Computational electromagnetics

Abstract

Computational electromagnetics (CEM) is a natural extension of the analytical approach in solving the Maxwell equations. In spite of the fundamental difference between representing the solution in a continuum and in a discretized space, both approaches satisfy all pertaining theorems rigorously. The analytic approach to electromagnetics is elegant, and the results can describe the specific behavior as well as the general patterns of a physical phenomenon in a given regime. However, exact solutions to the Maxwell equations are usually unavailable. Some of the closed-form results that exist have restrictive underlying assumptions that limit their range of validity. Solutions of CEM generate only a point value for a specific simulation, but complexity of the physics or of the field configuration is no longer a limiting factor. The numerical accuracy of CEM is an issue to be addressed. Nevertheless, with the advent of high-performance computing systems, CEM is becoming a mainstay for engineering applications.