Illustrations of Maxwell's term and the four conservation laws of electromagnetism

Timothy H. Boyer

Citation: American Journal of Physics 87, 729 (2019); doi: 10.1119/1.5115339

View online: https://doi.org/10.1119/1.5115339
View Table of Contents: https://aapt.scitation.org/toc/ajp/87/9
Published by the American Association of Physics Teachers
Illustrations of Maxwell’s term and the four conservation laws
of electromagnetism
Timothy H. Boyer
Department of Physics, City College of the City University of New York, New York, New York 10031
(Received 6 February 2019; accepted 15 June 2019)
We illustrate the use of Maxwell’s term in Ampere’s law and also the conservation laws of
electromagnetic theory. First, we outline the conservation laws for energy and linear momentum
which often appear in textbooks of electromagnetism, and then we show how these conservation
laws can be extended to the conservation law for angular momentum and to the relativistic
conservation law involving the center of energy. Next we treat the traditional example of charging
a parallel-plate capacitor but explore a number of energy-conservation aspects and variations
which are not usually found in textbooks. Finally, we discuss the charging of spherical conductors
where we can illustrate the use of Maxwell’s term and can provide non-trivial examples of three of
the four conservation laws. VC 2019 American Association of Physics Teachers.
https://doi.org/10.1119/1.5115339

I. INTRODUCTION law involving the center of energy. The electromagnetic con-

Associated with water flowing inside a hollow pipe, there
is kinetic energy of the matter contained within the pipe,
whereas associated with a constant electrical current in a
conducting wire, there is an energy flowing through space
outside the wire. Electromagnetic energy does not flow
within the conducting wire but rather flows through space
and is only guided by the conducting wire.1 This sharp
contrast in the energy flows between mechanical and
electromagnetic-wave systems sometimes comes as a shock
to students. Of course, electromagnetic energy does flow
inside a coaxial cable, a hollow conducting waveguide, or an
optical fiber, but in other cases, the energy flow is not inside
a confining tube. Students are willing to acknowledge that
the signals to their radios or smart phones must have traveled
through space; however, the vacuum-space transport of elec-
tromagnetic energy outside conducting wires under quasi-
static situations (such as losing energy to resistive heating or
storing energy in a capacitor) seems more surprising. Indeed
some of the older literature tends to minimize the hope of
following the continuous transfer of the conserved electro-
magnetic quantities through spacetime.2 More recently, there
have been discussions of energy flow into an ohmic resistor
or during the charging of a capacitor or during the increase
in current in a solenoid.3 What seems helpful to students are
simple examples of the energy transfer which familiarize
them with the electromagnetic situation. In the present article,
we outline some simple examples of energy conservation,
both local and global, in connection with steady currents and
Maxwell’s term @E=@t in Ampere’s law, since there seem to
be relatively few examples in the textbooks. Also, in some
cases, we go beyond energy conservation and provide inter-
esting illustrations related to linear momentum conservation
and the relativistic center-of-energy conservation law. The
examples provided here have been used in the author’s under-
graduate and graduate classes in electromagnetism.
A. Outline of the calculations
After this section, we give a review of the four conserva-
tion laws for relativistic electromagnetic theory: energy
conservation, linear momentum conservation, angular
momentum conservation, and the relativistic conservation
servation laws for energy and linear momentum are usually
treated in the textbooks of electromagnetism. All four
conservation laws are given in manifestly Lorentz-covariant
formulations of field theories, but are sometimes treated
without the presence of external forces.4 Here, we allow
external forces and provide the three-vector forms of the
conservation law for angular momentum and also for the rel-
ativistic conservation law, including the terms involving
electromagnetic charges and currents. Strictly, our analysis
is analogous to work-energy theorems rather than to conser-
vation laws.
Next we turn to illustrations of the conservation laws for
quasi-static situations in connection with the Maxwell term
in Ampere’s law. First, we treat the traditional example
involving the steady charging of a parallel-plate capacitor.
This situation is treated in the textbooks, but we suggest a
number of variations which allow students to understand a
range of possibilities for electromagnetic energy flow. This
traditional parallel-plate situation does not lend itself to
simple non-trivial examples of the other conservation laws.
The second set of examples involves the steady charging of
spherical conductors. In this case, we can provide nontrivial
examples of three of the conservation laws: energy, linear
momentum, and relativistic center-of-energy behavior.
II. REVIEW OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC
CONSERVATION LAWS IN DIFFERENTIAL AND
INTEGRAL FORMS
A. Maxwell’s equations of electromagnetism
We will use Maxwell’s equations in vacuum with charge den-
sity q and current density J, written in Gaussian units as follows:
r  E ¼ 4pq; (1)
1 @B
rE¼ ; (2)
c @t
r  B ¼ 0; (3)
4p 1 @E
rB¼ Jþ : (4)
c c @t

729 Am. J. Phys. 87 (9), September 2019 http://aapt.org/ajp C 2019 American Association of Physics Teachers
V 729
The last term c1 @E=@t in Eq. (4) is what is referred to as where
“Maxwell’s term in Ampere’s law” or Maxwell’s
1
“displacement-current” term. g¼ S; (11)
c2
B. Energy conservation is the electromagnetic linear momentum per unit volume,
The energy conservation law is associated with symmetry and the tensor
 
under time translation. The quantity J  E is the power per $ 1 1$ 2 2
unit volume delivered by the electromagnetic field and is T ¼ EE þ BB  I ðE þ B Þ ; (12)
4p 2
associated with the transfer (per unit volume) of energy from
electromagnetic to some other form. If we use Maxwell’s is the electromagnetic linear momentum crossing per unit
equations to eliminate the current density, we obtain the $ $
area per unit time. Here, I is the unit dyadic, I ¼ i^i^ þ j^j^
local electromagnetic conservation law for energy5
þk^k.
^7
@u If we integrate Eq. (10) over a volume V, then we have the
JE¼  r  S; (5) global conservation law for electromagnetic linear
@t
momentum
where þ  
dPem $
Fem ¼   dA  T ; (13)
1 2 dt
u¼ ðE þ B2 Þ; (6) Ð
8p where Fem ¼ d3 r½qE þ ð1=cÞJ  B is the electromagnetic
Ð
is the electromagnetic energy density, and where Poynting’s force on the charges in the volume V; Pem ¼ d3 rg is the
vector electromagnetic linear momentum in the volume V, and the
surface integral gives the time rate at which electromagnetic
c linear momentum flows out through the surface which
S¼ E  B; (7)
4p bounds the volume V. If the volume V is all space and the
electromagnetic fields fall off sufficiently fast that the sur-
gives the energy crossing per unit area per unit time. This face integral vanishes at spatial infinity, we have
conservation law is termed Poynting’s theorem (in differen-
tial form) and appears in electromagnetism textbooks.5 dPem
Fem ¼  ; (14)
If we integrate Eq. (5) over a volume V, and use the diver- dt
gence theorem, then we have the global relation indicating that the electromagnetic linear momentum Pem
þ decreases as the electromagnetic fields provide forces on the
dWem dUem
¼  dA  S; (8) charges and currents.
dt dt
Ð D. Angular momentum conservation
where dWem =dt ¼ d 3 rJ  E is the power delivered to the
charges
Ð by the electromagnetic field in the volume V, Uem The conservation law for angular momentum is associated
¼ d3 ru is the electromagnetic energy in the volume V, and with symmetry under rotation. The torque around the origin
the integral over the surface gives the electromagnetic per unit volume provided by electromagnetic forces is
energy passing out through the surface surrounding the vol- r  ½qE þ ð1=cÞJ  B: If we multiply both sides of Eq. (10)
ume V. If the volume V is all space and the electromagnetic by r; we obtain the local conservation law for electromag-
fields fall off sufficiently fast that the surface integral van- netic angular momentum8
ishes at spatial infinity, we have
@ðr  gÞ $

dWem dUem r  ½qE þ ð1=cÞJ  B ¼   r  ðT  rÞ; (15)

¼ ; (9) @t
dt dt
where
indicating that the electromagnetic energy Uem decreases in ~em ¼ r  g;
L (16)
time as the electromagnetic field delivers power to some
other form. is the angular momentum density in the electromagnetic
$
field, and T  r is the electromagnetic angular momentum
C. Linear momentum conservation crossing per unit area per unit time. Notice that the cross-
Similarly, the momentum conservation law is associated product is associated
$
with the$right-hand index while the
divergence r  ðT  rÞ ¼ ðr  T Þ  r is associated with the
with symmetry under space translation. The time rate of
left-hand index of the tensor; thus
change of electromagnetic momentum per unit volume is
given by the electromagnetic force density qE þ ð1=cÞJ  B: h i
$
If we use Maxwell’s equations to eliminate both q and J, r  ðT  rÞ i ¼ @l ðijk Tlj xk Þ
then we find the local electromagnetic conservation law for ¼ ijk ð@l Tlj Þxk þ ijk Tlj dkl
linear momentum6
¼ ijk ð@l Tlj Þxk
@g $
h i
$
qE þ ð1=cÞJ  B ¼   r  ðT Þ; (10) ¼ ðr  T Þ  r i ; (17)
@t

730 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 87, No. 9, September 2019 Timothy H. Boyer 730

since ijk Tlj dkl ¼ ijk Tkj ¼ 0 because Tkj is symmetric while
ijk is completely antisymmetric.
If we integrate Eq. (15) over a volume V, then we obtain
þ  dA  ðSr þ c2 T tÞ;
~ dLem $
C em ¼   dA  ðT  rÞ; (18)
dt
where ~ C em is the electromagnetic torque delivered to the
charges in the volume V by the electromagnetic fields, Lem is
the electromagnetic angular momentum in the volume V, and
the integral gives the time rate at which electromagnetic
angular momentum flows out through the surface which
bounds the volume V. If the volume is taken as all space and
the electromagnetic fields fall off sufficiently fast that the
surface integral vanishes at spatial infinity, we have
~ dLem
C em ¼  ; (19)
dt
corresponding to the time rate of decrease of the electromag-
netic angular momentum Lem equal to the torques exerted by
the electromagnetic fields.
E. Relativistic conservation law
Finally, we come to the conservation law associated with
symmetry under Lorentz transformation. Although the con-
servation laws for energy, linear momentum, and angular
momentum appear in both nonrelativistic and relativistic
theories, the relativistic conservation law for the center of
energy involves a special unfamiliar relation which gives
new information only in relativistic systems. The new infor-
mation depends upon the finite speed of light c and disap-
pears in the low-velocity limit v=c ! 0: Thus, the relativistic
situation is in contrast to that in nonrelativistic physics where
the Galilean analogue of the relativistic conservation law
involves merely a center-of-mass relation which trivializes
the relativistic relation and provides no information beyond
that already available from the momentum conservation law.
Accordingly, a fourth conservation law for nonrelativistic
(Galilean-invariant) physics is virtually never discussed.
In relativistic systems, all energy has a location which
moves continuously through spacetime. Furthermore, energy
in one inertial frame is related to momentum in a second rel-
atively moving inertial frame; energy and linear momentum
are part of a relativistic four-vector, just as space-position r
and time t are part of a relativistic four-vector. The relativis-
tic conservation law for electromagnetism involves the quan-
tity ðJ  EÞr  c2 ½qE þ ð1=cÞJ  Bt relating the location r
where power density J  E is exchanged and the time t when
force density qE þ ð1=cÞJ  B is applied by the electromag-
netic field. If we use Eqs. (5) and (10), we obtain9
ðJ  EÞr  c2 ½qE þ ð1=cÞJ  Bt
 
@ 2
 2
$
¼ ur  c gt  r  Sr þ c T t ; (20)
@t
where again the dot product involves the left-hand index of
the tensor, and we have used
r  ðSrÞ ¼ ðr  SÞr þ ðS  rÞr ¼ ðr  SÞr þ S
¼ ðr  SÞr þ c2 g: (21)
If we integrate over a volume V, then we obtain
731 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 87, No. 9, September 2019
ð
d ~cofE  c2 Pem tÞ
d 3 r ðJ  EÞr  c2 Fem t ¼  ðUem X
dt
þ
$
(22)
where Fem is the force due to the electromagnetic field, and
~cofE is defined by
the center of energy X
ð
~cofE ¼ d 3 rur;
Uem X (23)
with Uem the total electromagnetic energy. If we take
advantage of the conservation law for linear momentum
(13), then the relativistic conservation law (22) can be
rewritten as
ð þ
d
~cofE Þ þ c2 Pem  dA  ðSrÞ:
d 3 rðJ  EÞr ¼  ðUem X
dt
(24)
If the volume is taken as all space and the electromagnetic
fields fall off sufficiently fast that the surface integral van-
ishes at spatial infinity, then we have
ð
d ~cofE Þ þ c2 Pem :
d 3 rðJ  EÞr ¼  ðUem X (25)
dt
This equation gives the global electromagnetic conservation
law associated with relativistic symmetry. The relativistic
conservation law can also be extended to include the relativ-
istic mechanical energies and momenta of particles.10,11
Crucially, the relativistic conservation law indicates that a
system’s center of energy is affected by the spatial location
where a system’s power is exchanged with some external
agent.
The situation for relativistic electrodynamics is in contrast
to that for nonrelativistic physics. In nonrelativistic physics,
mass has a location, whereas energy does not. In the nonrela-
tivistic limit, the relativistic equation (25) involving the cen-
ter of energy for both particles and fields collapses to merely
dðMX ~cofm Þ=dt ¼ P; connecting the motion of the total
mechanical mass M times the system center of mass X ~cofm to
the system total momentum P, and so provides no new infor-
mation about the system beyond what is already available in
the nonrelativistic momentum relation for a particle mv ¼ p.
Because there is no new information involved for nonrelativ-
istic physics, the fourth conservation law associated with
symmetry under Galilean transformations is virtually never
mentioned.
III. MAXWELL-TERM EXAMPLES: CHARGING A
PARALLEL-PLATE CAPACITOR
A. Standard example: Charging through an external
wire
The standard quasi-static example for Maxwell’s term12
involves charging a parallel-plate capacitor with circular
plates of radius R and separation h, h  R. The straight
charging wires running along the z-axis are electrically neu-
tral and run perpendicular to the capacitor plates; they carry
a steady current up to the lower plate and away from the
upper plate as in Fig. 1. Using Gauss’s law within the
Timothy H. Boyer 731
 2. Global energy conservation
Although the local flow of energy is satisfactory, students
often question where the energy comes from and how it gets
into space. In the approximation given here which ignores
the fringing electric fields, the global energy balance is
completely obscure. The essential element in the energy
balance is the power delivered by the external agent which
keeps constant the current to the plates. The neglected fring-
ing fields place forces on the charges which are moving in
the wires, and these electrostatic forces oppose the flow of
current. The external agent which maintains the current flow
must provide balancing forces on the moving charges and so
must provide energy which then reappears as electromag-
netic energy between the capacitor plates.
We can calculate the power provided by the external agent
by determining the fringing electric fields along the wires
Fig. 1. Parallel-plate capacitor with external neutral charging wires. The
capacitor with circular plates of radius R and separation h is charged through
leading to the capacitor. Along the axis of symmetry, it is
neutral external wires along the z-axis. easy to do the electrostatic calculation for the electric field of
a uniformly charged circular disk centered on the origin in
the xy-plane13
approximation h  R, we obtain the electric field between z z
the plates ^
EðzÞ ¼ k2pr 
jzj ðz2 þ R2 Þ1=2
4It !
E ¼ k^ 2 : (26) z 1
R ^
¼ k2pr 1 : (31)
jzj ð1 þ R2 =z2 Þ1=2
In the region between the plates, we apply Ampere’s law for
a circular loop centered on the central axis. For a flat surface Thus, the electric field along the axis due to the two charged
surrounded by the circular Amperian loop, there is no contri- plates of the capacitor when the coordinate origin is half-
bution to Ampere’s law from the conduction current, but the way between the plates is
Maxwell term @E=@t gives a magnetic field between the
plates 0
^ It z  h=2 z  h=2
EðzÞ ¼ k2p 2 @  h i1=2
pR jz  h=2j
^ 2Is ;
BðsÞ ¼ / (27) z  h=2Þ2 þ R2
cR2 1
z þ h=2 z þ h=2
where s ¼ ðx2 þ y2 Þ1=2 is the distance from the z-axis.  þ h i1=2 A: ð32Þ
jz þ h=2j
z þ h=2Þ2 þ R2
1. Local energy conservation
The Poynting vector follows from Eq. (26) and (27) as Notice that for z ¼ 0, corresponding to between the plates of
^
the capacitor, we find E ¼ kð4It=R 2
Þ½1  Oðh=RÞ; which
c 2I2 st agrees with Eq. (26). We can imagine the external agent as
S¼ E  B ¼ ^s ; (28) moving all the positive charges along the neutral wire. The
4p pR4
electrostatic fringing fields act to push downwards the posi-
while the electromagnetic energy density is given by tive charges moving up toward the positively charged lower
" plate and to pull back the positive charges moving upwards
2  2 # away from the negatively charged upper plate. The power
1 2 1 4It 2Is
u ¼ ðE þ B2 Þ ¼ 2
þ : (29) delivered by the external agent in a length of wire dz is
8p 8p R cR2 –IEdz. Thus, the total power provided by the agent keeping
the current constant is
Clearly, the local energy conservation law (5) is satisfied in
the region between the capacitor plates since J ¼ 0 between ð z¼h=2 ð1 ! ð1
the plates while S and u are given in Eq. (28) and (29). P ext ¼  dzIEþ dzIE ¼ 2I dzðEÞ
Furthermore, at the edge of the plates where s ¼ R, the total 1 z¼h=2 z¼h=2
power entering the region between the plates through a circu-  h i1=2
lar band of height h at radius R is ¼ lim  ðzh=2Þ2 þR2
L!1
4I2 th h i1=2 z¼L
P em ¼ 2pRhS ¼ 2 ; (30)
R þ ðzþh=2Þ2 þR2
z¼h=2
which is the same as the time-rate-of-change of the total  
2 2
energy between the plates for h  R when fringing fields are 4I t h 4I2 t h
¼ 2 hþ þ ¼ 2 h 1þ þ : (33)
small. R 2R R 2R

732 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 87, No. 9, September 2019 Timothy H. Boyer 732
We see that the power delivered by the external agent in On the other hand, the magnetic field is different, since a cir-
keeping the current constant indeed matches the time-rate- cular Amperian loop parallel to the plates and centered on
of-change of the electromagnetic energy stored in the capaci- the central wire now encloses contributions from both terms
tor, in the approximation h  R which regards the fringing on the right-hand side in Ampere’s law in Eq. (4); the current
fields as small. Furthermore, we can calculate the Poynting in the central wire gives a contribution which is partially
vector right outside the charging wires. The combination of cancelled by the changing, downwards-pointing electric
the fringing electric field of the capacitor and the magnetic field. The magnetic field between the plates a distance s from
field due to the charging current I leads to a Poynting vector the z-axis is thus
S which is directed in the s^-direction out of the charging 
wire. Thus, the power delivered by the external agent is con- ^ 2I 1 s
B ðsÞ ¼ /  ; (35)
verted locally into electromagnetic form, which electromag- c s R2
netic energy flows in the s^-direction away from the charging
wires, and then, in the region of the capacitor, flows in the ^
approaching the value BðsÞ ¼ /2I=ðcsÞ (corresponding to
^ s -direction into the capacitor beginning at the edge of the that of a long straight current) when s  R near the central
capacitor. The fringing electric fields extend from the outside wire, and going to zero at the outer edge of the capacitor
of the positive plate and curve around, dipole like, to the out- plates when s ¼ R.
side surface of the negative plate. When these fringing elec- The Poynting vector S for this situation is
tric field lines are considered together with the magnetic 
^
fields in the /-direction, they give a Poynting vector S which c 8I2 t 1 s
SðrÞ ¼ E  B ¼ s^ 2  : (36)
indeed suggests qualitatively that the energy flows out from 4p cR s R2
the charging wires where the external agent acts over to the
outer edges of the capacitor where the energy enters. A com- Now the electromagnetic energy flows outwards away from
plete calculation of the energy-flow path would involve the central wire where the external agent supplies the power.
detailed calculations of the fringing electromagnetic fields It is easy to check that the local energy conservation equa-
off the axis of symmetry. tion (5) indeed holds inside the capacitor for 0 < s < R.
Also, we can check global energy conservation. The mag-
netic field between the plates given in (35) has no time
B. Variations on the standard example dependence while the electric field in (34) is steadily chang-
1. Charging through a central wire between the plates ing in time, giving a time-rate-of-change of the total energy

A simple modification of the traditional parallel-plate- dU 2 d E2 þ B2 4I2 ht
capacitor example involves charging the capacitor through a ¼ pR h ¼ 2 : (37)
dt dt 8p R
central wire between the capacitor plates as shown in Fig. 2,
rather than through external wires.14 Now the external agent This energy change is matched by the power P ext ¼ IðEhÞ
is assumed to provide a constant current along the electri- ¼ 4I 2 ht=R2 introduced by the external agent which pushes
cally neutral central wire. Thus, positive charges are the current I upwards against the downwards electric field of
removed from the lower plate and deposited on the upper the capacitor.
plate, and the charges spread themselves uniformly across In this example, it is easy to follow the energy flow from
the plates. The electric field between the plates has the same its introduction by the external agent acting at the wire to the
magnitude as in Eq. (26), except now the electric field has deposit of the energy in the electrostatic field inside the
the opposite sign, since the positive charges are located on capacitor. The energy flux S must be largest near the central
the upper plate wire because all the energy must be carried outwards, leav-
ing energy at various radii as the energy travels outwards.
4It No energy is carried beyond the edge of the capacitor in this
Eðr; tÞ ¼ k^ 2 : (34)
R approximation which ignores any fringing fields.

