[Physics] Which form of Maxwell’s equations is fundamental, in integral form or differential form

electromagnetismmaxwell-equations

I am not sure which form of Maxwell's equations is fundamental, integral form or differential form. Imagine an ideal infinitely long solenoid. When a current is changing in time, can we detect classical effects outside a solenoid, for example generating a circular current around solenoid by Faraday's law. If the differential form is fundamental, we won't get any current, but the integral form is fundamental we will get a current.

Best Answer

If the differential form is fundamental, we won't get any current, but the integral form is fundamental we will get a current.

I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion, but it's not true. Both the differential and integral forms of Maxwell's equations are saying exactly the same thing. Either can be derived from the other, and both of them predict the exact same physical consequences in any situation.

Most physicists would say the differential form is more fundamental, but that's just an artifact of how we think about modern physics, in terms of fields which interact at specific points. It's really a philosophical issue, not a physical one, because it doesn't matter for the purpose of doing calculations which form you consider to be more fundamental.

In the specific situation you're asking about, with the solenoid, you will get a current in the loop around the solenoid. It may be easier to see that by using the integral form of Faraday's law, but the differential form makes the exact same prediction.

Let me demonstrate this explicitly. Suppose you have an ideal solenoid of radius $r_0$, with $n$ turns per unit length, oriented along the $z$ axis. Its magnetic field is given by

$$\vec{B} = \begin{cases}\mu_0 n I\hat{z} & r < r_0 \\ 0 & r > r_0\end{cases}$$

As you've noticed, this implies that $\nabla\times\vec{E} = 0$ outside the solenoid. Now, you might think that implies the integral $\oint\vec{E}\cdot\mathrm{d}\ell$ around a loop outside the solenoid, which gives the EMF, must be zero. But that's not actually the case. The relationship between $\nabla\times\vec{E}$ and $\oint\vec{E}\cdot\mathrm{d}\ell$ comes from Stokes' theorem, and it says

$$\oint_{\mathcal{C}}\vec{E}\cdot\mathrm{d}\ell = \iint_{\mathcal{S}}(\nabla\times\vec{E})\cdot\mathrm{d}^2\vec{A}$$

So the line integral around the loop is determined by the curl of $\vec{E}$ everywhere inside the loop, including inside the solenoid where

$$\nabla\times\vec{E} = -\mu_0 n \frac{\partial I}{\partial t}\hat{z}\quad(r < r_0)$$

Performing the integral gives you

$$\mathcal{E} = \oint_{\mathcal{C}}\vec{E}\cdot\mathrm{d}\ell = \iint_{\mathcal{S}}(\nabla\times\vec{E})\cdot\mathrm{d}^2\vec{A} = -\int_0^{2\pi}\int_{0}^{r_0}\mu_0 n \frac{\partial I}{\partial t}\hat{z}\cdot r\mathrm{d}r\,\mathrm{d}\theta\,\hat{z} = -\mu_0 \pi r_0^2 n\frac{\partial I}{\partial t}$$

so you can see that any time-varying current in the solenoid will create an EMF and induce a current.