or for use in quantum
mechanics. The covariant formulation (on spacetime rather than space and time
separately) makes the compatibility of Maxwell's equations with special
relativity manifest. Maxwell's equations in curved spacetime, commonly used in high-
energy and gravitational physics, are compatible with general relativity.[note 2] In fact, Albert
Einstein developed special and general relativity to accommodate the invariant speed of
light, a consequence of Maxwell's equations, with the principle that only relative
movement has physical consequences.

The publication of the equations marked the unification of a theory for previously
separately described phenomena: magnetism, electricity, light, and associated
radiation. Since the mid-20th century, it has been understood that Maxwell's equations
do not give an exact description of electromagnetic phenomena, but are instead
a classical limit of the more precise theory of quantum electrodynamics.

History of the equations[edit]

Main article: History of Maxwell's equations
Conceptual descriptions[edit]
Gauss's law[edit]
Main article: Gauss's law

Electric field from positive to negative charges

Gauss's law describes the relationship between an electric field and electric charges: an
electric field points away from positive charges and towards negative charges, and the
net outflow of the electric field through a closed surface is proportional to the enclosed
charge, including bound charge due to polarization of material. The coefficient of the
proportion is the permittivity of free space.

Gauss's law for magnetism[edit]

Main article: Gauss's law for magnetism

Gauss's law for magnetism: magnetic field lines never

begin nor end but form loops or extend to infinity as shown here with the magnetic field
due to a ring of current.
Gauss's law for magnetism states that electric charges have no magnetic analogues,
called magnetic monopoles; no north or south magnetic poles exist in isolation.
[3]
Instead, the magnetic field of a material is attributed to a dipole, and the net outflow of
the magnetic field through a closed surface is zero. Magnetic dipoles may be
represented as loops of current or inseparable pairs of equal and opposite "magnetic
charges". Precisely, the total magnetic flux through a Gaussian surface is zero, and the
magnetic field is a solenoidal vector field.[note 3]

Faraday's law[edit]
Main article: Faraday's law of induction
 In a geomagnetic storm, a surge in the flux
of charged particles temporarily alters Earth's magnetic field, which induces electric
fields in Earth's atmosphere, thus causing surges in electrical power grids. (Not to
scale.)
The Maxwell–Faraday version of Faraday's law of induction describes how a time-
varying magnetic field corresponds to curl of an electric field.[3] In integral form, it states
that the work per unit charge required to move a charge around a closed loop equals
the rate of change of the magnetic flux through the enclosed surface.

The electromagnetic induction is the operating principle behind many electric

generators: for example, a rotating bar magnet creates a changing magnetic field and
generates an electric field in a nearby wire.

Ampère's law with Maxwell's addition[edit]

Main article: Ampère's circuital law

Magnetic-core memory (1954) is an application

of Ampère's law. Each core stores one bit of data.
The original law of Ampère states that magnetic fields relate to electric
current. Maxwell's addition states that magnetic fields also relate to changing electric
fields, which Maxwell called displacement current. The integral form states that electric
and displacement currents are associated with a proportional magnetic field along any
enclosing curve.

Maxwell's addition to Ampère's law is important because the laws of Ampère and Gauss
must otherwise be adjusted for static fields.[4][clarification needed] As a consequence, it predicts that
a rotating magnetic field occurs with a changing electric field.[3][5] A further consequence
is the existence of self-sustaining electromagnetic waves which travel through empty
space.
The speed calculated for electromagnetic waves, which could be predicted from
experiments on charges and currents,[note 4] matches the speed of light;
indeed, light is one form of electromagnetic radiation (as are X-rays, radio waves, and
others). Maxwell understood the connection between electromagnetic waves and light in
1861, thereby unifying the theories of electromagnetism and optics.

Formulation in terms of electric and magnetic fields

(microscopic or in vacuum version)[edit]
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, conversely, the electric and magnetic fields act on charged
particles and currents. A version of this law was included in the original equations by
Maxwell but, by convention, is included no longer. The vector calculus formalism below,
the work of Oliver Heaviside,[6][7] has become standard. It is manifestly rotation invariant,
and therefore mathematically much more transparent than Maxwell's original 20
equations in x,y,z components. The relativistic formulations are even more symmetric
and manifestly Lorentz invariant. For the same equations expressed using tensor
calculus or differential forms, see § Alternative formulations.

The differential and integral formulations are mathematically equivalent; both are useful.
The integral formulation relates fields within a region of space to fields on the boundary
and can often be used to simplify and directly calculate fields from symmetric
distributions of charges and currents. On the other hand, the differential equations are
purely local and are a more natural starting point for calculating the fields in more
complicated (less symmetric) situations, for example using finite element analysis.[8]

Key to the notation[edit]

Symbols in bold represent vector quantities, and symbols
in italics represent scalar quantities, unless otherwise indicated. The equations
introduce the electric field, E, a vector field, and the magnetic field, B,
a pseudovector field, each generally having a time and location dependence. The
sources are

 the total electric charge density (total charge per unit volume), ρ, and
 the total electric current density (total current per unit area), J.
The universal constants appearing in the equations (the first two ones explicitly only in
the SI units formulation) are:

 the permittivity of free space, ε0, and

 the permeability of free space, μ0, and
 the speed of light,
Differential equations[edit]
In the differential equations,
  the nabla symbol, ∇, denotes the three-dimensional gradient operator, del,
 the ∇⋅ symbol (pronounced "del dot") denotes the divergence operator,
 the ∇× symbol (pronounced "del cross") denotes the curl operator.
Integral equations[edit]
In the integral equations,

