Displacement Current — Maxwell's modification
EM Waves
8
JEE Qs
8%
Hard
60
min
Master the physical significance of displacement current and its role in completing Ampere's Law to understand the origin of electromagnetic waves.
🧮 Key Formulas
✅ Key Points for JEE
- 1Ampere's Circuital Law is inconsistent for time-varying electric fields, failing to predict a magnetic field in regions with no conduction current, such as between charging capacitor plates.
- 2Maxwell modified Ampere's Law by introducing the displacement current (I_d = epsilon0 * d(Phi_E)/dt) to ensure continuity of current and the generation of magnetic fields by time-varying electric fields.
- 3Displacement current is not a flow of charge but a 'fictitious' current arising from a time-varying electric flux, which produces a magnetic field identical to a conduction current of the same magnitude.
- 4In a charging/discharging capacitor circuit, the displacement current between the plates is equal in magnitude to the conduction current flowing into/out of the plates, ensuring the total current (I_c + I_d) is continuous across any arbitrary surface.
- 5The existence of displacement current is fundamental to the self-propagation of electromagnetic waves, as a changing electric field creates a changing magnetic field, and vice-versa.
⚠️ Common Mistakes
- ✕Mistaking displacement current for actual charge flow or a conduction current, leading to incorrect assumptions about charge transport.
- ✕Incorrectly applying Ampere-Maxwell Law by only considering conduction current (I_c) in situations where displacement current (I_d) is also present, or vice-versa.
- ✕Failing to correctly identify the surface for calculating electric flux (Phi_E) when applying the Amperian loop, especially in complex geometries.
📝 Practice Questions
See allQ39.Arrange the following in the ascending order of wavelength (λ) : (A) Microwaves (λ1) (B) Ultraviolet rays (λ2) (C) Infrared rays (λ3) (D) X-rays (λ4) Choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below : (1) λ4 < λ3 < λ2 < λ1 (2) λ3 < λ4 < λ2 < λ1 (3) λ4 < λ3 < λ1 < λ2 (4) λ4 < λ2 < λ3 < λ1
Q38.The magnetic field of an E.M. wave is given by B = ( √32 ^i + 12 ^j)30 corresponding electric field in S.I. units is : → → (1) 1 (2) 3 1 E = cos [ω (t −zc )] ( 2^i −√32 ^j)30c sin [ω (t −zc )] E = ( 4^i + 4 ^j)30c → → √3 (3) (4) E = + E = sin [ω (t + zc )] sin [ω (t + zc )] ( 12^i 2 ^j)30c ( √32 ^i −12 ^j)30c
Q37.The electric field of an electromagnetic wave in free space is → E = 57 cos [7.5 × 106t −5 × 10−3(3x + 4y)](4^i −3^j)N/C . The associated magnetic field in Tesla is ⇀ 57 (1) B= cos [7.5 × 106t −5 × 10−3(3x + 4y)](^k) 3×108 → (2) 57 B = − cos [7.5 × 106t −5 × 10−3(3x + 4y)](^k) 3×108 → (3) 57 B = − cos [7.5 × 106t −5 × 10−3(3x + 4y)](5^k) 3×108 → (4) 57 B = cos [7.5 × 106t −5 × 10−3(3x + 4y)](5^k) 3×108
Q39.The equation of a transverse wave travelling along a string is y(x, t) = 4.0 sin [20 × 10−3x + 600t]mm , where x is in mm and t is in second. The velocity of the wave is : 2025 (23 Jan Shift 2) JEE Main Previous Year Paper (1) −60 m/s (2) −30 m/s (3) +30 m/s (4) +60 m/s
Q38.Due to presence of an em-wave whose electric component is given by E = 100 sin(ωt −kx)NC−1 , a cylinder of length 200 cm holds certain amount of em-energy inside it. If another cylinder of same length but half diameter than previous one holds same amount of em-energy, the magnitude of the electric field of the corresponding em-wave should be modified as (1) 400 sin(ωt −kx)NC−1 (2) 200 sin(ωt −kx)NC−1 (3) 50 sin(ωt −kx)NC−1 (4) 25 sin(ωt −kx)NC−1
Q30.Given below are two statements : one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R). Assertion (A) : Electromagnetic waves carry energy but not momentum. Reason ( R): Mass of a photon is zero. In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below : (1) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct (2) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the explanation of (A) correct explanation of (A) (3) (A) is false but (R) is true (4) (A) is true but ( R) is false
NCERT Chapters
- Class 12 Physics Ch 8: Electromagnetic Waves
- Class 12 Physics Ch 4: Moving Charges and Magnetism
- Class 12 Physics Ch 2: Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance