SCALARS AND VECTOR FIELDS

Unit I
ADITYA PATEL
PHYSICS DEPARTMENT
M.S. UNIVERSITY OF BARODA
July 14, 2011
Syllabus : Scalars and vectors, Gradient, Divergence and Curl opera-
tions, Laplacian operation, Physical interpretation of gredient, divergence
and curl and related problems, Gauss divergence theorem, Stokes theorem
and its applications, related problems in vector algebra.
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1
1 Scalar and Vector Quantities
Physical quantities may be divided into two main class:
1. Scalar quantities or scalars
2. Vector quantities or vectors.
1.1 Scalar quantities
A type of physical quantities which possess only magnitude or numer-
ical value and no direction. For example, mass, length, time, temperature,
pressure, work, power, energy, volume, density, speed, charge, current.
A scalar quantity can be completely dened by only its magnitude, hence
measure of a scalar quantity is quite independent of any coordinate system.
All such quantities obey ordinary algebrical laws as following:
(i) Law of commutation: According to this law addition or multiplication
of scalar quantities are independent of order. For example,
A + B B + A and AB B A
(ii) Law of association: According to this law, the sum or addition or
multiplication of scalars is independent of the manner in which they are
grouped or associated. Thus,
A + B + C (A + B) + C A + (B + C) (A + C) + B
A(BC) (AB)C (AC)B
(iii) Law of distribution: According to this law, any expression contain-
ing both addition and multiplication results in the same as the sum of the
individual term-wise products. For Example,
A(B + C) AB + AC; (A + B)C AC + BC
2
1.2 Vector quantities or vectors
A physical quantity having magnitude and direction is said to be a vec-
tor only if it obeys the laws of vector addition. For example, velocity, ac-
celeration, force, linear momentum, angular momentum, torque, electric and
magnetic elds.
Sometime a physical quantity is dened with the direction e.g. current
and time; but these quantities are not vectors, because they do not obey laws
of vector addition. This is the reason for the latter condition in denition of
vector.
Vectors associated with a linear or directional eect are called polar vectors
or simply vectors, and those associated with rotation about the axis are called
axial vectors. So in these context linear momentum is polar vector or just
vector and angular momentum is axial vector.
1.3 Vector notation
A vector quantity is represented by putting small arrow head above it
like

A. However in many books vector A is represented by bold faced A
instead of

A.
The magnitude or modulus of a vector is a scalar quantity and it is rep-
resented by light faced italic letter. Thus magnitude of a

A is A. It may also
be denoted by |A| or mod A.
1.4 Unit and Zero Vector
A vector of unit magnitude is called a unit vector. It is denoted by

A read
as A hat or A caret or A cap. The direction of this unit vector is always
in direction of

A.
Mathematically,

A =

A
|A|
A vector of zero magnitude is called a zero or null vector and it is denoted
by

0. All zero or null vectors are taken to equal and their directions are quite
arbitrary.
3
1.5 Graphical Representation of a vector
A vector is represented by an arrow drawn to scale, parallel to the direction
of the vector. the length and direction of the arrow represent the magnitude
and direction of the vector respectively. Fig.1 represents a vector

A in x-y
plane and it is making an angle with the positive x-axis.

x
y
A

Figure 1: Graphical Representation of a vector
The negative of vector

A is the vector

A, has the same magnitude but

in opposite direction to vector

A.
1.6 Multiplication and Division of vectors by scalars
From the law of addition of vectors, it follows that the sum

A+

A+

A+. . .(n
terms) gives a vector of magnitude of n times that of

A in the same direction
with it. i.e. equal to n

A. Here n is a scalar, which can be positive or negative.

Furthermore, if m and n are two scalars then we have,
(m + n)

A = m

A + n

A and m(n

A) = (mn)

A = n(m

A)
This shows that the multiplication of vector by scalar is a distributive. The
division of vector

A by a non-zero scalar m is dened as the multiplication
of vector

A by 1/m. Similarly you can prove using above method that the
division of vector by scalar is a distributive.
4
1.7 Equality of vectors
All vectors with same direction and magnitude,despite o their locations in
space are called equal. As shown in g.2 vectors