 Ω is any volume with closed boundary surface ∂Ω, and

 Σ is any surface with closed boundary curve ∂Σ,
The equations are a little easier to interpret with time-independent surfaces and
volumes. Time-independent surfaces and volumes are "fixed" and do not change over a
given time interval. For example, since the surface is time-independent, we can bring
the differentiation under the integral sign in Faraday's law:

Maxwell's equations can be formulated with possibly time-dependent surfaces and

volumes by using the differential version and using Gauss and Stokes formula
appropriately.

 is a surface integral over the boundary surface ∂Ω, with the loop
indicating the surface is closed
 is a volume integral over the volume Ω,
 is a line integral around the boundary curve ∂Σ, with the loop indicating the
curve is closed.
 is a surface integral over the surface Σ,
 The total electric charge Q enclosed in Ω is the volume integral over Ω of
the charge density ρ (see the "macroscopic formulation" section below):

where dV is the volume element.

 The net electric current I is the surface integral of the electric current
density J passing through a fixed surface, Σ:

where dS denotes the differential vector element of surface area S, normal to

surface Σ. (Vector area is sometimes denoted by A rather than S, but this
conflicts with the notation for magnetic vector potential).
Formulation in SI units convention[edit]
 Integral equation
Name Differential equations
s

Gauss's law

Gauss's law for magnetism

Maxwell–Faraday equation (Faraday's law of induction)

Ampère's circuital law (with Maxwell's addition)

Formulation in Gaussian units convention[edit]

Main article: Gaussian units
The definitions of charge, electric field, and magnetic field can be altered to simplify
theoretical calculation, by absorbing dimensioned factors of ε0 and μ0 into the units of
calculation, by convention. With a corresponding change in convention for the Lorentz
force law this yields the same physics, i.e. trajectories of charged particles,
or work done by an electric motor. These definitions are often preferred in theoretical
and high energy physics where it is natural to take the electric and magnetic field with
the same units, to simplify the appearance of the electromagnetic tensor: the Lorentz
covariant object unifying electric and magnetic field would then contain components with
uniform unit and dimension.[9]: vii Such modified definitions are conventionally used with
the Gaussian (CGS) units. Using these definitions and conventions, colloquially "in
Gaussian units",[10] the Maxwell equations become:[11]

Integral
Name Differential equations
equations

Gauss's law

Gauss's law for magnetism

 Maxwell–Faraday equation (Faraday's law of induction)

Ampère's circuital law (with Maxwell's addition)

The equations simplify slightly when a system of quantities is chosen in the speed of
light, c, is used for nondimensionalization, so that, for example, seconds and
lightseconds are interchangeable, and c = 1.

Further changes are possible by absorbing factors of 4π. This process, called
rationalization, affects whether Coulomb's law or Gauss's law includes such a factor
(see Heaviside–Lorentz units, used mainly in particle physics).

Relationship between differential and integral

formulations[edit]
The equivalence of the differential and integral formulations are a consequence of
the Gauss divergence theorem and the Kelvin–Stokes theorem.

Flux and divergence[edit]

Volume Ω and its closed boundary ∂Ω, containing

(respectively enclosing) a source (+) and sink (−) of a vector field F. Here, F could be
the E field with source electric charges, but not the B field, which has no magnetic
charges as shown. The outward unit normal is n.
According to the (purely mathematical) Gauss divergence theorem, the electric
flux through the boundary surface ∂Ω can be rewritten as

The integral version of Gauss's equation can thus be rewritten as

Since Ω is arbitrary (e.g. an arbitrary small ball with arbitrary center), this is
satisfied if and only if the integrand is zero everywhere. This is the differential
equations formulation of Gauss equation up to a trivial rearrangement.
Similarly rewriting the magnetic flux in Gauss's law for magnetism in integral form
gives

which is satisfied for all Ω if and only if everywhere.

Circulation and curl[edit]

Surface Σ with closed boundary ∂Σ. F could be

the E or B fields. Again, n is the unit normal. (The curl of a vector field does not
literally look like the "circulations", this is a heuristic depiction.)
By the Kelvin–Stokes theorem we can rewrite the line integrals of the fields
around the closed boundary curve ∂Σ to an integral of the "circulation of the
fields" (i.e. their curls) over a surface it bounds, i.e.

Hence the modified Ampere law in integral form can be rewritten as

Since Σ can be chosen arbitrarily, e.g. as an arbitrary small, arbitrary oriented,

and arbitrary centered disk, we conclude that the integrand is zero if and only
if Ampere's modified law in differential equations form is satisfied. The
equivalence of Faraday's law in differential and integral form follows likewise.
The line integrals and curls are analogous to quantities in classical fluid
dynamics: the circulation of a fluid is the line integral of the fluid's flow
velocity field around a closed loop, and the vorticity of the fluid is the curl of the
velocity field.

Charge conservation[edit]
The invariance of charge can be derived as a corollary of Maxwell's equations.
The left-hand side of the modified Ampere's law has zero divergence by the div–
curl identity. Expanding the divergence of the right-hand side, interchanging
derivatives, and applying Gauss's law gives:

i.e.,

By the Gauss divergence theorem, this means the rate of change of charge in a
fixed volume equals the net current flowing through the boundary:

In particular, in an isolated system the total charge is conserved.

