Q.Write down the integral form of modified Ampere's circuital law.
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Concept understanding — Maxwell's Equations In Integral Form
The four fundamental laws of electrodynamics, playing the same organising role for electromagnetism that Newton's three laws play for mechanics -- together they completely determine the behaviour of electric charges, currents, and electric and magnetic fields, and can be written in either integral form (used at this level) or an equivalent differential form. First equation -- Gauss's law for electricity: ∮E⋅dA=ϵ0Qenclosed, relating the net electric flux through any closed surface to the net charge Qenclosed it encloses; true for both discrete point charges and continuous charge distributions, and it implies electric field lines start on positive charge and end on negative charge, so isolated positive or negative charges genuinely exist. Second equation -- Gauss's law for magnetism: ∮B⋅dA=0, stating the net magnetic flux through any closed surface is always exactly zero, for every possible surface; this forces magnetic field lines to always close on themselves in continuous loops, which is the precise mathematical statement that no isolated magnetic monopole (a lone north or south magnetic charge) exists in nature -- if one did exist, the right-hand side would no longer be zero and this equation would need to be modified. Third equation -- Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction: ∮E⋅dl=−dtdΦB, stating the line integral of the electric field around any closed path equals the negative rate of change of magnetic flux through the surface it bounds; this single law underlies every electric generator and transformer in use today. Fourth equation -- the modified Ampere's circuital law, also called the Ampere-Maxwell law: ∮B⋅dl=μ0iC+μ0ϵ0dtdΦE, stating the line integral of the magnetic field around any closed path is produced jointly by the conduction current iC and Maxwell's displacement-current correction term through the surface bounded by that path. Combined, these four equations mathematically guarantee that a changing E-field and a changing B-field can continuously regenerate one another and propagate as a self-sustaining electromagnetic wave -- the complete theoretical foundation from which the existence, speed, and transverse nature of electromagnetic waves all follow.
∮B⋅dl=μ0iC+μ0ϵ0dtdΦE -- the modified (Ampere-Maxwell) law.
✓Final answer
∮B⋅dl=μ0iC+μ0ϵ0dtdΦE=μ0(iC+id)
Step 1. The original Ampere's circuital law, ∮B⋅dl=μ0iC, only accounts for conduction current and fails for surfaces passing through the gap of a charging capacitor.
Step 2. Maxwell added the displacement current term id=ϵ0dΦE/dt to fix this, giving the modified law ∮B⋅dl=μ0(iC+id).
Step 3. Written out explicitly, this is ∮B⋅dl=μ0iC+μ0ϵ0dtdΦE, where iC is the conduction current and ΦE is the electric flux through the surface bounded by the loop.
Step 4. This equation, called the Ampere-Maxwell law, is the fourth of Maxwell's four equations, and reduces to the original Ampere's law whenever the electric flux is constant (steady current).
✓Final answer
∮B⋅dl=μ0iC+μ0ϵ0dtdΦE=μ0(iC+id)
Write the Ampere-Maxwell law, adding the displacement-current term to the original Ampere's law.
Omitting the epsilon_0 factor in front of dPhi_E/dt.
Writing the unmodified Ampere's law without the displacement current term.
Same / Similar Concept — real previous-year questions on the same or a closely similar concept, not this exact question.
CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL5 marks
Q.Write down Maxwell equations in integral form.
OR
Derive the equation for angle of deviation produced by a prism.
›Reveal solutionSolution
(a) Maxwell's four equations in integral form unify Gauss's laws (electric and magnetic), Faraday's law, and the Ampere-Maxwell law; (b) a prism's refractive index follows from its minimum-deviation geometry, n=sin[(A+Dm)/2]/sin(A/2). Both alternatives answered below.
(a) Maxwell's equations in integral form
1. Gauss's law for electricity. The total electric flux through any closed surface equals 1/ε0 times the enclosed charge:
∮E⋅dA=ε0qenc
2. Gauss's law for magnetism. The total magnetic flux through any closed surface is always zero (no isolated magnetic monopoles exist; field lines always form closed loops):
∮B⋅dA=0
3. Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction. The line integral of the electric field around any closed loop equals minus the rate of change of magnetic flux through it:
∮E⋅dl=−dtdΦB
4. Ampere-Maxwell law. The line integral of the magnetic field around any closed loop equals μ0 times the sum of the conduction current and the displacement current enclosed:
∮B⋅dl=μ0Ienc+μ0ε0dtdΦE
Together, these four equations fully describe classical electromagnetism, and their mutual coupling (a changing B creates E, and a changing E creates B) predicts self-sustaining electromagnetic waves travelling at c=1/μ0ε0.
(b) Angle of deviation and refractive index of a prism
1. Deviation.δ=i1+i2−A (using A=r1+r2).
2. Minimum deviation. As i1 varies, δ reaches a minimum Dm exactly when the ray path through the prism is symmetric: i1=i2 and r1=r2=A/2.
3. Refractive index. At minimum deviation, i1=2A+Dm; applying Snell's law at the first face (n=sini1/sinr1):
n=sin(2A)sin(2A+Dm)
✓Final answer
Maxwell's equations (integral form): Gauss's law (electric), Gauss's law (magnetic, =0), Faraday's law, and the Ampere-Maxwell law, as listed above.
Prism refractive index from minimum deviation: n=sin(2A)sin(2A+Dm).