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Poynting's theorem
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In electrodynamics, Poynting's theorem is a statement of conservation of energy for the electromagnetic field, in the form of a

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partial differential equation, due to the British physicist John Henry Poynting.[1] Poynting's theorem is analogous to the work-

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energy theorem in classical mechanics, and mathematically similar to the continuity equation, because it relates the energy

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stored in the electromagnetic field to the work done on a charge distribution (i.e. an electrically charged object), through

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energy flux.

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1 Statement

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1.1 General

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1.2 Electrical engineering

2 Derivation
2.1 Poynting's theorem
2.2 Poynting vector
3 Alternative forms

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4 Generalization

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5 Notes

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6 External links

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Statement

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General [edit]
In words, the theorem is an energy balance:[2]

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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.
Mathematically, this is summarised in differential form as:

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whereS is the divergence of the Poynting vector (energy flow) and JE is the rate at which the fields do work on a charged

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object (J is the free current density corresponding to the motion of charge, E is the electric field,andisthedot product). The

energy density u is given by:[3]

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in which D is the electric displacement field, B is the magnetic flux density and H the magnetic field strength, 0 is the electric

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constant and 0 is the magnetic constant. Since the charges are free to move, and the D and H fields bypass any bound

charges and currents in the charge distribution (by their definition), J is the free current density, not the total.
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Using the divergence theorem, Poynting's theorem can be rewritten in integral form:

where

is the boundary of a volume V. The shape of the volume is arbitrary but fixed for the calculation.

Electrical engineering [edit]

In electrical engineering context the theorem is usually written with the energy density term u expanded in the following way,
which resembles the continuity equation:

where
is the density of reactive power driving the build-up of electric field,
is the density of reactive power driving the build-up of magnetic field, and

is the density of Electric power dissipated by the Lorentz force acting on charge carriers.

Derivation

[edit]

While conservation of energy and the Lorentz force law can derive the general form of the theorem, Maxwell's equations are
additionally required to derive the expression for the Poynting vector and hence complete the statement.

Poynting's theorem [edit]

Considering the statement in words above - there are three elements to the theorem, which involve writing energy transfer (per
unit time) as volume integrals:[2]
1. 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:

2. 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:

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

where is the charge density of the distribution and v its velocity. Since

, the rate of work done by the force is

So by conservation of energy, the balance equation for the energy flow per unit time is the integral form of the theorem:

and since the volume V is arbitrary, this is true for all volumes, implying

which is Poynting's theorem in differential form.

Poynting vector [edit]

Main article: Poynting vector
From the theorem, the actual form of the Poynting vector S can be found. The time derivative of the energy density (using the
product rule for vector dot products) is

using the constitutive relations

The partial time derivatives suggest using two of Maxwell's Equations. Taking the dot product of the MaxwellFaradayequation
with H:

next taking the dot product of the MaxwellAmpreequation with E:

Collecting the results so far gives:

then, using the vector calculus identity:

gives an expression for the Poynting vector:

which physically means the energy transfer due to time-varying electric and magnetic fields is perpendicular to the fields.

Alternative forms

[edit]

It is possible to derive alternative versions of Poynting's theorem.[4] Instead of the flux vector E B as above, it is possible to
follow the same style of derivation, but instead choose the Abraham form E H, the Minkowski form D B, or perhaps D H.
Each choice represents the response of the propagation medium in its own way: the E B form above has the property that
the response happens only due to electric currents, while the D H form uses only (fictitious) magnetic monopole currents.
The other two forms (Abraham and Minkowski) use complementary combinations of electric and magnetic currents to represent
the polarization and magnetization responses of the medium.

Generalization

[edit]

The mechanical energy counterpart of the above theorem for the electromagnetic energy continuity equation is

where um is the (mechanical) kinetic energy density in the system. It can be described as the sum of kinetic energies of
particles (e.g., electrons in a wire), whose trajectory is given by r(t):

where Sm is the flux of their energies, or a "mechanical Poynting vector":

Both can be combined via the Lorentz force, which the electromagnetic fields exert on the moving charged particles (see
above), to the following energy continuity equation or energy conservation law:[5]

covering both types of energy and the conversion of one into the other.

Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Poynting, J. H. (1884). "On the Transfer of Energy in the Electromagnetic Field". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
of London 175:343361.doi:10.1098/rstl.1884.0016 .
2. ^ a

Introduction to Electrodynamics (3rd Edition), D.J. Griffiths, Pearson Education, Dorling Kindersley, 2007, p.364, ISBN 81-

7758-293-3
3. ^ Electromagnetism (2nd Edition), I.S. Grant, W.R. Phillips, Manchester Physics, John Wiley & Sons, 2008, chapters 2 and 6,
ISBN 9-780471-927129
4. ^ Kinsler, P.; Favaro, A.; McCall M.W. (2009). "Four Poynting theorems". European Journal of Physics 30 (5): 983.
arXiv:0908.1721

. Bibcode:2009EJPh...30..983K

. doi:10.1088/0143-0807/30/5/007 .

5. ^ Richter, E.; Florian, M.; Henneberger, K. (2008). "Poynting's theorem and energy conservation in the propagation of light in
bounded media". Europhysics Letters 81 (6): 67005. arXiv:0710.0515 . Bibcode:2008EL.....8167005R . doi:10.1209/02955075/81/67005 .

External links

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EricW.Weisstein"PoyntingTheorem"FromScienceWorldAWolframWebResource.
Categories: Electrodynamics

Physics theorems

Circuit theorems

This page was last modified on 22 July 2014 at 17:53.

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