A,

B and

C are equal, since
they same magnitude and direction. such vectors are called free vectors to
distinguish from bound vectors which pass through specied point in space.
For example, position vector.
A
B
C
Figure 2: Equality of the vectors
1.8 Collinear vectors
Vectors having the same or parallel lines of action are called collinear vectors.
As shown in g.2,

A and

C have same direction whereas

A and

B have
parallel lines of action. (Here line of action means the direction in which
vector acts).
If

A and

B are collinear vectors, then there exist a scalar k such that

B = k

A, the absolute value of k being the ratio of the length of the two
collinear vectors.
1.9 Addition and subtraction of two vectors
1.9.1 Addition
1. The parallelogram law: According to this law the sum or the resul-
tant

R of two vectors

A and

B is the diagonal of the parallelogram. As
shown in g.3, i.e.

R =

A +

B
5
B
A
R
Figure 3: parallelogram law for vector addition
2. The triangle law: This Law follows from the parallelogram law. This
law states that if the tail(head) of one vector be placed at the head or
arrow(end) of the other, their sum or resultant

R is drawn from the
tail of the rst to the head of the other. As shown in g.5 the resultant
vector

R is same irrespective of the order in which the vectors are taken.
A
R
B
Figure 4: triangle law for vector addition
A
R
B
Figure 5: triangle law for vector addition

R =

A +

B =

B +

A
This shows that addition is commutative.
1.9.2 Subtraction
If the sum of two vectors

A and

B be equal to zero, i.e.

A+

B = 0, then

A and

B are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction. So that we have
6

A =

B and addition of vector

A to the vector

B is

R =

A

B as shown
in g.6
R
B
B
A
Figure 6: triangle law for vector subtraction
1.10 Addition of more than two vectors - Composition
of vectors
The determination of the sum of more than two vectors is called com-
position of vectors. It is also called the polygon law vector addition which
that if a vector polygon be drawn, placing the tail-end of the preceding one
as shown g.7
A
B
C
A+B
B+C
R
=
A
+
B
+
C
Figure 7: composition of vectors
It is clear from the above gure that the resultant vector

R is drawn from
the tail of the rst to the head of last vector. Here we can see that,

R =

A +

B +

C = (

A +

B) +

C =

A + (

B +

C)
i.e. you nd resultant of

A and

B and add this resultant to

C or you can
nd the resultant of

B and

C and add this resultant vector to

A to get the
7
nal resultant vector

R. This proves that vector addition is associative and
property holds true for any number of vectors.
1.11 Coordinate system
To deal with physical laws in terms of vectors, many times we need
to perform algebraic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication or
division. So it is more helpful and convenient to represent these vectors in
a coordinate system. A most widely known is Cartesian coordinate system
which may be left-handed or right-handed. Both are shown in g.8.
Y
X
Z
Z
X
Y
Right Handed Left Handed
Figure 8: Coordinate systems
In practise, we use right-handed coordinate system only.
1.12 Components of a vector
When two or more vectors which, when compounded in accordance with
parallelogram law or polygon law to give a vector

A then these (two or more)
vectors are called components of a vector

A.
As shown in above gure

R cab be resolved in three components as,

R =

R
x
+

R
y
+

R
z
8
k i
j
O
R
D
E
A
B
C
H
F
X
Y
Z
R
y
R
R
x
z
Figure 9: Components of a vector
Let

i,

j and

k be unit unit vectors along the three coordinate axes x, y
and z. These are called base vectors.

R
x
= R
x

i,

R
y
= R
y

j,

R
z
= R
z

k
From the geometry of the gure, we have
OD
2
= OH
2
+ OB
2
+ OF
2
i.e. R
2
= R
2
x
+ R
2
y
+ R
2
z
where R is magnitude (or modulus) of vector

R. Thus, the square of
the magnitude of a vector is equal to sum of the squares of its rectangular
components,
R =
_
R
2
x
+ R
2
y
+ R
2
z
From the gure,
R
x
= Rcos(

R, x), R
y
= Rcos(

R, y), R
z
= Rcos(

R, z)
where, three cosines,
cos(

R, x) = R
x
/R, cos(

R, y) = R
y
/R, cos(

R, z) = R
z
/R
9
are called direction cosines of vector

R. They are useful in determination of
directions. Sometimes they are represented by l,m and n respectively. One
can write,
1 =
R
2
x
R
2
+
R
2
y
R
2
+
R
2
z
R
2
= cos
2
(

