The Magnetostatic Field

Abstract

Summary The methods that have been developed for the analysis of electrostatic fields apply largely to the magnetostatic field as well. Every magnetostatic field can be represented by an electrostatic field of identical structure produced by dipole distributions and fictive double layers. The equations satisfied by the magnetic vectors of a stationary field are obtained by placing the time derivatives in Maxwell's equations equal to zero. The existence of a scalar potential function associated with the electrostatic field is a direct consequence of the irrotational character of the field vector. The units and dimensions of electrostatic quantities have been commonly based on Coulomb's law. The intensity of magnetization, or polarization, includes the permanent or residual magnetization M0 if any is present. In case the body carries a current, the interior field cannot be represented by a scalar potential and the boundary-value problem must be solved in terms of a vector potential.