How Do Time-Varying Currents in Conductors Generate EM Fields and Waves?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the generation of electromagnetic fields and waves by time-varying currents in conductors. It explores the conditions under which these fields exist in near and far fields, as well as the implications of circuit configurations and charged particle behavior.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about the specific conditions that lead to the production of only electromagnetic fields in the near field versus the generation of electromagnetic waves in the far field.
  • Another participant emphasizes that the far field is influenced by the cumulative effects of all elements in a closed circuit, suggesting that the phase of currents can complicate the summation of fields.
  • A different viewpoint notes that electric circuits with varying currents produce both local fields, where energy is stored, and radiated fields, where energy is lost, with the amount of radiated energy being small for circuits with dimensions much smaller than the wavelength.
  • Additionally, a participant states that electromagnetic radiation is produced whenever a charged particle is accelerated or decelerated, indicating that the changing velocity of charged particles is a fundamental condition for generating electromagnetic fields in both near and far fields.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants present multiple competing views regarding the conditions for electromagnetic field generation and the characteristics of near and far fields. The discussion remains unresolved with no consensus reached.

Contextual Notes

Participants have not fully defined the specific conditions or parameters that differentiate near-field and far-field effects, and there are unresolved aspects regarding the influence of circuit dimensions relative to wavelength.

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Hello, I'm new to this forum. I have a short question that I can't solve on my own, I've consulted many books but I can't find solutions, I hope you can help me.

Then considering a conductor traversed by an electric current that varies over time, it produces an electromagnetic field, under certain conditions the electromagnetic field moves further and further away from the conductor and electromagnetic waves are created.

Here are the conditions under which a conductor produces only an electromagnetic field in the near field such as EM induction or transcranial magnetic stimulation, and under which other conditions does it instead produce electromagnetic waves (far field)?
 
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Welcome to PF.

You have considered only a short piece of wire and the near field it radiates. That piece of wire is just one element of a closed circuit with current flowing.

The far field is the sum of all the fields radiated by the current in all the elements of that circuit. For big circuits and small wavelengths, the phase of the currents may vary about the circuit, which makes the summation more interesting.

The magnetic fields radiated by the circuit are accompanied in space by a perpendicular electric field.
 
Electric circuits with varying current, unless of shielded construction, will have both local fields, in which energy is stored, and radiated fields, where energy is lost from the circuit due to the creation of radiated EM waves. The radiated energy is small when the dimensions of the circuit are small compared to the wavelength.
 
Whenever a charged particle is accelerated or decelerated electromagnetic radiation will be produced. The only condition for generating an electromagnetic field in the near-field region and in the far-field region is a charged particle with changing its velocity.
 

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