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One difference between the Gaussian and SI systems is in the factor 4π in various formulas that relate the quantities that they define. With SI electromagnetic units, called rationalized, [3] [4] Maxwell's equations have no explicit factors of 4π in the formulae, whereas the inverse-square force laws – Coulomb's law and the Biot–Savart law – do have a factor of 4π attached to the r 2.
The term "Maxwell's equations" is often also used for equivalent alternative formulations. Versions of Maxwell's equations based on the electric and magnetic scalar potentials are preferred for explicitly solving the equations as a boundary value problem, analytical mechanics, or for use in quantum mechanics.
The maxwell is a non-SI unit. [8] 1 maxwell = 1 gauss × 2. That is, one maxwell is the total flux across a surface of one square centimetre perpendicular to a magnetic field of strength one gauss. The weber is the related SI unit of magnetic flux, which was defined in 1946. [9] 1 maxwell ≘ 10 −4 tesla × (10 −2 metre) 2 = 10 −8 weber
In fact, Maxwell's equations were crucial in the historical development of special relativity. However, in the usual formulation of Maxwell's equations, their consistency with special relativity is not obvious; it can only be proven by a laborious calculation. For example, consider a conductor moving in the field of a magnet. [8]
SI units for Maxwell's equations and the particle physicist's sign convention for the signature of Minkowski space (+ − − −), will be used throughout this article. Relationship with the classical fields
In particular, in abstract index notation, the set of Maxwell's equations (in the Lorenz gauge) may be written (in Gaussian units) as follows: = = where is the d'Alembertian and is the four-current. The first equation is the Lorenz gauge condition while the second contains Maxwell's equations.
The unit is part of the Gaussian system of units, which inherited it from the older centimetre–gram–second electromagnetic units (CGS-EMU) system. It was named after the German mathematician and physicist Carl Friedrich Gauss in 1936. One gauss is defined as one maxwell per square centimetre.
Maxwell's equations can directly give inhomogeneous wave equations for the electric field E and magnetic field B. [1] Substituting Gauss's law for electricity and Ampère's law into the curl of Faraday's law of induction, and using the curl of the curl identity ∇ × (∇ × X) = ∇(∇ ⋅ X) − ∇ 2 X (The last term in the right side is the vector Laplacian, not Laplacian applied on ...