Vacuum equations, electromagnetic waves and

speed of light[edit]
Further information: Electromagnetic wave equation, Inhomogeneous
electromagnetic wave equation, Sinusoidal plane-wave solutions of the
electromagnetic wave equation, and Helmholtz equation

This 3D diagram shows a plane linearly

polarized wave propagating from left to right, defined
by E = E0 sin(−ωt + k ⋅ r) and B = B0 sin(−ωt + k ⋅ r) The oscillating fields are
detected at the flashing point. The horizontal wavelength is λ. E0 ⋅ B0 = 0
= E0 ⋅ k = B0 ⋅ k
In a region with no charges (ρ = 0) and no currents (J = 0), such as in a
vacuum, Maxwell's equations reduce to:

Taking the curl (∇×) of the curl equations, and using the curl of the curl
identity we obtain

The quantity has the dimension of (time/length)2. Defining , the equations

above have the form of the standard wave equations

Already during Maxwell's lifetime, it was found that the known values
for and give , then already known to be the speed of light in free space. This
led him to propose that light and radio waves were propagating
electromagnetic waves, since amply confirmed. In the old SI system of units,
the values of and are defined constants, (which means that by definition )
that define the ampere and the metre. In the new SI system, only c keeps its
defined value, and the electron charge gets a defined value.

In materials with relative permittivity, εr, and relative permeability, μr,

the phase velocity of light becomes

which is usually[note 5] less than c.

In addition, E and B are perpendicular to each other and to the direction of

wave propagation, and are in phase with each other. A sinusoidal plane
wave is one special solution of these equations. Maxwell's equations explain
how these waves can physically propagate through space. The changing
magnetic field creates a changing electric field through Faraday's law. In
turn, that electric field creates a changing magnetic field through Maxwell's
addition to Ampère's law. This perpetual cycle allows these waves, now
known as electromagnetic radiation, to move through space at velocity c.

Macroscopic formulation[edit]
The above equations are the microscopic version of Maxwell's equations,
expressing the electric and the magnetic fields in terms of the (possibly
atomic-level) charges and currents present. This is sometimes called the
"general" form, but the macroscopic version below is equally general, the
difference being one of bookkeeping.

The microscopic version is sometimes called "Maxwell's equations in a

vacuum": this refers to the fact that the material medium is not built into the
structure of the equations, but appears only in the charge and current terms.
The microscopic version was introduced by Lorentz, who tried to use it to
derive the macroscopic properties of bulk matter from its microscopic
constituents.[12]: 5

"Maxwell's macroscopic equations", also known as Maxwell's equations in

matter, are more similar to those that Maxwell introduced himself.

Differential
Integral equation equations
Differential equations
Name s (Gaussian
(SI convention)
(SI convention) convention
)

Gauss's law

Ampère's circuital law (with

Maxwell's addition)

Gauss's law for magnetism

Maxwell–Faraday equation
(Faraday's law of induction)

In the macroscopic equations, the influence of bound charge Qb and bound

current Ib is incorporated into the displacement field D and the magnetizing
field H, while the equations depend only on the free charges Qf and free
currents If. This reflects a splitting of the total electric charge Q and
current I (and their densities ρ and J) into free and bound parts:
The cost of this splitting is that the additional fields D and H need to be
determined through phenomenological constituent equations relating these
fields to the electric field E and the magnetic field B, together with the bound
charge and current.

See below for a detailed description of the differences between the

microscopic equations, dealing with total charge and current including
material contributions, useful in air/vacuum;[note 6] and the macroscopic
equations, dealing with free charge and current, practical to use within
materials.

Bound charge and current[edit]

Main articles: Current density, Bound charge, and Bound current

Left: A schematic view of how an

assembly of microscopic dipoles produces opposite surface charges as
shown at top and bottom. Right: How an assembly of microscopic current
loops add together to produce a macroscopically circulating current loop.
Inside the boundaries, the individual contributions tend to cancel, but at the
boundaries no cancelation occurs.
When an electric field is applied to a dielectric material its molecules respond
by forming microscopic electric dipoles – their atomic nuclei move a tiny
distance in the direction of the field, while their electrons move a tiny distance
in the opposite direction. This produces a macroscopic bound charge in the
material even though all of the charges involved are bound to individual
molecules. For example, if every molecule responds the same, similar to that
shown in the figure, these tiny movements of charge combine to produce a
layer of positive bound charge on one side of the material and a layer of
negative charge on the other side. The bound charge is most conveniently
described in terms of the polarization P of the material, its dipole moment per
unit volume. If P is uniform, a macroscopic separation of charge is produced
only at the surfaces where P enters and leaves the material. For non-
uniform P, a charge is also produced in the bulk.[13]

Somewhat similarly, in all materials the constituent atoms exhibit magnetic

moments that are intrinsically linked to the angular momentum of the
components of the atoms, most notably their electrons. The connection to
angular momentum suggests the picture of an assembly of microscopic
current loops. Outside the material, an assembly of such microscopic current
loops is not different from a macroscopic current circulating around the
material's surface, despite the fact that no individual charge is traveling a
large distance. These bound currents can be described using
the magnetization M.[14]

The very complicated and granular bound charges and bound currents,
therefore, can be represented on the macroscopic scale in terms of P and M,
which average these charges and currents on a sufficiently large scale so as
not to see the granularity of individual atoms, but also sufficiently small that
they vary with location in the material. As such, Maxwell's macroscopic
equations ignore many details on a fine scale that can be unimportant to
understanding matters on a gross scale by calculating fields that are
averaged over some suitable volume.

Auxiliary fields, polarization and magnetization[edit]

The definitions of the auxiliary fields are:

where P is the polarization field and M is the magnetization field, which are
defined in terms of microscopic bound charges and bound currents
respectively. The macroscopic bound charge density ρb and bound current
density Jb in terms of polarization P and magnetization M are then defined as

If we define the total, bound, and free charge and current density by

and use the defining relations above to eliminate D, and H, the

"macroscopic" Maxwell's equations reproduce the "microscopic" equations.
Constitutive relations[edit]
Main article: Constitutive equation § Electromagnetism
In order to apply 'Maxwell's macroscopic equations', it is necessary to specify
the relations between displacement field D and the electric field E, as well as
the magnetizing field H and the magnetic field B. Equivalently, we have to
specify the dependence of the polarization P (hence the bound charge) and
the magnetization M (hence the bound current) on the applied electric and
magnetic field. The equations specifying this response are called constitutive
relations. For real-world materials, the constitutive relations are rarely simple,
except approximately, and usually determined by experiment. See the main
article on constitutive relations for a fuller description.[15]: 44–45

For materials without polarization and magnetization, the constitutive

relations are (by definition)[9]: 2

where ε0 is the permittivity of free space and μ0 the permeability of free space.
Since there is no bound charge, the total and the free charge and current are
equal.
An alternative viewpoint on the microscopic equations is that they are the
macroscopic equations together with the statement that vacuum behaves like
a perfect linear "material" without additional polarization and magnetization.
More generally, for linear materials the constitutive relations are[15]: 44–45

where ε is the permittivity and μ the permeability of the material. For the
displacement field D the linear approximation is usually excellent because for
all but the most extreme electric fields or temperatures obtainable in the
laboratory (high power pulsed lasers) the interatomic electric fields of
materials of the order of 1011 V/m are much higher than the external field. For
the magnetizing field , however, the linear approximation can break down in
common materials like iron leading to phenomena like hysteresis. Even the
linear case can have various complications, however.

 For homogeneous materials, ε and μ are constant throughout the

material, while for inhomogeneous materials they depend
on location within the material (and perhaps time).[16]: 463
 For isotropic materials, ε and μ are scalars, while for anisotropic
materials (e.g. due to crystal structure) they are tensors.[15]: 421 [16]: 463
 Materials are generally dispersive, so ε and μ depend on
the frequency of any incident EM waves.[15]: 625 [16]: 397
Even more generally, in the case of non-linear materials (see for
example nonlinear optics), D and P are not necessarily proportional to E,
similarly H or M is not necessarily proportional to B. In
general D and H depend on both E and B, on location and time, and possibly
other physical quantities.

In applications one also has to describe how the free currents and charge
density behave in terms of E and B possibly coupled to other physical
quantities like pressure, and the mass, number density, and velocity of
charge-carrying particles. E.g., the original equations given by Maxwell
(see History of Maxwell's equations) included Ohm's law in the form
Alternative formulations[edit]
For an overview, see Mathematical descriptions of the electromagnetic field.
For the equations in quantum field theory, see Quantum electrodynamics.
Following is a summary of some of the numerous other mathematical
formalisms to write the microscopic Maxwell's equations, with the columns
separating the two homogeneous Maxwell equations from the two
inhomogeneous ones involving charge and current. Each formulation has
versions directly in terms of the electric and magnetic fields, and indirectly in
terms of the electrical potential φ and the vector potential A. Potentials were
introduced as a convenient way to solve the homogeneous equations, but it
was thought that all observable physics was contained in the electric and
magnetic fields (or relativistically, the Faraday tensor). The potentials play a
central role in quantum mechanics, however, and act quantum mechanically
with observable consequences even when the electric and magnetic fields
vanish (Aharonov–Bohm effect).

Each table describes one formalism. See the main article for details of each
formulation. SI units are used throughout.

Vector calculus

Formulation Homogeneous equations Inhomogeneous equations

Fields

3D Euclidean space + time

Potentials (any gauge)

3D Euclidean space + time

Potentials (Lorenz gauge)

3D Euclidean space + time

Tensor calculus

Formulation Homogeneous Inhomogeneous

 equations equations

Fields

space + time

spatial metric independent of time

Potentials
space (with § topological restrictions) +
time

spatial metric independent of time

Potentials (Lorenz gauge)

space (with topological restrictions) +
time

spatial metric independent of time

Differential forms

Homogeneous Inhomogeneous
Formulation
equations equations

Fields

any space + time

Potentials (any gauge)

any space (with § topological
restrictions) + time

Potential (Lorenz Gauge)

any space (with topological restrictions)
+ time

spatial metric independent of time

Relativistic formulations[edit]
For the equations in special relativity, see Classical electromagnetism and
special relativity and Covariant formulation of classical electromagnetism.
For the equations in general relativity, see Maxwell's equations in curved
spacetime.
The Maxwell equations can also be formulated on a spacetime-
like Minkowski space where space and time are treated on equal footing. The
direct spacetime formulations make manifest that the Maxwell equations
are relativistically invariant. Because of this symmetry, the electric and
magnetic fields are treated on equal footing and are recognized as
components of the Faraday tensor. This reduces the four Maxwell equations
to two, which simplifies the equations, although we can no longer use the
familiar vector formulation. In fact the Maxwell equations in the space + time
formulation are not Galileo invariant and have Lorentz invariance as a hidden
symmetry. This was a major source of inspiration for the development of
relativity theory. Indeed, even the formulation that treats space and time
separately is not a non-relativistic approximation and describes the same
physics by simply renaming variables. For this reason the relativistic invariant
equations are usually called the Maxwell equations as well.