2. Simple surface-current configurations for the charging

current
This same basic example can be considered in slightly
more complicated examples when the current is carried in a
symmetrically placed tube between the capacitor plates. The
easiest such example would involve a steady surface current
in a band at the edge of the plates. In all these cases, the
external agent provides the power which then moves contin-
uously through space until it is deposited at some location
within the capacitor.

3. Simple volume-current configurations for the charging

current

Fig. 2. Parallel-plate capacitor with internal neutral charging wire. The We can also consider charging the parallel-plate capacitor
capacitor with circular plates of radius R and separation h is charged through by means of a steady uniform volume current density JðrÞ
a neutral central wire between the plates. ¼ I=ðpa2 Þ between the plates. In this case, there is no

733 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 87, No. 9, September 2019 Timothy H. Boyer 733
magnetic field between the plates, since the contribution of
the conduction-current term cancels the contribution of the
changing-electric-field term on the right-hand side of
Ampere’s law. Accordingly, the Poynting vector vanishes
since the magnetic field vanishes; there is no flow of electro-
magnetic energy through space. In this case, the local power
per unit volume introduced by the external agent causing the
current flow simply increases the local electromagnetic
energy, and is given by J  E; the negative of the power per
unit volume delivered by the electromagnetic field; the elec-
tromagnetic energy remains at the location where it is intro-
duced by the external agent. Also, if the capacitor is
discharged through a uniform resistive medium between the
capacitor plates, the electromagnetic energy disappears at
the same location where the heat energy appears.
C. Other conservation laws
The energy conservation law is the one which lends itself
to easy analysis involving quasi-static treatment of
Maxwell’s displacement-current term. The other conserva-
tion laws (involving electromagnetic linear momentum,
angular momentum, and center of energy) also hold and can
be checked in local form. However, except for the consider-
ations of energy, the example does not allow insight-giving
analysis for the other global conservation laws. However,
these other conservation laws can be developed in connec-
tion with the simple spherical situation given below.
IV. MAXWELL-TERM EXAMPLES: CHARGING
SPHERICAL CONDUCTORS
A. Charging a single spherical conductor
Another simple electromagnetic situation involving the
Maxwell term considers the charging of a spherical conduc-
tor (centered on the origin) of radius a through a steady
current in a long straight neutral wire along the negative
z-axis,15 as shown in Fig. 3. The steady current I in the wire
Fig. 3. Spherical conductor with a long neutral charging wire. The conduct-
ing sphere of radius a is charged through a long straight neutral wire along
the negative z-axis.
734 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 87, No. 9, September 2019
brings up charge to the spherical conductor, and then the
charge spreads uniformly over the surface giving a radial
electric field outside the conductor r > a
It
Eðr; tÞ ¼ ^r ; (38)
r2
where in this case r refers to the distance from the center of
the conducting sphere. The steady current and the changing
electric field both contribute to the right-hand side of
Ampere’s law. Thus if we consider a circular Amperian loop
(outside the conducting sphere) centered on the z-axis and in
a plane perpendicular to the z–axis, then we can choose the
surface (for which the Amperian loop forms the edge) alter-
natively: (i) as part of a spherical surface centered on the
coordinate origin and over the top of the sphere, or else (ii)
as a cone-shaped surface with apex at the center of the con-
ducting sphere, or else (iii) as a spherical surface going under
the sphere. (see Fig. 4.) For the first surface (i), only the
Maxwell term contributes since the radial electric field is
perpendicular to the surface while no conduction current
passes through the surface. For the second surface (ii), only
the conduction-current term contributes since the radial elec-
tric field is parallel to the surface while the surface current
on the surface of the spherical conductor moves in the ^h-
direction through the surface. For the third surface (iii), both
the changing electric field and the current I through the
charging wire will contribute.
Choosing the first spherical surface (i), we have a contri-
bution from Maxwell’s term @E=@t
Fig. 4. Surfaces for evaluating Ampere’s law when charging a spherical con-
ductor. Three separate surfaces have the circle of radius s ¼ rsinh as the
bounding edge. (i) A surface which is part of a sphere at radius r from angle
0 (along the positive z-axis) to the indicated angle h. (ii) A cone-shaped sur-
face with the apex at the center of the sphere and circular edge at the circle
along which the line integral of B is evaluated. (iii) A surface which is part
of a sphere from the indicated angle h to the angle p (along the negative z-
axis).
Timothy H. Boyer 734
 ð h0 ¼h the sphere to the locations where the electric energy density
1 I
2pr sin hB/ ¼ 2pr 2 dh0 sin h0 ; (39) is increasing. The local energy conservation law (5) is satis-
c 0
h ¼0 r2
fied outside of the conducting sphere and charging wire,
or since in these regions J ¼ 0 while, from Eqs. (38), (40), and
(45)