R, x) + cos
2
(

R, y) + cos
2
(

R, z)
= l
2
+ m
2
+ n
2
i.e. the sum of squares of the three direction cosines of a vector is equal to
unirty. Clearly unit vector along

R is given by,

R =

R
|R|
=
R
x
|R|

i +
R
y
|R|

j +
R
z
|R|

R = cos(

R, x)

i + cos(

R, y)

j + cos(

R, z)

k
Hence, the resolute of a sum of vectors in any direction is equal to the sum
of resolutes of the individual vectors in that direction.
1.13 Position Vector
The position of point P from any assigned point, such as the origin O of the
cartesian coordinate system is uniquely specied by the vector

OP = r is
called position vector of point P relative to O. The coordinates of point P
being (x, y, z), we have
r = x

i + y

j + z

k
where
|r| =
_
x
2
+ y
2
+ z
2
It follows from above that if there be two points P
1
and P
2
with (x
1
, y
1
, z
1
)
and (x
2
, y
2
, z
2
) and

OP
1
= r
1
and

OP
2
= r
2
. Therefore the resultant vector
is,

P
1
P
2
=

P
1
O +

OP
2
= r
1
+r
2
= r
2
r
1
10
1.14 Condition for Coplanarity of vectors
If

A and

B be two vectors in same plane then

R = m
1

A + m
2

B
will also be a coplanar with

A

B, irrespective of values of m
1
and m
2
.
In the case of more than two vectors, they are said to be coplanar when they
are parallel to the same plane. And, any plane parallel to this is referred to
as the plane of vectors.
Let

A,

B and c be three coplanar vectors. Then it is always possible
to have three scalars m
1
, m
2
and m
3
such that
m
1

A + m
2

B + m
3

C = 0
Conversely, if vectors

A,

B and

C be such as to satisfy above condition, then
they are coplanar. Above relation gives,

A =
m
2
m
1

B
m
3
m
1

C
Further if we express

A,

B and

C in terms of their components, then it takes
the form,
m
1
A
x
+ m
2
B
x
+ m
3
C
x
= 0
m
1
A
y
+ m
2
B
y
+ m
3
C
y
= 0
m
1
A
z
+ m
2
B
z
+ m
3
C
z
= 0
with the elimination of m
1
, m
2
and m
3
,

A
x
B
x
C
x
A
y
B
y
C
y
A
z
B
z
C
z

= 0
Above expression represents condition for coplanarity of vectors.
2 Product of two vectors
2.1 Scalar Product
The scalar product of two vectors

A and

B is denoted by

A

B. It is also
therefore known as the dot product or direct product.
11
It is dened as the product of the magnitudes of the two vectors

A and

B and the cosine of their included angle .

A

B = |

A||

B| cos
Interesting property of scalar product is

A

B = |

A||

B| cos
= |

B||

A| cos
=

B

A
This shows that scalar product is commutative.
A
B

Figure 10: Scalar product of two vectors

Further, since |

B| cos is the projection of

B in the direction of

A. Sim-
ilarly |

A| cos is the projection of

A in the direction of

B as shown in g.10
B
A
A
A

c
o
s

B cos

Figure 11: Scalar product as a projection of vector

The scalar product of two vectors is the product of the magnitude of
either vector and the projection(or resolute) of the other in its direction.
12
2.1.1 properties of scalar product
1. If the two vectors are perpendicular to each other, i.e. = /2 then

A

B = 0.
2. If the two vectors are parallel to each other, i.e. = 0 then

A

B = 1.
3. If the two vectors are same(magnitude and direction), i.e.

A =

B then

A

B =

A

A
= |

A|
2
4. If

i,

j and

k are unit vectors along x, y and z axex then

i = 1 =

j

j =

k

j = 0 =

j

k =

k

i
5. The scalar product obeys distributive law.

A (

B +

C) =

A

B +

A

C
2.1.2 Appication of scalar product
1. Deduction of cosine law Let two vectors

A and

B be represented by
the two sides of a triangle, as shown in g.12
A
B
C

=A B
Figure 12: Cosine law
13
Then, the third side represents vector

C =

A

B
Taking the scalar product of each side with itself, we have

C

C = (

A

B) (

A

B)
C
2
= A
2
+ B
2
2

A

B
C
2
= A
2
+ B
2
2|

A||

B| cos
This is well known trigonometric relation called cosine law.
2.2 Vector Product
The vector product or outer product of two vectors

A and

B is denoted by

A

B. It is therefore, also called the cross product of two vectors. It is also
denoted by [

A,

B].
It is dened as a vector

R whose magnitude is equal to the product of
the magnitudes of the two vectors

A and

B and the sine of their included
angle .

A

B = |

A||

B| sin
A
B

R = A x B
B
A
Plane of A and B
R = B x A
R = A x B

Plane of A and B
Figure 13: Vector product
This vector

R is normal to the plane of

A and

B and points in the
direction in which a right-handed screw would advance when rotated about
14
an axis perpendicular to the plane of two vectors in the direction from

A to

B through small angle between them.

Or
If the ngers of right hand be curled in the direction in which vector

A
must be turned through the smaller included angle to coincide with the
direction of vector

B, the thumb points in the direction of

R, as shown in
g.
2.2.1 Properties of vector product
1.

A

B =

B

A
This implies that vector product is commutative.
2. (m

A)

B =

A (m

B) = m(

A

B)
This implies that vector product is associative.
3. If

A and

B are perpendicular then = /2

A

B = |

A||

B| sin = |

A||

B|
This is maximum value of the scalar product of vectors

A and

B.
4. If

A and

B are parallel then = 0

A

B = |

A||

B| sin = 0
This is minimum value of the scalar product of vectors

A and

B.
5. If

i,

j and

k are unit vectors along x, y and z axis then,

j =

k = (

i)

k =

i = (

j)

i =

j = (

k)
And we know

i,

j and

k are perpendicular to each other, then

i = 0 =

j

j =

k

k
15
6. If

A and

B are two vectors dened in following way,

A = (A
x

i + A
y

j + A
z

k)

B = (B
x

i + B
y

j + B
z

k)
Then cross product will be

A

B = (A
x

i + A
y

j + A
z

k) (B
x

i + B
y

j + B
z

k)
= (A
x
B
x
)(

i) + (A
x
B
y
)(

j) + (A
x
B
z
)(

k)
+ (A
y
B
x
)(

i) + (A
y
B
y
)(

j) + (A
y
B
z
)(

k)
+ (A
z
B
x
)(

i) + (A
z
B
y
)(

j) + (A
z
B
z
)(

k)
= A
x
B
y

k A
x
B
z

j A
y
B
x

k + A
y
B
z

i + A
z
B
x

j A
z
B
y

i
= (A
x
B
y
A
y
B
x
)

k (A
x
B
z
A
z
B
x
)

j + (A
y
B
z
A
z
B
y
)

A

B =

i

j

k
A
x
A
y
A
z
B
x
B
y
B
z

2.3 Applications of vector product

2.3.1 Area of parallelogram
Let vectors

A

b form the adjacent sides of parallelogram OPQR inclined to
each other at an angle . Here OD be perpendicular dropped from o on to
PQ. Consider area of triangle OPQ.
=
1
2
(OD)(PQ)
=
1
2
|

A|(|

B| sin )
=
1
2
(

A

B)
Now area of parallelogram OPQR is double of the area of OPQ.
=

A

B =

C
16
A
C = A x B
B
R
D
O

Figure 14: Area of parallelogram

Here it is clear that the direction of area vector is perpendicular to the
plane formeed by

A and

B. Hence any area vector or area of any plane gure
may be represented by a vector drawn normal to the plane of the gure in a
direction relative to which the area vector of the gure isregarded as positive.
2.3.2 The law of sines in triangle
Consider a traingle of vector

A,

B and

C as shown in g.15.
B
A
C
Figure 15: sine law
It is clear from the above gure and using triangle law, we can write

A +

B =

C
Taking vector product with

A on both sides,

A

A +

A

B =

A

C

A

B =

A

C
17
|

A||

B| sin(

A,

B) = |

A||

C| sin(

A,

C)
|

A|
sin(

A,

C)
=
|

C|
sin(

A,

B)
This is law of sine in triangle.
2.4 Scalar triple product
Let vectors

A,

B and

C form a parallelopiped, as shown in g. Here

B and

C form the base of parallelopiped.

Area of the base =

B

C
The direction of this vector

B

C is perpendicular to the plane formed
by

B and

C. If is the angle the vector

B

C makes with

A. The projection
of vector

A along

B

C is
h = |

A| cos = height of parallelopiped

volume of parallelopiped = (Area of the base)(height)
= (

B

C)(|

A| cos )
=

A (

B

C)
Hence Scalar triple product

A (

B

C) represents the volume of paral-
lelopiped, with the three vectors forming its three edges.
Important property of Scalar triple product: Here one can take
any face of the parallelopiped to be its base and its volume can be calculated,
with the cyclic order of

A,

B and

C.
V =

A (

B

C) =

A (

C

B)
=

B (

C

A) =

B (

A

C)
=

C (

A

B) =

C (

B

A)
scalar triple product is also represented by
[

A

B

C] = [

A,

B,

C] =

A (

B

C)
=

B (

C

A) = [

B

C

C]
=

C (

A

B) = [

C

A

B]
18

A (

B

C) = (A
x

i + A
y

j + A
z

k)

i

j

k
B
x
B
y
B
z
C
x
C
y
C
z

= (A
x

i + A
y

j + A
z

k)
((B
y
C
z
B
z
C
y
)

i (B
x
C
z
B
z
C
x
)

j + (B
x
C
y
B
y
C
x
)

k)
[

i

j

k] =

i (

k) =

i

i = 1
2.5 Vector triple product
Consider three vectors

A,

B and

C as shown in g. The vector triple product
is dened as

A(

C). We know that the direction of

B

C is perpendicular
to the plane of

B and

C. So, the direction of

A(

C) will be perpendicular
to both

A and plane of

B

C.
Similarly,

B (

C

A) will be in the direction perpendicular to both

B
and plane of

C

A. Hence it is clear that

A (

B

C) =

B (

C

A).
19

A (

B

C) = (A
x

i + A
y

j + A
z

k) ((B
y
C
z
B
z
C
y
)

i
(B
x
C
z
B
z
C
x
)

j + (B
x
C
y
B
y
C
x
)

k)
= (A
x
B
y
C
z
+ A
z
B
z
C
x
)

k (A
x
B
x
C
y
A
x
B
y
C
x
)

j
(A
y
B
y
C
z
A
y
B
z
C
y
)

k + (A
y
B
x
C
y
A
y
B
y
C
x
)

i
+(A
z
B
y
C
z
A
z
B
z
C
y
)

j + (A
z
B
x
C
z
A
z
B
z
C
x
)

i
= A
x
B
x
C
z

k A
y
B
y
C
x

i A
z
B
z
C
y

j A
x
B
x
C
y

j
A
y
B
y
C
z

k A
z
B
z
C
x

i A
x
B
x
C
x

i A
y
B
y
C
y

j
A
z
B
z
C
z

k + A
x
B
x
C
x

i + A
y
B
y
C
y

j + A
z
B
z
C
z

k
+A
x
B
z
C
x

k + A
y
B
x
C
y

i + A
z
B
y
C
z

j + A
x
B
y
C
x

j
+A
z
B
x
C
z

i
(Here we have added and subtracted
A
x
B
x
C
x

i, A
y
B
y
C
y

j and A
z
B
z
C
z

k)
= A
x
B
x
(C
x

i + C
y

j + C
z

k) A
y
B
y
(C
x

i + C
y

j + C
z

k)
A
z
B
z
(C
x

i + C
y

j + C
z

k) + A
x
C
x
(B
x

i + B
y

j + B
z

k)
+A
y
C
y
(B
x

i + B
y

j + B
z

k) + A
z
C
z
(B
x

i + B
y

j + B
z

k)
=

B(

A

C)

C(

A

B)
(To Remember BACK CAB)
=

B

C

A

B

A

C

Similarly

B (

C

A) =

C(

B

A)

A(

B

C)

