University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields

College of Engineering Stage: Third Year

Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel

Lecture No.5
Current, Current Density, and Conductors
5.1 Introduction
Electric current is the rate of transport of electric charge past a specified
point or across a specified surface. The symbol I is generally used for constant
currents and i for time-variable currents. The unit of current is the ampere (1 A
= 1 C/s; in the SI system, the ampere is the basic unit and the coulomb is the
derived unit).
Ohm’s law relates current to voltage and resistance. For simple dc circuits, I
= V/R. However, when charges are suspended in a liquid or a gas, or where both
positive and negative charge carriers are present with different characteristics,
the simple form of Ohm’s law is insufficient. Consequently, the current density
J (A /m2) receives more attention in electromagnetics than does current I.

5.2 Conduction Current Density (J)

Of more interest is the conduction current that occurs in the presence of an
electric field within a conductor of fixed cross section. The current density is
again given by

where σ is the conductivity of the material, in siemens per meter (S/m). This
relation J = σE is often referred to as the point form of Ohm’s law. Also,
sometimes this current density is written as Jc to be distinguished from the
displacement current density JD which will be discussed later in coming chapters.

5.3 Current (I)

Where current density J crosses a surface S, as in Fig. 6-5, the current I is
obtained by integrating the dot product of J and dS.

Of course, J need not be uniform over S and S need not be a plane surface.

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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel
EXAMPLE 3 Find the current in the circular wire shown in Fig. 6-6 if the current
density is J = 15(1 − e−1000r) az (A /m2). The radius of the wire is 2 mm.

Any surface S which has a perimeter that meets the outer surface of the conductor
all the way around will have the same total current, I = 0.133 mA, crossing it.

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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel
5.4 Resistance (R)
If a conductor of uniform cross-sectional area A and length l, as shown in
Fig. 6-7, has a voltage difference V between its ends, then

assuming that the current is uniformly distributed over the area A. The total
current is then

Since Ohm’s law states that V = IR, the resistance is

(Note that 1 S−1 = 1 Ω; the siemens was formerly known as the mho.) This
expression for resistance is generally applied to all conductors where the cross
section remains constant over the length l. However, if the current density is
greater along the surface area of the conductor more than in the center, then the
expression is not valid. For such nonuniform current distributions the resistance
is given by

If E is known rather than the voltage difference between the two faces, then
resistance will be given by

The numerator gives the voltage drop across the sample, while the denominator
gives the total current I.

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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel
EXAMPLE 4 Find the resistance between the inner and outer curved surfaces of
the block shown in Fig. 6-8, where the material is silver for which σ = 6.17 x 107
S/m. If J is given as:

If the same current I crosses both the inner and outer curved surfaces,

5.5 Current Sheet Density (K)

At times current is confined to the surface of a conductor, such as the inside
walls of a waveguide. For such a current sheet it is helpful to define the density
vector K (in A/m), which gives the rate of charge transport per unit transverse
length. (Some books use the notation Js.) Fig. 6-9 shows a total current of I, in
the form of a cylindrical sheet of radius r, flowing in the positive z direction. In
this case,

at each point of the sheet. For other sheets, K might vary from point to point.

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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel

In general, the current flowing through a contour C within a current sheet is

obtained by integrating the normal component of K along the contour.

EXAMPLE 5 A thin conducting sheet lies in the z = 0 plane for 0 < x < 0.05 m.
An ay directed current of 25 A is sinusoidally distributed across the sheet, with
linear density zero for x = 0 and x = 0.05 m and maximum at x = 0.025 m (see
Fig. 6-10). Obtain an expression for K.

The data give K = (k sin 20πx) ay (A/m), for an unknown constant k. Then

5.6 Conductor-Dielectric Boundary Conditions

Under static conditions all net charge will be on the outer surfaces of a
conductor and both E and D are therefore zero within the conductor. Because the
electric field is a conservative field, the line integral of E · dl is zero for any

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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel
closed path. A rectangular path with corners 1, 2, 3, 4 is shown in Fig. 6-11. For
this path,

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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel

Fig. 6-13

Solved Problems
6.10. In a cylindrical conductor of radius 2 mm, the current density varies with
the distance from the axis according to

Find the total current I.

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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel

6.11. Find the current crossing the portion of the y = 0 plane defined by −0.1 ≤
x ≤ 0.1 m and −0.002 ≤ z ≤ 0.002 m if

6.12. Find the current crossing the portion of the x = 0 plane defined by − π /4
≤ y ≤ π /4 m and − 0.01 ≤ z ≤ 0.01 m if

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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel

6.13. Given J = 103 sin θ ar A/m2 in spherical coordinates, find the current
crossing the spherical shell r = 0.02 m.

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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel

6.14. Show that the resistance of any conductor of constant cross-sectional area
A and length l is given by R = l /σ A, assuming uniform current distribution.

A constant cross section along the length l results in constant E, and the
voltage drop is

If the current is uniformly distributed over the area A,

where σ is the conductivity. Then, since R = V/I,

6.15. Determine the resistance of the insulation in a length l of coaxial cable, as

shown in Fig. 6-14.

Fig. 6-14

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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel
6.17. As shown in Fig. 6-15, a current IT follows a filament down the z axis and
enters a thin conducting sheet at z = 0. Express K for this sheet.

Fig. 6-15

Consider a circle in the z = 0 plane. The current IT on the sheet spreads out
uniformly over the circumference 2πr. The direction of K is ar. Then

6.18. For the current sheet of Problem 6.17 find the current in a 30° section of
the plane (Fig. 6-16).

Fig. 6-16
However, integration is not necessary, since for uniformly distributed
current a 30° segment will contain 30°/360°, or 1/12 of the total.

6.19. A current I (A) enters a thin right circular cylinder at the top, as shown in
Fig. 6-17. Express K if the radius of the cylinder is 2 cm.

Fig. 6-17
On the top, the current is uniformly distributed over any circumference 2π
r, so that

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University of Duhok Subject: Electromagnetic Fields
College of Engineering Stage: Third Year
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. Instructor: Dr. Yasser A. Fadhel

Down the side, the current is uniformly distributed over the circumference
2π (0.02 m), so that

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