Scribd
Upload
552 views

Poynting's Theorem: and It's Significance

Poynting's theorem describes the conservation of electromagnetic energy. It states that the rate of change of energy within a region equals the net energy flowing into that region plus the work done by electromagnetic forces. Mathematically, it equates the divergence of the Poynting vector (energy flux) and the product of the current density and electric field (work done) to the rate of change of the electromagnetic energy density within a volume. Poynting's theorem allows writing the transfer of electromagnetic energy as volume integrals involving the energy, Poynting vector, and Lorentz force.

Uploaded by

CREATIVE GENIUS
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
552 views

Poynting's Theorem: and It's Significance

Poynting's theorem describes the conservation of electromagnetic energy. It states that the rate of change of energy within a region equals the net energy flowing into that region plus the work done by electromagnetic forces. Mathematically, it equates the divergence of the Poynting vector (energy flux) and the product of the current density and electric field (work done) to the rate of change of the electromagnetic energy density within a volume. Poynting's theorem allows writing the transfer of electromagnetic energy as volume integrals involving the energy, Poynting vector, and Lorentz force.

Uploaded by

CREATIVE GENIUS
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Poynting’s Theorem

And it’s significance


In words, the theorem is an energy balance:
The rate of energy transfer (per unit volume) from a region of space equals the rate of work done on a charge distribution plus the
energy flux leaving that region.
A second statement can also explain the theorem - "The decrease in the electromagnetic energy per unit time in a certain volume is equal to
the sum of work done by the field forces and the net outward flux per unit time".

Mathematically, this is summarised in differential form as:

where ∇•S is the divergence of the Poynting vector (energy flow) and J•E is the rate at which the fields do work on a charged object (J is the
current density corresponding to the motion of charge, E is the electric field, and • is the dot product). The energy density u is given by:

in which B is the magnetic flux density. Using the divergence theorem, Poynting's theorem can be rewritten in integral form:
Considering the statement in words above - there are three elements to the theorem, which involve writing energy transfer (per unit time)
as volume integrals:
Since u is the energy density, integrating over the volume of the region gives the total energy U stored in the region, then taking the (partial)
time derivative gives the rate of change of energy:

The energy flux leaving the region is the surface integral of the Poynting vector, and using the divergence theorem this can be written as a
volume integral:

The Lorentz force density f on a charge distribution, integrated over the volume to get the total force F, is

So by conservation of energy, the balance equation for the energy flow per unit time is the integral form of the theorem:
• SIGNIFICANCE OF POYNTING’S THEOREM

You might also like