Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 3 35D Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The Maxwell equations with vacuum permittivity and permeability give and . The current identity is the Ampère-Maxwell equation, and Faraday's law gives . With ,The identity , and its electric analogue, turn this into the divergence of the Maxwell stress tensor . Thus the tensor in the question is its negative:The vector is electromagnetic momentum density, and is the outward flux of its th component across a surface normal in the direction. In static conditions the total force on matter is ; generally subtract the time derivative of the enclosed electromagnetic field momentum as well.
For the two infinite sheets, superposition and the electromagnetic field jumps give , between them and zero outside. Substitution yields exactlyA thin pillbox enclosing the sheet has only its face in the interior electromagnetic field. ThereforeDirectly, omit the sheet's self-electromagnetic field: the other sheet supplies and . The Lorentz force per area is , giving the same result. The electric contribution is attractive and the magnetic contribution repulsive.
If for a single moving charge population, use to obtain . For physical this is attractive, so motion of these charges cannot make the force repulsive. Independently imposed currents need not satisfy that restriction on .
Radiation gauge 2026-10-06
For a free electromagnetic field with suitable boundary conditions, combine Coulomb gauge with . Gauss's law makes the second condition consistent in the source-free problem. The remaining field operator is spatially transverse and describes the two radiative photon polarizations. A constrained scalar potential must be restored when charges are present.