What does B.dl indicate in Ampere's Law

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the interpretation of the line integral \(\oint \vec{B} \cdot \vec{dl}\) in Ampere's Law, exploring its meaning and whether it has a specific name analogous to "electric flux" in Gauss's Law. Participants examine the mathematical formulation and implications of this integral in the context of magnetic fields.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants note that the line integral \(\oint \vec{B} \cdot \vec{dl}\) represents the circulation of the magnetic field around a closed loop.
  • Others reference the relationship between this integral and the total current crossing a surface bounded by the loop, particularly in the static case where \(\partial_t \vec{D}=0\).
  • A participant questions whether \(\oint \vec{B} \cdot \vec{dl}\) is equivalent to magnetic flux, suggesting it is not.
  • Another participant mentions that the related expression \(\oint \mathbf{H} \cdot \mathbf{dl}\) is referred to as magnetomotance.
  • One participant suggests that "circulation" might be an appropriate term for the line integral of the magnetic field.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on whether \(\oint \vec{B} \cdot \vec{dl}\) has a specific name and whether it can be equated to magnetic flux. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the terminology and implications of the integral.

Contextual Notes

Some participants highlight the distinction between static and non-static cases in the application of Ampere's Law, noting that the interpretation of terms may depend on the context of the discussion.

sawer
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I know that\oint \vec E \cdot \vec{dS} in Gauss Law indicates electric flux.
\oint \vec E \cdot \vec{dS} = \frac{Q_{enc}}{\varepsilon_0}

But what does B.dl indicate in Ampere's Law?
##\oint \vec{B} \cdot \vec{dl} ## = ??
 
Last edited:
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Such a line integral around a closed loop is the circulation of the vector field, here the magnetic field. The fundamental laws are the Maxwell equations in local form, and the Ampere-Maxwell Law reads (written in terms of the macroscopic laws in Heaviside-Lorentz units)
$$\vec{\nabla} \times \vec{H}-\frac{1}{c} \partial_t \vec{D}=\frac{1}{c} \vec{j}.$$
The integral form follows from integrating over a surface and using Stokes's integral theorem to change the curl part into a line integral along the boundary of the surface,
$$\int_{\partial F} \mathrm{d} \vec{r} \cdot \vec{H} = \frac{1}{c} \int_F \mathrm{d}^2 \vec{f} \cdot (\vec{j}+\partial_t \vec{D}).$$
For the static case, where ##\partial_t \vec{D}=0##, the right-hand side is the total electric current running through the surface under consideration.

For the non-static case, it's misleading to interpret the ##\partial_t \vec{D}## term as "source" of the magnetic field. Here you need the full (retarded) solutions of Maxwell's equations to express the electromagnetic field in terms of their sources, which are the electric charge and current densities. See, e.g.,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefimenko's_equations
 
Or in short
\oint \mathbf{B}\cdot \mathbf{dl}=\mu _{0}\int _{S}\boldsymbol{\mathbf{J\cdot}}\boldsymbol{dA}
The line integral of B around any loop is equal to the total current crossing any surface bounded by that loop at least for nonmagnetic materials and J >> ∂D/∂t
 
vanhees71 said:
Such a line integral around a closed loop is the circulation of the vector field, here the magnetic field.
Is there a special name for that, like in electric case, gauss law is equal to "electric flux".

##\oint \vec{B} \cdot \vec{dl} ## is not equal to magnetic flux, right?
 
gleem said:
The line integral of B around any loop is
Is there a special name for that? (Like electric flux or magnetic flux etc...)
 
I do not know of a special name for it.

However the related expression
\oint \mathbf{H\cdot dl}
is called the magnetomotance.
 
Last edited:

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