I 1  cos h 
^
BðrÞ ¼ / : (40) @u @ E2 þ B2 1 I2 t
cr sin h ¼ ¼ ; (46)
@t @t 8p 4p r 4
Choosing the second cone-shaped surface (ii), Ampere’s law
involves only the conduction current KðhÞ which carries and
charge around the spherical surface in the ^h-direction from 
1 @ I 2 t 1 I 2 t
the neutral wire at the south pole to provide the surface rS¼ ð1  cos hÞ ¼ : (47)
charge Qupper of the region above the angle h. Hence, the r sin h @h 4pr 3 4p r4
magnitude of the surface current must be The global energy balance involves the external agent pro-
dQupper dQtotal Aupper viding power all along the charging wire in moving the
Kð2pa sin hÞ ¼ ¼ charges against the electric field of the spherical conductor
dt dt Atotal
ð h0 ¼h ð r¼a ð r¼a 
1 It I2 t
¼I 2pR2 dh sin h P ext ¼ drðIEÞ ¼ dr I 2 ¼ ; (48)
4pR2 r¼1 r¼1 r a
h0 ¼0
I while the energy in the electric field increases at a rate
¼ ð1  cos hÞ; (41)
2 
ð
dU d 3 E2 þ B2
so ¼ d r
dt dt 8p
 "
I 1  cos h ð r¼1  2 #
K ¼ ^
h : (42) d 1 It I2 t
4pa sin h ¼ 4p drr 2 ¼ : (49)
dt r¼a 8p r2 a
In this case, Ampere’s law becomes
Global energy balance is indeed satisfied.
þ 
4p 4p I 1  cos h
2pr sin hB/ ¼ drK ¼ 2pa ; B. Charging concentric spherical conductors
c c 4pa sin h
(43) Although the energy balance involves no difficulties for a
conducting sphere and a long wire, attempts to apply the
and gives the same result as in Eq. (40). For the third spheri- other conservation laws lead to divergent integrals for the
cal surface (iii), Ampere’s law involves both the conduction global conservation laws. These divergent expressions can
current I of the straight wire and the displacement current be avoided by treating the charging of two concentric spheri-
@E=@t; and becomes cal shells centered on the origin of radii a and b, as suggested
ð h0 ¼p in Fig. 5, where a neutral wire between the spheres along the
4p 1 I negative z-axis carries the charging current. In this case, the
2pr sin hB/ ¼ I  2pr2 dh0 sin h0 ; (44) electric and magnetic fields between the spheres are still
c c 0
h ¼h r2
given in Eqs. (38) and (40), but the integrals in Eqs. (48) and
with the minus sign arising because the electric field E points (49) now extend only from r ¼ b to r ¼ a.
through the surface in the direction opposite to the direction
of the current I. Once again, the magnetic field corresponds
to that in Eq. (40).
For small values of the angle h, the magnetic field outside
the sphere, given in Eq. (40), is small, whereas when h
approaches p, we recover the magnetic field of a long
^
straight wire, B  /I2=ðcsÞ where 1  cos h  2 and
s ¼ r sin h:

1. Energy balance
The Poynting vector giving the energy flux follows from
Eqs. (38) and (40) as

c ^ I2 t 1  cos h
Sðr; tÞ ¼ E  B ¼ h : (45)
4p 4pr3 sin h
Fig. 5. Concentric-sphere capacitor charged through a straight neutral wire.
We notice that the energy flows purely in the ^h-direction, The capacitor is charged through the straight neutral wire running along the
carried outwards away from the charging wire and up around negative z-axis from the sphere of radius b to the sphere of radius a.

735 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 87, No. 9, September 2019 Timothy H. Boyer 735
C. Charging through a spherically symmetric 1. Energy conservation
volume-current density
In the limit where the angle p–hI is very small, the vol-
If we consider charging the spherical capacitor through a ume current can be considered as a simple line current
charge-neutral, steady, spherically-symmetric, volume- along the z-axis between the spheres, so that the power
current density JðrÞ ¼ r^I=ð4pr2 Þ; then there is no magnetic delivered by the external agent which causes the current
field generated and no non-zero Poynting vector. The local flow is simply
power J  E (introduced by the external agent causing the ð z¼a ð z¼a  
current) is deposited locally as electromagnetic field energy It 1 1
P ext ¼ dzðIEÞ ¼ dr I 2 ¼ I2 t  :
   z¼b z¼b r a b
^rI r^It I2 t @ 1 I2 t2 (53)
J  E ¼   2 ¼ ¼
4pr 2 r 4pr 4 @t 8p r 4
 The electric and magnetic fields between the spheres are
@ E2 @u
¼ ¼ : (50) given by the same expressions as in Eqs. (38) and (40). The
@t 8p @t time-rate-of-change of the electromagnetic energy now
becomes
There is no magnetic field and no flow of electromagnetic
energy through space. This situation is analogous to the situ- ð 
ation of a uniform volume current between the plates of a dU d 3 E2 þ B2
¼ d r
parallel-plate capacitor. dt dt 8p
"  2 # 
ð r¼b
d 2 1 It 2 1 1
D. Charging Through an Azymuthally Symmetric ¼ 4p drr ¼I t  : (54)
dt r¼a 8p r 2 a b
Volume-Current Density
The situation becomes more interesting if the charge- In the limit that the outer radius b becomes infinite, we
neutral, steady volume-current density Jðr; hÞ between the recover the results of Sec. IV A for one spherical conductor
spherical conductors is restricted to a (cone-like) axially and an infinite wire.
symmetric region as in Fig. 6 involving angles h between hI
and p, and within this angular range has no dependence on 2. Linear momentum
the angle h,
For the current between the two concentric spheres in Fig.
I 6, the electric fields in (38) are spherically symmetric but the
Jðr; hÞ ¼ ^r
2pr2 ½1  cos ðp  hI Þ magnetic fields in (40) are different above and below the
for a < r < b; hI < h < p: (51) spherical conductor. On account of this asymmetry, there is
net linear momentum in the electromagnetic field. The den-
In this case, the current carried across a spherical surface of sity of electromagnetic linear momentum between the
radius r between the conductors is just spheres in the region carrying the current is
ð 2p ðp 
1 ^ I2 t 1  cos h
d/ dhr2 sin hð^ r Þ  Jðr; hÞ ¼ I (52) g ¼ 2 S ¼ h : (55)
0 hI c 4pc2 r 3 sin h

