Lecture: 16

Electrostatics – VIII
Dr. Yogesh Kumar Choukiker

School of Electronics Science Engineering

Microwave and Photonics Division
VIT University, Vellore, India
 Boundary Condition
 If the electric field extends across a region consisting of two or more material
media, the conditions the field must satisfy at the interface of these medium
are called Boundary Conditions

 Pre-requisite ? – If the fields are known on one side of the interface, and the
material parameters are known, then field can be evaluated on the other side of
interface using boundary conditions
What kind of material interfaces do we have ?
 Dielectric – Dielectric Maxwell’s
 Conductor – Dielectric Equations
 Conductor – free space
 Dielectric – free space
What conditions does the electric What components they have ?
fields satisfy ? Et, Dt, En, Dn

 E  dL  0 &  D  dS  Q
C S
v Tangential and Normal components
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Dielectric-Dielectric Interface
 Consider an interface formed by two different dielectrics of permittivity 1 =
0r1 & 2 = 0r2
The electric fields on either side can be
 written as
1
E1 = E1t + E1n & E2 = E2t + E2n
E1 E1n a Now taking the closed loop integral
E1t b
h
h
E2n
E2t
E2
d w
c  E  dL  0  E1t w  E1n
abcda
2
h h h
2  E2t w  E2 n  E1n  E2 n
2 2 2
 E1t  E2t w  0
Condition 1
E1t  E2t The tangential component of E-field is continuous across the
interface 2
Dielectric-Dielectric Interface
Likewise the electric flux density can be written as D1t = 1 E1t & D2t = 2 E2t

Condition 2 1
The tangential component of D
D1t D2t is discontinuous across the
 interface
D1 D1n
1 2 D1t S
h
Now applying Gauss’s law across the interface, D2t
D2n D2
the contribution from sides is zero (h = 0), we
have
Q = s S = D1n S – D2n S 2
Condition 3 The normal components of electric flux are
D1n  D2 n   s discontinuous and equal to the charge present at the
interface
Condition 4
The normal components of E-field are discontinuous at
 1 E1n   2 E2 n the interface 3
Dielectric-Dielectric Interface
 If 1 is the angle E1 & D1 make with the normal of material 1 and 2 the angle
of E2 & D2 with normal of material 2, then

E1t = E1 sin1 & E2t = E2 sin2 1

Applying condition 1, we have
1 E1 , D1
E1 sin1 = E2 sin2 (1)

Applying condition 3 or 4 and considering no 2

charge at interface s =0, we have
E2 , D2
D1n = 1 E1 cos1 & D2n = 2 E2 cos2 2

Dividing (1) with this condition we have

tan 1  r1
 Law of refraction of electric field at the boundary free of
tan  2  r 2 charge. Where 1 = r1 0 & 2 = r2 0
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 Conductor-Dielectric Interface
 We follow same procedure as previous case but consider one of the
material as perfect conductor with E,  = 0, and  = 
h  = r 0
 E  dL  0  Et  w  En 
abcda
2 En E
a
h h h Et b
0  0  w  0   En  h
2 2 2 d w
 Et  0 as h  0 c

Now applying Gauss’s law across the interface, E=0

the contribution from sides is zero (h = 0), we
have
Q
Q = s S = Dn S – 0  S
 Dn   s
S
Condition 1 Condition 2
 v  0, E  0 Dt   0 r Et  0 & Dn   0 r En   s
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 Conductor/Dielectric-Free Space Interface
 The conductor - free space interface may be considered similar to conductor -
dielectric interface with r = 1
Condition Conductor – Free Space

Dt   0 Et  0 & Dn   0 En   s
 The dielectric - free space interface may be considered similar to dielectric -
dielectric interface with 1 = 0 substituted in the conditions therein
Problem
Two homogenous, isotropic dielectrics meet on plane z = 0. For z>0, r1 = 4 and
for z < 0, r2 = 3. A uniform electric field E1 = 5ax – 2ay + 3az kV/m exists for z 
0, Find
(a) E2 for z  0
(b) The angles E1 & E2 make with the interface
(c) The energy densities in both medium and
(d) The energy within a cube of side 2 m centered at (3,4,-5)
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