Each table below describes one formalism.

Tensor calculus

Formulation Homogeneous equations Inhomogeneous equations

Fields
Minkowski space

Potentials (any gauge)

Minkowski space

Potentials (Lorenz gauge)

Minkowski space

Fields
any spacetime
Potentials (any gauge)
any spacetime
(with §topological restrictions)
Potentials (Lorenz gauge)
any spacetime
(with topological restrictions)

Differential forms

Formulation Homogeneous equations Inhomogeneous equations

Fields
any spacetime

Potentials (any gauge)

any spacetime
(with topological restrictions)

Potentials (Lorenz gauge)

any spacetime
(with topological restrictions)

 In the tensor calculus formulation, the electromagnetic tensor Fαβ is

an antisymmetric covariant order 2 tensor; the four-potential, Aα, is
a covariant vector; the current, Jα, is a vector; the square
brackets, [ ], denote antisymmetrization of indices; ∂α is the partial
derivative with respect to the coordinate, xα. In Minkowski space
coordinates are chosen with respect to an inertial frame; (xα) =
(ct, x, y, z), so that the metric tensor used to raise and lower
indices is ηαβ = diag(1, −1, −1, −1). The d'Alembert operator on

Minkowski space is ◻ = ∂α∂α as in the vector formulation. In general

spacetimes, the coordinate system xα is arbitrary, the covariant
derivative ∇α, the Ricci tensor, Rαβ and raising and lowering of
indices are defined by the Lorentzian metric, gαβ and the d'Alembert

operator is defined as ◻ = ∇α∇α. The topological restriction is that

the second real cohomology group of the space vanishes (see the
differential form formulation for an explanation). This is violated for
Minkowski space with a line removed, which can model a (flat)
spacetime with a point-like monopole on the complement of the
line.
 In the differential form formulation on arbitrary space
times, F = 1/2 Fαβdxα ∧ dxβ is the electromagnetic tensor considered
as a 2-form, A = Aαdxα is the potential 1-form, is the current 3-
 form, d is the exterior derivative, and is the Hodge star on forms
defined (up to its orientation, i.e. its sign) by the Lorentzian metric
of spacetime. In the special case of 2-forms such as F, the Hodge
star depends on the metric tensor only for its local scale. This
means that, as formulated, the differential form field equations
are conformally invariant, but the Lorenz gauge condition breaks

conformal invariance. The operator is the d'Alembert–Laplace–

Beltrami operator on 1-forms on an arbitrary Lorentzian spacetime.
The topological condition is again that the second real cohomology
group is 'trivial' (meaning that its form follows from a definition). By
the isomorphism with the second de Rham cohomology this
condition means that every closed 2-form is exact.
Other formalisms include the geometric algebra formulation and a matrix
representation of Maxwell's equations. Historically,
a quaternionic formulation[17][18] was used.

Solutions[edit]
Maxwell's equations are partial differential equations that relate the electric
and magnetic fields to each other and to the electric charges and currents.
Often, the charges and currents are themselves dependent on the electric
and magnetic fields via the Lorentz force equation and the constitutive
relations. These all form a set of coupled partial differential equations which
are often very difficult to solve: the solutions encompass all the diverse
phenomena of classical electromagnetism. Some general remarks follow.

As for any differential equation, boundary conditions[19][20][21] and initial

conditions[22] are necessary for a unique solution. For example, even with no
charges and no currents anywhere in spacetime, there are the obvious
solutions for which E and B are zero or constant, but there are also non-
trivial solutions corresponding to electromagnetic waves. In some cases,
Maxwell's equations are solved over the whole of space, and boundary
conditions are given as asymptotic limits at infinity.[23] In other cases,
Maxwell's equations are solved in a finite region of space, with appropriate
conditions on the boundary of that region, for example an artificial absorbing
boundary representing the rest of the universe,[24][25] or periodic boundary
conditions, or walls that isolate a small region from the outside world (as with
a waveguide or cavity resonator).[26]

Jefimenko's equations (or the closely related Liénard–Wiechert potentials)

are the explicit solution to Maxwell's equations for the electric and magnetic
fields created by any given distribution of charges and currents. It assumes
specific initial conditions to obtain the so-called "retarded solution", where the
only fields present are the ones created by the charges. However,
Jefimenko's equations are unhelpful in situations when the charges and
currents are themselves affected by the fields they create.

Numerical methods for differential equations can be used to compute

approximate solutions of Maxwell's equations when exact solutions are
impossible. These include the finite element method and finite-difference
time-domain method.[19][21][27][28][29] For more details, see Computational
electromagnetics.

Overdetermination of Maxwell's equations[edit]

Maxwell's equations seem overdetermined, in that they involve six unknowns
(the three components of E and B) but eight equations (one for each of the
two Gauss's laws, three vector components each for Faraday's and
Ampere's laws). (The currents and charges are not unknowns, being freely
specifiable subject to charge conservation.) This is related to a certain limited
kind of redundancy in Maxwell's equations: It can be proven that any system
satisfying Faraday's law and Ampere's law automatically also satisfies the
two Gauss's laws, as long as the system's initial condition does, and
assuming conservation of charge and the nonexistence of magnetic
monopoles.[30][31] This explanation was first introduced by Julius Adams
Stratton in 1941.[32]

Although it is possible to simply ignore the two Gauss's laws in a numerical

algorithm (apart from the initial conditions), the imperfect precision of the
calculations can lead to ever-increasing violations of those laws. By
introducing dummy variables characterizing these violations, the four
equations become not overdetermined after all. The resulting formulation can
lead to more accurate algorithms that take all four laws into account.[33]

Both identities , which reduce eight equations to six independent ones, are
the true reason of overdetermination.[34][35]

Equivalently, the overdetermination can be viewed as implying conservation

of electric and magnetic charge, as they are required in the derivation
described above but implied by the two Gauss's laws.

For linear algebraic equations, one can make 'nice' rules to rewrite the
equations and unknowns. The equations can be linearly dependent. But in
differential equations, and especially partial differential equations (PDEs),
one needs appropriate boundary conditions, which depend in not so obvious
ways on the equations. Even more, if one rewrites them in terms of vector
and scalar potential, then the equations are underdetermined because
of gauge fixing.
Maxwell's equations as the classical limit of
QED[edit]
Maxwell's equations and the Lorentz force law (along with the rest of
classical electromagnetism) are extraordinarily successful at explaining and
predicting a variety of phenomena. However they do not account for quantum
effects and so their domain of applicability is limited. Maxwell's equations are
thought of as the classical limit of quantum electrodynamics (QED).

Some observed electromagnetic phenomena are incompatible with Maxwell's

equations. These include photon–photon scattering and many other
phenomena related to photons or virtual photons, "nonclassical light"
and quantum entanglement of electromagnetic fields (see Quantum optics).
E.g. quantum cryptography cannot be described by Maxwell theory, not even
approximately. The approximate nature of Maxwell's equations becomes
more and more apparent when going into the extremely strong field regime
(see Euler–Heisenberg Lagrangian) or to extremely small distances.

Finally, Maxwell's equations cannot explain any phenomenon involving

individual photons interacting with quantum matter, such as the photoelectric
effect, Planck's law, the Duane–Hunt law, and single-photon light detectors.
However, many such phenomena may be approximated using a halfway
theory of quantum matter coupled to a classical electromagnetic field, either
as external field or with the expected value of the charge current and density
on the right hand side of Maxwell's equations.

Variations[edit]
Popular variations on the Maxwell equations as a classical theory of
electromagnetic fields are relatively scarce because the standard equations
have stood the test of time remarkably well.

Magnetic monopoles[edit]
Main article: Magnetic monopole
Maxwell's equations posit that there is electric charge, but no magnetic
charge (also called magnetic monopoles), in the universe. Indeed, magnetic
charge has never been observed, despite extensive searches,[note 7] and may
not exist. If they did exist, both Gauss's law for magnetism and Faraday's law
would need to be modified, and the resulting four equations would be fully
symmetric under the interchange of electric and magnetic fields.[9]: 273–275

See also[edit]

 Electronics portal
  Physics portal

 Algebra of physical space

 Fresnel equations
 Gravitoelectromagnetism
 Interface conditions for electromagnetic fields
 Moving magnet and conductor problem
 Riemann–Silberstein vector
 Spacetime algebra
 Wheeler–Feynman absorber theory

Explanatory notes[edit]
1. ^ Electric and magnetic fields, according to the theory of relativity, are the
components of a single electromagnetic field.
2. ^ In general relativity, however, they must enter, through its stress–energy
tensor, into Einstein field equations that include the spacetime curvature.
3. ^ The absence of sinks/sources of the field does not imply that the field lines
must be closed or escape to infinity. They can also wrap around indefinitely,
without self-intersections. Moreover, around points where the field is zero (that
cannot be intersected by field lines, because their direction would not be
defined), there can be the simultaneous begin of some lines and end of other
lines. This happens, for instance, in the middle between two identical cylindrical
magnets, whose north poles face each other. In the middle between those
magnets, the field is zero and the axial field lines coming from the magnets end.
At the same time, an infinite number of divergent lines emanate radially from
this point. The simultaneous presence of lines which end and begin around the
point preserves the divergence-free character of the field. For a detailed
discussion of non-closed field lines, see L. Zilberti "The Misconception of
Closed Magnetic Flux Lines", IEEE Magnetics Letters, vol. 8, art. 1306005,
2017.
4. ^ The quantity we would now call 1/√ε0μ0 , with units of velocity, was directly
measured before Maxwell's equations, in an 1855 experiment by Wilhelm
Eduard Weber and Rudolf Kohlrausch. They charged a leyden jar (a kind
of capacitor), and measured the electrostatic force associated with the potential;
then, they discharged it while measuring the magnetic force from the current in
the discharge wire. Their result was 3.107×108 m/s, remarkably close to the
speed of light. See Joseph F. Keithley, The story of electrical and magnetic
measurements: from 500 B.C. to the 1940s, p. 115.
5. ^ There are cases (anomalous dispersion) where the phase velocity can
exceed c, but the "signal velocity" will still be < c
6. ^ In some books—e.g., in U. Krey and A. Owen's Basic Theoretical Physics
(Springer 2007)—the term effective charge is used instead of total charge,
while free charge is simply called charge.
7. ^ See magnetic monopole for a discussion of monopole searches. Recently,
scientists have discovered that some types of condensed matter, including spin
ice and topological insulators, which display emergent behavior resembling
magnetic monopoles. (See [Link] and [Link].) Although these
were described in the popular press as the long-awaited discovery of magnetic
monopoles, they are only superficially related. A "true" magnetic monopole is
 something where ∇ ⋅ B ≠ 0, whereas in these condensed-matter systems, ∇
⋅ B = 0 while only ∇ ⋅ H ≠ 0.