C (

A

B) =

A(

C

B)

B(

A

C)
3 Partial derivatives
3.1 Gradient
Consider two level surfaces S
1
and S
2
in the scalar eld with values of scalar
function and + d. Consider two points P and R on the level surfaces
S
1
and S
2
respectively.
20
+ d
P Q
R
S
2 1
S

dn
dr
Figure 16: Gradient
Let r and r +

dr be the postion vectors of P and R respectively relative
to arbitary origin, then

PR =

dr. Consider the cartesian co-ordinate system,
hence P(x, y, z) and R(x + dx, y + dy, z + dz).

dr =

idx +

jdy +

kdz
As the values of scalar functions at P(x, y, z) and R(x+dx, y +dy, z +dz)
are and + d respectively, then
d =

x
dx +

y
dy +

z
dz
=
_

x
+

j

y
+

k

z
_
(

idx +

jdy +

kdz)
d = (

) (

dr) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... (a)
If dn represents the distance along the normal from point P to surface
S
2
, then
dn =

PQ = |

dr| cos = | n||

dr| cos = n

dr ( | n| = 1)
where n is a unit vector normal to surface S
1
at P. If we move from P to Q
the value of scalar function increases by an amount d, therefore we may
21
write
d =

n
dn =

n
n

dr
Comparing this equation with the other equation (a),

=

n
n
Thus, the gradient of a scalar nction at any point is a vector whose
magnitude is equal to the rate of change of scalar function with respect to
space variable and whose direction is along that change,
As,

n
n gives greatest rate of increase of with respect to space variable,
therefore gradient may be dened as follows,
The gradient of a scalar nction at any point is a vector whose magni-
tude is equal to maximum rate of change of scalar function with respect to
space variable and whose direction is along that change.
Note:
Consider a eld (or function) in the space and if the each point in this
space is represented by a scalar quantity then this eld is known as
scalar eld(or function).
Consider a eld (or function) in the space and if the each point in
this space is represented by a vector quantity then this eld is known
as vector eld(or function). In this kind of space each of the point
represents a vector.
A level surface is one which has same value of scalar function at each
point.
Only for understanding of Gradient
Consider a room in which the temperature is given by a scalar eld T,
so at each point (x, y, z) the temperature is T(x, y, z). (We will assume
that the temperature does not change over time.) At each point in the room,
the gradient of T at that point will show the direction the temperature rises
most quickly. The magnitude of the gradient will determine how fast the
temperature rises in that direction.
22
Consider a surface whose height above sea level at a point (x, y) is
H(x, y). The gradient of H at a point is a vector pointing in the direc-
tion of the steepest slope or grade at that point. The steepness of the slope
at that point is given by the magnitude of the gradient vector.
The gradient can also be used to measure how a scalar eld changes in
other directions, rather than just the direction of greatest change, by taking
a dot product. Suppose that the steepest slope on a hill is 40% If a road
goes directly up the hill, then the steepest slope on the road will also be
40% If, instead, the road goes around the hill at an angle, then it will have
a shallower slope. For example, if the angle between the road and the uphill
direction, projected onto the horizontal plane, is 60

, then the steepest slope

along the road will be 20%, which is 40% times the cosine of 60

.
This observation can be mathematically stated as follows. If the hill
height function H is dierentiable, then the gradient of H dotted with a unit
vector gives the slope of the hill in the direction of the vector. More precisely,
when H is dierentiable, the dot product of the gradient of H with a given
unit vector is equal to the directional derivative of H in the direction of that
unit vector.
3.2 Divergence
Cosider a vector point function

f then divergence of a

f is represented by
div f =

f
=
_

i

x
+

j

y
+

k

z
_
(

if
x
+

jf
y
+

kf
z
)
=
f
x
x
+
f
y
y
+
f
z
z
Scalar quantity
As it is scalar product between two vector quantity, hence it is a scalar
quantity.
Let there exist a vector eld

f in certain region of space. The divergence
of the vector eld

f at certain point P(x, y, z) is dened as the outward
ux of the vector eld

f per unit volume enclosed through an innitesmal
closed surface surrounding the point P.
The divergence of uid velocity v at a point represents the quantity of
uid owing out per second per unit volume enclosed by innitesimal closed
23
surface surrounding that point. If

v at a point is negative, it means that
uid is constantly owing towards that point and thus there exists a sink for
uid . If

v at a point is positive, it indicates the existance of the source
of uid at that point.
Geometrical Interpretation:



f is a measure of how much vector

f
spreads out from the point of interest.
If the divergence of any vector function in a region is zero i.e.