(where we have taken the upwards flow of current along the The global momentum balance involves a changing elec-
z-axis as positive), so there is no build-up of charge any- tromagnetic linear momentum dPem =dt stored in the electro-
where except on the surfaces of the spherical conductors. magnetic field. Since g ¼ S=c2 and S is in the ^h-direction
where

^h ¼ i^cos h cos / þ j^cos h sin /  k^ sin h; (56)

we have
ð ð 
Pem ¼ d 3 rg ¼  d 3 r i^cos h cos / þ j^cos h sin /

 I2 t 1  cos h
k^ sin h
4pc2 r3 sin h
ð r¼b ð h¼p
^ I2 t
¼ k2p drr2 dh sin h ð1  cos hÞ
r¼a h¼0 4pc2 r 3
 
I2 t b I2 t b
¼ k^ 2 ln 2 ¼ k^ 2 ln : (57)
2c a c a
Fig. 6. Concentric-sphere capacitor charged through a neutral volume cur-
rent in a cone-shaped region. The neutral charging-current density of uni- Possible balancing external forces exist at the surfaces of
form current per unit area is confined to the angles between hI and p. the spherical conductors and also at the volume-current

736 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 87, No. 9, September 2019 Timothy H. Boyer 736
density where the external agent acts to provide the charging ð 2p ð h0
0 4p 00
current in Fig. 6. The external forces at the surfaces of the 2prsinh B/  d/ dh00 r 2 sinh00 ð^
r ÞJðr;h00 Þ
c 0 0
conducting spheres will involve the surface currents and the ð 2p ð h0
magnetic field at the surface of the sphere. The surface cur- 4p I
¼ d/00 dh00 r 2 sinh00
 
rent K on the surface of the sphere at radius a at angle h is c 0 0 2pr 2 1cos h0I
given in Eq. (42). The magnitude of this surface current has ð h0
the same functional form as the magnetic field at the surface 4p I
 2p dh00 h00  0 2 ; (60)
of the spherical conductor, since the discontinuity of the tan- c 0 2p hI =2
gential component of the magnetic field is matched by
4pK/c. The force density F/A at the surface of the conductor where we have use the expansion for the cosine of a small
is accordingly angle, cos h ¼ 1  h2 =2 þ    to obtain
 
F K ^r I 1  cos h I 1  cos h I I
¼  Bav ¼ ; Jðr; h0 Þ ¼ ^
r  ^
r  0 2 :
A c c 4pa sin h 2ca sin h 2pr 2 ½1  cos ðp  hI Þ 2
2pr h =2 I
(58) (61)
where a factor of (1/2) arises because we have averaged the It follows from Eq. (60) that the magnetic field is
magnetic field between the inside and outside of the conduc-
tor. The total force on the inner conducting sphere due to sur- 0
^ 2Ih :
Bðr; h0 Þ ¼ / (62)
face currents in the angular interval 0 < h < hI is 2
r h0I
ð
F
Femsphere ¼ dA Then, the magnetic force density on the volume current is
A
ð h0 ¼hI ð /0 ¼2p given by
¼ a2 dh0 sinh0 d/0 ! !
0
h ¼0 0
/ ¼0 1 1 I ^ 2Ih0
  JB ^r  2  /  2
 i^sinh0 cos/0 þ j^sinh0 sin/0  k^cosh0 c c 2pr2 h0I =2 r h0I
 2
I2 1cosh0 2I2 h0
 ¼ ^h  4 : (63)
8pc2 a2 sinh0 pr3 h0I
ð0 
0 2
^ I2 h ¼hI 0 0 0 1cosh
¼ k2p dh sinh cosh : Then using Eq. (56), the total force on the cone-shaped cur-
8pc2 h0 ¼0 sinh0 rent between the spheres is
(59)
ð 2p ðb ð h0I
1
We notice that the dependence upon the radius of the sphere Femcurrent ¼ d/ dh0 sin h0 J  B
dr
a has disappeared from the integral in Eq. (59). Indeed, the 0 a 0 c
ð 2p ðb ð h0I

force on the surface of the outer sphere in the same angular

region is exactly oppositely directed. Thus, the external ¼ d/ drr2 dh0 sin h0 i^cos h cos /
0 a 0
forces associated with balancing the electromagnetic forces  2I 2 h0
on the surfaces of the spheres give cancelling contributions þ j^cos h sin /  k^ sin h  4
and so do not account for the changing electromagnetic pr 3 h0I
momentum in Eq. (57).  ð h0 2 0
b I
^ 0 Þ 2I h
However, the magnetic field acting on the volume-current 2p ln dh0 h0 ðkh  0 4
density Jðr; hÞ in Eq. (51) does not give a vanishing contri- a 0 p hI
bution. Although one can solve the problem for a general 
axially symmetric volume-current density, we will investi- ¼ kI^ 2 ln b : (64)
gate the situation where the angle hI differs only slightly a
from p, so that the current is confined to a small cone-like
Indeed the global momentum balance works out correctly. The
region which is almost a straight wire. total force Fext ¼ Femcurrent in Eq. (64) (provided by the
We introduce a new polar coordinate h0 ¼ p  h which
agent which keeps the steady current flowing in the cone-
can be regarded as taken from the south pole of the spheres.
shaped region) provides a total force which balances the time-
In order to evaluate the magnetic field near the south pole of rate-of-change of the electromagnetic field momentum
the sphere within the region of angles where the volume cur- between the spherical conductors which was given in Eq. (57).
rent J exists, we consider a small circular loop parallel to the
xy-plane and centered on the z-axis. Although both terms on
3. Relativistic conservation law and the center of energy
the right-hand side of Ampere’s law in (4) contribute, the
contribution from the electric field will be very small if the Finally, we turn to the relativistic conservation law in its
angle h0I ¼ p  hI is small, corresponding to a narrow cone global form (25). For the case of two concentric spherical
of volume current flowing near the south pole. Considering conductors centered on the origin with a steady charging cur-
only the contribution of the volume-current density J to the rent I between them, the electromagnetic center of energy is
magnetic field and introducing angular variables of integra- not
Ð 3 changing in time since the magnetic contribution
tion /00 and h00 , we have Ampere’s law in the form d rB2 r=ð8pÞ is not changing in time, and the electric