References[edit]
1. ^ Hampshire, Damian P. (29 October 2018). "A derivation of Maxwell's
equations using the Heaviside notation". Philosophical Transactions of the
Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering
Sciences. 376 (2134). arXiv:1510.04309. Bibcode:2018RSPTA.37670447H. d
oi:10.1098/rsta.2017.0447. ISSN 1364-503X. PMC 6232579. PMID 30373937.
2. ^ "The NIST Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty".
3. ^ Jump up to:a b c Jackson, John. "Maxwell's equations". Science Video
Glossary. Berkeley Lab. Archived from the original on 2019-01-29.
Retrieved 2016-06-04.
4. ^ J. D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics, section 6.3
5. ^ Principles of physics: a calculus-based text, by R. A. Serway, J. W. Jewett,
page 809.
6. ^ Bruce J. Hunt (1991) The Maxwellians, chapter 5 and appendix, Cornell
University Press
7. ^ "Maxwell's Equations". Engineering and Technology History Wiki. 29 October
2019. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
8. ^ Šolín, Pavel (2006). Partial differential equations and the finite element
method. John Wiley and Sons. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-471-72070-6.
9. ^ Jump up to:a b c J. D. Jackson (1975-10-17). Classical
Electrodynamics (3rd ed.). Wiley. ISBN 978-0-471-43132-9.
10. ^ Littlejohn, Robert (Fall 2007). "Gaussian, SI and Other Systems of Units in
Electromagnetic Theory" (PDF). Physics 221A, University of California,
Berkeley lecture notes. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
11. ^ David J Griffiths (1999). Introduction to electrodynamics (Third ed.). Prentice
Hall. pp. 559–562. ISBN 978-0-13-805326-0.
12. ^ Kimball Milton; J. Schwinger (18 June 2006). Electromagnetic Radiation:
Variational Methods, Waveguides and Accelerators. Springer Science &
Business Media. ISBN 978-3-540-29306-4.
13. ^ See David J. Griffiths (1999). "4.2.2". Introduction to
Electrodynamics (third ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780138053260. for a good
description of how P relates to the bound charge.
14. ^ See David J. Griffiths (1999). "6.2.2". Introduction to
Electrodynamics (third ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780138053260. for a good
description of how M relates to the bound current.
15. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Andrew Zangwill (2013). Modern Electrodynamics.
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-89697-9.
16. ^ Jump up to:a b c Kittel, Charles (2005), Introduction to Solid State
Physics (8th ed.), USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., ISBN 978-0-471-41526-8
17. ^ Jack, P. M. (2003). "Physical Space as a Quaternion Structure I: Maxwell
Equations. A Brief Note". arXiv:math-ph/0307038.
18. ^ A. Waser (2000). "On the Notation of Maxwell's Field Equations" (PDF). AW-
Verlag.
19. ^ Jump up to:a b Peter Monk (2003). Finite Element Methods for Maxwell's
Equations. Oxford UK: Oxford University Press. p. 1 ff. ISBN 978-0-19-850888-
5.
20. ^ Thomas B. A. Senior & John Leonidas Volakis (1995-03-01). Approximate
Boundary Conditions in Electromagnetics. London UK: Institution of Electrical
Engineers. p. 261 ff. ISBN 978-0-85296-849-9.
 21. ^ Jump up to:a b T Hagstrom (Björn Engquist & Gregory A. Kriegsmann, Eds.)
(1997). Computational Wave Propagation. Berlin: Springer. p. 1 ff. ISBN 978-
0-387-94874-4.
22. ^ Henning F. Harmuth & Malek G. M. Hussain (1994). Propagation of
Electromagnetic Signals. Singapore: World Scientific. p. 17. ISBN 978-981-02-
1689-4.
23. ^ David M Cook (2002). The Theory of the Electromagnetic Field. Mineola NY:
Courier Dover Publications. p. 335 ff. ISBN 978-0-486-42567-2.
24. ^ Jean-Michel Lourtioz (2005-05-23). Photonic Crystals: Towards Nanoscale
Photonic Devices. Berlin: Springer. p. 84. ISBN 978-3-540-24431-8.
25. ^ S. G. Johnson, Notes on Perfectly Matched Layers, online MIT course notes
(Aug. 2007).
26. ^ S. F. Mahmoud (1991). Electromagnetic Waveguides: Theory and
Applications. London UK: Institution of Electrical Engineers. Chapter
2. ISBN 978-0-86341-232-5.
27. ^ John Leonidas Volakis, Arindam Chatterjee & Leo C. Kempel (1998). Finite
element method for electromagnetics : antennas, microwave circuits, and
scattering applications. New York: Wiley IEEE. p. 79 ff. ISBN 978-0-7803-
3425-0.
28. ^ Bernard Friedman (1990). Principles and Techniques of Applied
Mathematics. Mineola NY: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-66444-6.
29. ^ Taflove A & Hagness S C (2005). Computational Electrodynamics: The
Finite-difference Time-domain Method. Boston MA: Artech House. Chapters 6
& 7. ISBN 978-1-58053-832-9.
30. ^ H Freistühler & G Warnecke (2001). Hyperbolic Problems: Theory, Numerics,
Applications. Springer. p. 605. ISBN 9783764367107.
31. ^ J Rosen (1980). "Redundancy and superfluity for electromagnetic fields and
potentials". American Journal of Physics. 48 (12):
1071. Bibcode:1980AmJPh..48.1071R. doi:10.1119/1.12289.
32. ^ J. A. Stratton (1941). Electromagnetic Theory. McGraw-Hill Book Company.
pp. 1–6. ISBN 9780470131534.
33. ^ B Jiang & J Wu & L. A. Povinelli (1996). "The Origin of Spurious Solutions in
Computational Electromagnetics". Journal of Computational Physics. 125 (1):
104. Bibcode:1996JCoPh.125..104J. doi:10.1006/jcph.1996.0082. hdl:2060/19
950021305.
34. ^ Weinberg, Steven (1972). Gravitation and Cosmology. John Wiley. pp. 161–
162. ISBN 978-0-471-92567-5.
35. ^ Courant, R. & Hilbert, D. (1962), Methods of Mathematical Physics: Partial
Differential Equations, vol. II, New York: Wiley-Interscience, pp. 15–
18, ISBN 9783527617241

