Manipulation of Electromagnetic fields using curls clarification

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the manipulation of electromagnetic fields, specifically focusing on the relationship defined by Faraday's Law in the context of general plane waves. The original poster presents a problem involving the representation of electromagnetic waves and seeks clarification on how to apply curl operations in this scenario.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the transformation of the time derivative of the magnetic field and the application of curl to the electric field. Questions arise regarding the interpretation of the variable 'r' in the wave equations and its implications for using spherical coordinates versus Cartesian coordinates.

Discussion Status

Guidance has been offered regarding the interpretation of the wave vector and its components. Some participants suggest using Stokes' theorem to relate the curl of the electric field to the magnetic field, indicating a productive direction in the discussion.

Contextual Notes

There is a noted confusion regarding the representation of the wave vector and its relation to the spatial coordinates, which may affect the application of mathematical operations in the problem. The discussion reflects an ongoing exploration of these concepts without reaching a consensus.

gedanken6
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Homework Statement


Question 1. General Plane Waves.
We may represent a general electromagnetic plane wave by (real part of the complex exponentials)
E=E_{0}*e^(i*<b>k</b>*<b>r</b>-iwt) B=B_{0}*e^(i*<b>k</b>*<b>r</b>-iwt)

Show that Faraday's Law becomes iwB0=-ik x Eo

Homework Equations



dB/dt=- curl of E

The Attempt at a Solution


I transformed dB/dt into iwB0e^(ikr-iwt).

Attempted to perform curl of E on Eoe^(ikr-iwt) but not sure how to work with the r. I thought you might use curl in spherical polars but then you have theta and phi components and I think there's only x, y and z
 
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hi gedanken6! :smile:
gedanken6 said:
E=E_{0}*e^(i*<b>k</b>*<b>r</b>-iwt) B=B_{0}*e^(i*<b>k</b>*<b>r</b>-iwt)

… not sure how to work with the r. I thought you might use curl in spherical polars …

just because there's an r, that doesn't mean it stands for "radius"!

k*r simply means kxi + kyj + kzk :wink:

(erm … different k)
 
No, it's the dot product:
\vec{k}\cdot \vec{r}=k_x x+k_y y+k_z z.
 
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oops! :redface:

thanks, vanhees71! :smile:
 
Start with faraday's law, use Stokes' theorem to produce Maxwell's law for del x E, then just use the given plane wave equations to show the validity of the given relationship between E0 and B0, which is just a matter of some differential calculus.
 

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