Maxwell's Equations

Maxwell's equations relate the field quantities, the charge density, and the current density at one single point in space, through their time and space derivatives. They contain physical information obtained from Coulomb's, Ampere's, and Faraday's laws, and they have been modified by Maxwell's assumption so as to satisfy the law of continuity of charge. Below are Maxwell's equations and related equations. Bold-face letters represent vectors.$\bigskip $

MATH

The symbols used in the above equations have the following meaning.

Symbol Meaning MKS units Gaussian units
$\QTR{bf}{B}$ magnetic induction $\unit{T}$ (tesla) $\unit{G}$ (gauss)
$c$ velocity of light $\unit{m}/\unit{s}$ (meters per second) $\unit{cm}/\unit{s}$ (centimeters per second)
$\QTR{bf}{D}$ electric displacement $\unit{N}/\unit{C}$ (newtons per coulomb) (dynes per statcoulomb)
$\QTR{bf}{E}$ electric field strength $\unit{N}/\unit{C}$ (newtons per coulomb) (dynes per statcoulomb)
$\QTR{bf}{F}$ force $\unit{N}$ (newton) $\unit{dyn}$ (dyne)
$\QTR{bf}{H}$ magnetic field intensity $\unit{A}/\unit{m}$ (amperes per meter) $\unit{G}$ (gauss)
$\QTR{bf}{J}$ current density MATH (amperes per square meter) $\unit{G}/\unit{m}$ (gauss per meter)
$\QTR{bf}{M}$ magnetization $\unit{A}/\unit{m}$ (amperes per meter) $\unit{G}$ (gauss)
$q$ charge $\unit{C}$ (coulomb) (statcoulomb)
$\rho $ volume charge density MATH (coulomb per cubic meter) (statcoulomb per cubic centimeter)
$\QTR{bf}{v}$ velocity $\unit{m}/\unit{s}$ (meters per second) $\unit{cm}/\unit{s}$ (centimeters per second)