Further reading[edit]
See also: List of textbooks in electromagnetism

 Imaeda, K. (1995), "Biquaternionic Formulation of Maxwell's

Equations and their Solutions", in Ablamowicz, Rafał; Lounesto,
Pertti (eds.), Clifford Algebras and Spinor Structures, Springer,
pp. 265–280, doi:10.1007/978-94-015-8422-7_16, ISBN 978-90-
481-4525-6
Historical publications[edit]
  On Faraday's Lines of Force – 1855/56. Maxwell's first paper
(Part 1 & 2) – Compiled by Blaze Labs Research (PDF).
 On Physical Lines of Force – 1861. Maxwell's 1861 paper
describing magnetic lines of force – Predecessor to 1873 Treatise.
 James Clerk Maxwell, "A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic
Field", Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of
London 155, 459–512 (1865). (This article accompanied a
December 8, 1864 presentation by Maxwell to the Royal Society.)
o A Dynamical Theory Of The Electromagnetic Field –
1865. Maxwell's 1865 paper describing his 20
equations, link from Google Books.
 J. Clerk Maxwell (1873), "A Treatise on Electricity and
Magnetism":
o Maxwell, J. C., "A Treatise on Electricity And
Magnetism" – Volume 1 – 1873 – Posner Memorial
Collection – Carnegie Mellon University.
o Maxwell, J. C., "A Treatise on Electricity And
Magnetism" – Volume 2 – 1873 – Posner Memorial
Collection – Carnegie Mellon University.
The developments before relativity:

 Larmor Joseph (1897). "On a dynamical theory of the electric and

luminiferous medium. Part 3, Relations with material media" . Phil.
Trans. R. Soc. 190: 205–300.
 Lorentz Hendrik (1899). "Simplified theory of electrical and optical
phenomena in moving systems" . Proc. Acad. Science
Amsterdam. I: 427–443.
 Lorentz Hendrik (1904). "Electromagnetic phenomena in a system
moving with any velocity less than that of light" . Proc. Acad.
Science Amsterdam. IV: 669–678.
 Henri Poincaré (1900) "La théorie de Lorentz et le Principe de
Réaction" (in French), Archives Néerlandaises, V, 253–278.
 Henri Poincaré (1902) "La Science et l'Hypothèse" (in French).
 Henri Poincaré (1905) "Sur la dynamique de l'électron" (in
French), Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, 140,
1504–1508.
 Catt, Walton and Davidson. "The History of Displacement
Current" Archived 2008-05-06 at the Wayback Machine. Wireless
World, March 1979.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maxwell's equations.

 Wikiquote has quotations related to Maxwell's equations.

Wikiversity discusses basic Maxwell integrals for students.

 "Maxwell equations", Encyclopedia of Mathematics, EMS Press,

2001 [1994]
 [Link] — An intuitive tutorial of Maxwell's
equations.
 The Feynman Lectures on Physics Vol. II Ch. 18: The Maxwell
Equations
 Wikiversity Page on Maxwell's Equations
Modern treatments[edit]
 Electromagnetism (ch. 11), B. Crowell, Fullerton College
 Lecture series: Relativity and electromagnetism, R. Fitzpatrick,
University of Texas at Austin
 Electromagnetic waves from Maxwell's equations on Project
PHYSNET.
 MIT Video Lecture Series (36 × 50 minute lectures) (in .mp4
format) – Electricity and Magnetism Taught by Professor Walter
Lewin.
Other[edit]
 Silagadze, Z. K. (2002). "Feynman's derivation of Maxwell
equations and extra dimensions". Annales de la Fondation Louis
de Broglie. 27: 241–
256. arXiv:hep-ph/0106235. Bibcode:[Link]....6235S.
 Nature Milestones: Photons – Milestone 2 (1861) Maxwell's
equations
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