A = 0,
this means that the ux of the vector function entering in any element of
this region is equal to that leaving it. Any vector

A, satisfying the condition

A = 0 is called a solenoidal vector. A uid which obeys this conditon is
known as incompressible uid.
3.3 Curl
Cosider a vector point function

f then curl of a

f is represented by
curl f =

f
=
_

i

x
+

j

y
+

k

z
_
(

if
x
+

jf
y
+

kf
z
)
=

i

j

k

z
f
x
f
y
f
z

Geometrical Interpretation:

f is a measure of how much the vector

f
curls around the point. A whirlpool is a region of large curl.
3.4 Application of divergence
Let v be a vector point function representing the velocity of a uid at any
given instant t at a point P inside a small parallelopiped. x, y and z are
the edges of parallelopiped along the x, y and z axis.
Let v = v
x

i + v
y

j + v
z

k
velocity component along the x axis at
any point of the face ABCD = v
x

1
2
v
x
x
x
24
A
B
C
D
E
F
H
x

y
X
Y
Z
O
G P

z
Figure 17: divergence
neglecting the second and the higher powers of x.
A ux entering per second = (component of velocity normal to
through face ABCD the face) (area of the face)
=
_
v
x

1
2
v
x
x
x
_
yz
Similarly,
A ux entering per second = (component of velocity normal to
through face EFGH the face) (area of the face)
=
_
v
x
+
1
2
v
x
x
x
_
yz
Thus,
25
Volume of ux passing per second =
_
v
x
+
1
2
v
x
x
x
_
yz
through faces ABCD and
_
v
x

1
2
v
x
x
x
_
yz
EFGH along x direction
=
v
x
x
xyz
Total volume of ux moving =
_
v
x
x
+
v
y
y
+
v
z
z
_
xyz
out of the parallelopiped per second
=
_

v
_
xyz
Here xyz is the volume of parallelopiped, hence in the limit
lim
x 0,y 0,z 0
the volume of ux passing through point P(x, y, z) is

v.
If v is the velocity of uid at a point, its rate of moving out (diverging)
per unit volume is div v or

v.
A positive value of

v says that the uid is undergoing expansion or in
other words the point is source of the uid.
Figure 18: example of negative divergence
26
Figure 19: example of zero divergence
A negative value of

v says that the uid is undergoing contraction or
in other words the point is sink of the uid.
If

v = 0, the uid entering and leaving the element is the same. There
is no expansion or contraction, hence uid is incompressible. This type of
vector function is said to be solenoidal vector point function.
3.5 Gauss Divergence Theorem
Consider a volume V bounded by surafce S as shown in g.
The Gauss divergence theorem is
__
S

A

ds =
___
V

A dV
Analytic Proof:
R.H.S. =
___
V

A dV
=
___
V
_
A
x
x
+
A
y
y
+
A
z
z
_
dx dy dz
where dV = dx dy dz is a small volume element around the point where
the value of vector eld is

A.
27
___
V

A dV =
___
V
A
x
x
dx dy dz +
___
V
A
y
y
dx dy dz
+
___
V
A
z
z
dx dy dz
Let us now consider the rst integral on right. Integrating it with respect
to x, i.e. along a strip of cross-section dy dz extending from P
1
to P
2
, we
thus obtain,
___
V
A
x
x
dx dy dz =
__
(A
x
(x
2
, y, z) A
x
(x
1
, y, z)) dy dz
P
1
P 2
ds
ds
1
2
x
y
z
Figure 20: Gauss divergence theorem
where (x
1
, y, z) and (x
2
, y, z) are the coordinates of P
1
and P
2
the
respectively. For the face P
2
the outward normal is drawn along positive
28
X axis, while for the face P
2
the outward normal is drawn along negative
X axis, thus
At P
1
, dy dz = dS
x
At P
2
, dy dz = +dS
x
therefore,
___
V
A
x
x
dx dy dz =
__
S
1
A
x
dS
x

