Energy in Electromagnetic fields

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the energy residing in electromagnetic fields, specifically focusing on the differences between conductors and insulators. Participants explore the time averaging of energy density in these contexts, raising questions about the mathematical formulations and physical interpretations involved.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses difficulty in proving that energy resides in the magnetic field for good conductors and in both electric and magnetic fields for insulators, particularly in relation to time averaging.
  • Another participant recalls that energy density is based on the integral of the squares of the magnitudes of electric and magnetic fields, suggesting that in good conductors, the electric field's contribution is diminished due to a large imaginary part of permittivity.
  • A different participant notes that the ratio of E^2 to H^2 in good conductors is proportional to ωμ/σ, indicating that the presence of σ in the denominator renders E^2 negligible.
  • One participant provides clarification on the use of LaTeX formatting for equations, emphasizing the correct tags for inline usage.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not appear to reach a consensus, as differing views on the contributions of electric and magnetic fields in conductors and insulators are presented, along with varying interpretations of the mathematical relationships involved.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations regarding the assumptions made about the behavior of electric and magnetic fields in different materials, as well as the dependence on definitions of energy density and time averaging. The discussion does not resolve these complexities.

venomxx
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Problem:
Iv been trying to prove that the energy reisdes in the magnetic field in a good conductor and equally in both electric and magnetic for an insulator. My problem lies in the time averaging part of the problem...i can't seem to find out how they do it!

The time averaging formula used is:

For conductor:
<1/2 [tex]\epsilon[/tex] E[tex]^{2}[/tex]>/<1/2 [tex]\mu[/tex] H[tex]^{2}[/tex]>

is worked out to this:

[tex]\epsilon[/tex]E[tex]^{2}[/tex]/[tex]\mu[/tex] H[tex]^{2}[/tex]

The epsilons and mu's look like superscripts but there just multipled in!

any thoughts?
 
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As I recall the energy density is dependent on the integral of the summation of the squares of the magnitudes of the electric and magnetic field, not the ratios. In a good conductor the imaginary part of the permittivity is very very large which would greatly decrease the contribution of electric field, leaving the magnetic contribution to dominate (if that is the case).
 
The ratio of [tex]E^2/H^2[/tex] in a good conductor is proportional to
[tex]\omega\mu/\sigma[/tex]. (The \mu is the relative permeability.) The sigma in the denominator is why E^2 is negligible.
The 1/2 in the time average of the squares is just the time average of sin^2(wt).
 
venomxx said:
The epsilons and mu's look like superscripts but there just multipled in!

When you want to use LaTeX "inline", i.e. inside of text, use "itex" and "/itex" tags, not "tex" and "/tex". You might as well do the whole equation at once, while you're at it: [itex]\epsilon E^2 / \mu H^2[/itex] (click on an equation to see the code).
 

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