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,