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Encyclopedia > Magnetic vector potential

In physics, the magnetic potential is a method of representing the magnetic field by using a potential value instead of the actual vector field. There are two methods of relating the magnetic field to a potential field and they give rise to two possible types of magnetic potential. Physics (from the Greek, φυσικός (phusikos), natural, and φύσις (phusis), nature) is the science of nature in the broadest sense. ... In physics, a magnetic field is an entity produced by moving electric charges (electric currents) that exerts a force on other moving charges. ... In physics, a potential is a scalar quantity that can be used to analyze the effects of complicated vectorial forces and similar quantities by means of simple conservation laws. ... In physics, a magnetic field is an entity produced by moving electric charges (electric currents) that exerts a force on other moving charges. ...

Contents

Magnetic vector potential

This is the most popular method of defining a magnetic potential and used in most physics text books. The magnetic vector potential is a three-dimensional vector field whose curl is the magnetic field in the theory of electromagnetism: Vector field given by vectors of the form (-y, x) In mathematics a vector field is a construction in vector calculus which associates a vector to every point in Euclidean space. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... In physics, a magnetic field is an entity produced by moving electric charges (electric currents) that exerts a force on other moving charges. ... Electromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field: a field, encompassing all of space, composed of the electric field and the magnetic field. ...

Starting with the above definition, calculating the divergence of both sides of the equation gives:

Note that the divergence of a curl will always give zero. Conveniently, this solves the second of Maxwell's Equations automatically, which is to say that a continuous magnetic vector potential field is guaranteed not to result in magnetic monopoles. Maxwells equations are the set of four equations, attributed to James Clerk Maxwell, that describe the behavior of both the electric and magnetic fields, as well as their interactions with matter. ... In physics, magnetic monopole is a term describing a hypothetical particle that could be quickly clarified to a person familiar with magnets but not electromagnetic theory as a magnet with only one pole. In more accurate terms, it would have net magnetic charge. Interest in the concept stems from particle...


It should be noted that the above definition does not define the magnetic vector potential uniquely because the divergence might be anything and still have no effect on the magnetic field. Thus, there is a degree of freedom available when choosing a definition. This condition is known as guage invariance. In physics, a magnetic field is an entity produced by moving electric charges (electric currents) that exerts a force on other moving charges. ... The phrase degrees of freedom is used in three different branches of science: in physics and physical chemistry, in mechanical and aerospace engineering, and in statistics. ...


Coulomb gauge

In order to uniquely define the magnetic vector potential, the following equation constrains the divergence:

This was named after Charles Augustin de Coulomb. Portrait of Coulomb Charles Augustin Coulomb (June 14, 1736—August 23, 1806) was a French physicist. ...


Magnetostatic integral formulation

For magnetostatics this vector integral defines magnetic vector potential in terms of current density: Brief explanation of magnetostatics Magnetostatics is the study of static magnetic fields. ...

Lorentz gauge

The Lorentz gauge can also be used to uniquely constrain the magnetic vector potential and for magnetostatics gives the same result as the Coulomb gauge. The Lorentz gauge is: Brief explanation of magnetostatics Magnetostatics is the study of static magnetic fields. ...

This was named after Hendrik Lorentz. Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (July 18, 1853, Arnhem – February 4, 1928, Haarlem) was a Dutch physicist and the winner of the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on electromagnetic radiation. ...


Magnetic scalar potential

The magnetic scalar potential is defined by the equation:

Applying Ampere's Law to the above definition we get: In physics, Ampères law is the magnetic equivalent of Gausss law, discovered by André-Marie Ampère. ...

Since in any continuous field, the curl of a gradient is zero, this would suggest that magnetic scalar potential fields cannot support any sources. In fact, sources can be supported by applying discontinuities to the potential field (thus the same point can have two values for points along the disconuity). These discontinuities are also known as "cuts". When solving magnetostatics problems using magnetic scalar potential, the source currents must be applied at the discontinuity. Brief explanation of magnetostatics Magnetostatics is the study of static magnetic fields. ...


Four dimensional potentials

In special relativity, the magnetic potential joins with the electric potential into the electromagnetic potential. This may be done by joining a scalar electric potential with a vector magnetic potential or by joining a scalar magnetic potential with a vector electric potential. Either way, the final result must have 4 dimensions. The former method is more popular because the scalar electric potential is widely familiar as voltage and because the concept of vector electric potential is just too weird to exist in the same universe as decent common-sense folks. Special relativity (SR) or the special theory of relativity is the physical theory published in 1905 by Albert Einstein. ... Electric potential is the potential energy per unit charge associated with a static (time-invariant) electric field, also called the electrostatic potential, typically measured in volts. ... In theoretical physics, the electromagnetic potential is a physical quantity that unifies the electric potential and the vector potential (see also magnetic potential) into a single quantity with four components (four is the dimension of the spacetime). ... In the physical sciences, potential difference is the difference in potential between two points in a conservative vector field. ...


In four dimensional notation, the Lorentz guage may be written more concisely by using the D'Alembertian and the four-current, J: In special relativity, electromagnetism and wave theory, the dAlembert operator, also called dAlembertian, is the Laplace operator of Minkowski space. ...

in Gaussian units. CGS is an acronym for centimetre-gram-second. ...


Reality of potential fields

Since the magnetic field may be defined in terms of the magnetic vector potential field, which one of them is the "real" field? Presuming reality is what can be measured, it is possible to measure using the Hall effect, while measuring in a direct way is quite difficult. In physics, a magnetic field is an entity produced by moving electric charges (electric currents) that exerts a force on other moving charges. ... The Hall effect refers to the potential difference (voltage) on opposite sides of a thin sheet of conducting or semiconducting material in the form of a Hall bar or a van der Pauw element through which an electric current is flowing, created by a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the...


The interesting situation occurs that just outside a long solenoid, the value of is quite small, whereas the value of in the same region is comparatively large. The Aharonov-Bohm effect was first described as a thought experiment in 1956 and involves making an interference pattern using a stream of electrons passing through a double slit. Placing a magnetised iron whisker between the slits simulates the effect of a long, thin solenoid. In 1985 the experiment was constructed and it was observed that the interference pattern did shift as a result of the solenoid. This suggests that the field can act in a region where and thus we can conclude that is the "real" field. The Aharonov-Bohm effect is a quantum mechanical phenomenon by which a charged particle is affected by electromagnetic fields in regions from which the particle is excluded, proposed by Aharonov and Bohm in 1959. ...


See also


  Results from FactBites:
 
Electric potential - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (1120 words)
Electric potential is the potential energy per unit of charge associated with a static (time-invariant) electric field, also called the electrostatic potential, typically measured in volts.
This force has the same direction as the electric field vector, and its magnitude is given by the size of the charge multiplied with the magnitude of the electric field.
The electric potential and the magnetic vector potential together form a four vector, so that the two kinds of potential is mixed under Lorentz transformations.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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