737 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 87, No. 9, September 2019 Timothy H. Boyer 737
 Ð
contribution d 3 rE2 r=ð8pÞ remains centered on the coordi- the location where some external agent must introduce the
nate origin r ¼ 0; and hence vanishes. Thus here the global energy over to the location in space where the energy is
relativistic conservation law (25) becomes deposited. Next we consider the less familiar example of the
ð charging of two concentric spherical conductors. Again the
d
~  2 Maxwell term can be treated with relative ease. Furthermore,
d 3 r ðJ  EÞr ¼ U X cofE  c P
dt in the spherical examples, one can provide non-trivial illus-
"ð  ð  #
d E2 B2 tration of the global conservation laws for energy, linear
¼ d3 r r þ d3 r r  c2 P momentum, and the relativistic conservation law involving
dt 8p 8p the center of energy.
¼ c2 P; (65)
Ð 3
where the integral d rðJ  EÞr is the power delivered by ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
the enternal agent. The external agent acts along
Ð the neutral Many years ago, Professor Louis Celenza of Brooklyn
wire between the spheres so that the integral d 3 rðJ  EÞr College of the City University of New York mentioned to
over
Ð r¼b the power density times the displacement becomes
^ the author the basic idea of charging a conducting sphere
r¼a drðI  EÞðkrÞ; giving through a long, straight wire, when the authors were
ð r¼b ð r¼b discussing questions for a Ph.D. qualifying examination. The
It
dr ðI  EÞðkr
^ Þ ¼ kI
^ drr 2 author was unaware that this situation appeared in a textbook
r¼a r¼a r until finding it in Purcell and Morin’s third edition published

b in 2013 (Ref. 14) while preparing this article. The author
^ 2
¼ kI t ln : (66)
a wishes to thank two anonymous referees for helpful
clarifying suggestions.
This result in Eq. (66) indeed fits with the result for the elec-
tromagnetic field momentum Pem given in Eq. (57). Thus,
1
the global relativistic conservation law (25) is indeed satis- See for example, M. K. Harbola, “Energy flow from a battery to other cir-
fied in our example involving the charging of a concentric cuit elements: Role of surface charges,” Am. J. Phys. 78, 1203–1206
spherical capacitor through a line current between the (2010).
2
L. Eyges, The Classical Electrodynamic Field (Addison-Wesley, Reading,
spheres. Furthermore, it should be emphasized that this rela- MA, 1972), pp. 200–203.
tivistic conservation law, involving the energy-position inte- 3
D. J. Griffiths, Introduction to Electrodynamics, 4th ed. (Pearson, New
gral of Eq. (66) and the momentum Pem of Eq. (57), does not York, 2013), p. 359, Example 8.1; p. 360, Problem 8.2; p. 278, Problem
simply repeat the calculation provided by the conservation 8.13.
4
law for linear momentum, involving the force Femcurrent in J. D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics, 3rd ed. (John Wiley & Sons,
Eq. (64) and the time-rate-of-change of the momentum Pem New York, 1999), Sect. 12.10, pp. 605–612 and 622, Problem 12.19.
5
of Eq. (57). Relativistic theories are sharply different from See for example, Griffiths in Ref. 3, Sect. 8.1.2, p. 358, Eq. (8.8).
6
See for example, Griffiths in Ref. 3, Sect. 8.2.2, p. 363, Eq. (8.19).
nonrelativistic theories. 7
See for example, A. Zangwill, Modern Electrodynamics (Cambridge U. P.,
New York, 2013), p. 513, footnote.
8
V. SUMMARY See for example, Zangwill in Ref. 7, Sect. 15.6, pp. 516–517, Eq. (15.72).
9
See for example, Zangwill in Ref. 7, Sect. 15.7, pp. 519–521, Eq. (15.82).
In this article, we have considered the steady charging of 10
T. H. Boyer, “Illustrations of the relativistic conservation law for the cen-
capacitors, either parallel-plate capacitors with circular ter of energy,” Am. J. Phys. 73, 953–961 (2005).
11
plates or else concentric spherical conductors. These exam- T. H. Boyer, “Illustrating some implications of the conservation laws in
ples provide illustrations of Maxwell’s displacement term in relativistic mechanics,” Am. J. Phys. 77, 562–569 (2009).
12
See for example, Griffiths in Ref. 3, p. 336, Problems 7.34 and 7.35; also,
Ampere’s law. The calculations also provide simple exam-
p. 360, Problem 8.2.
ples of the conservation laws of electromagnetism. After 13
See for example, Griffiths in Ref. 3, p. 65, Problem 2.6.
treating the traditional parallel-plate example which appears 14
See E. M. Purcell and D. J. Morin, Electricity and Magnetism, 3rd ed.
in the electromagnetism textbooks, we discuss simple varia- (Cambridge U. P., Cambridge, UK, 2013), p. 464, Problem 9.29.
15
tions where the energy flow can be followed in detail, from See Purcell and Morin, Ref. 14, p. 459, Problem 9.10.

738 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 87, No. 9, September 2019 Timothy H. Boyer 738