__
S
2
A
x
(dS
x
)
=
__
S
1
A
x
dS
x
+
__
S
2
A
x
dS
x
=
__
S
A
x
dS
x
where the surface integration (S) is evaluated over the entire surface. In
the same manner, we obtain
___
V
A
y
y
dx dy dz =
__
S
A
y
dS
y
___
V
A
z
z
dx dy dz =
__
S
A
z
dS
z
Adding three results,
___
V

A dV =
__
S
(A
x
dS
x
+ A
y
dS
y
+ A
z
dS
z
)

___
V

A dV =
__
S

A

dS
which is Gauss Divergence Theorem.
3.6 Stokes Theorem
The stokes theorem is
_
C

A

dl =
__
S
_

A
_

dS
29
Here on R.H.S. the integrration is over the given surface S, where

dS =

i dS
x
+

j dS
y
+

k dS
z
Let us orient our cartesian coordinate axes so that given surface intersects
the plane x = c along a line PQ as shown in below g.
P
Q
dS
(negative)
(positive)
x
y
z
Figure 21: Intersection of surface S with plane x = c
__
S
_

A
_

dS =
__
S

i

j

k

x
A
x
A
y
A
z

dS
=
__
S
_
A
z
y

A
y
z
_
dS
x

__
S
_
A
z
x

A
x
z
_
dS
y
+
__
S
_
A
y
x

A
x
y
_
dS
z
The projection of

dS on (X, Y ) plane, dS
z
= dx dy
The projection of

dS on (X, Z) plane, dS
y
= dx dz
The projection of

dS on (Y, Z) plane, dS
x
= dy dz
Consider the derivatives of A
x
,
30
Y
X
Z
dz
dx
dy
dx
ds =
z
ds
y
= dx dz
dx dy
_
dS
Figure 22: Stokes theorem
31
__
S
_
A
x
z
dS
y

A
x
y
dS
z
_
=
__
S
_
A
x
z
dz +
A
x
y
dy
_
dx
when x is held constant,
A
x
y
dy +
A
x
z
dz = dA
x
so that the surface integration becomes,
_
dx
_
dA
x
=
_
A
x
(x, y
Q
, z
Q
) dx
_
A
x
(x, y
P
, z
P
) dx
According to our choice of direction, we have
dx = dl
x
at Q
dx = dl
x
at P
where

dl is a vector diential length along the perimeter, we have
__
S
_
A
x
z
dS
y

A
x
y
dS
z
_
=
_
A
x
dl
x
The symbol
_
indicates an integral around a closed path.
Similarly we obtain,
__
S
_
A
y
x
dS
z

A
y
z
dS
x
_
=
_
A
y
dl
y
__
S
_
A
z
y
dS
x

A
z
x
dS
y
_
=
_
A
z
dl
z
Combining three results,
__
S
_

A
_

dS =
_
C

A

dl Stoke

s Theorem
32
Understanding of Stokes Theorem: Consider a surface as shown in
g.
C
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
dS

0
Curl A
Figure 23: Understanding of Stokes Theorem
Here Surface area has been divided into small area-elements, whose area-
element vector is represented by

dS drwan normal to the surface. Consider
element number 9, measure

A. This vector will be perpendicular to the
area-element 9 and then take the dot product with area-element vector

dS
9
perform the surface integration. On similar line measure the value of

A for all elements and add them. This value will be equal to the value
which is line integration of

A along close path C.
Observing more closely one can nd an interesting thing. Consider ele-
ment numbers 3, 8, 10 and 16, which are lying at the peripheries of element
number 9. Arrow inside an element shows the direction of curling. The
common periphery between element 9 and 8 have opposite direction of curl-
ing, hence they cancell. Similarly all other common peripheries will cancell
with the peripheries of element 8, 10 and 16. Similrly all area-elements will
contribute zero except those lying at the boundary of surface S. The area-
elements at the boundaries will add up and will form a curve (or line). Here
the integration reduces to line integration over a closed path

dl from surface
integration over a surface S.
__
S
_

A
_

dS =
_
C

A

dl Stoke

s Theorem
33