The electromagnetic field theory is a fundamental subject for the electrical
engineering students. The student should be acquainted with a quite knowledge in
differential and integral calculus, differential equations, vector analysis, matrix algebra,
and complex numbers in order to understand the subject of electromagnetics and be able
to analyze the behavior of electromagnetic fields in various media. The knowledge of
the vector analysis is essential in the analysis of electromagnetic problems. This first
chapter of the book is focusing on the important concepts and techniques in the vector
analysis that are required to understand the topics of the electromagnetic fields in the
later chapters of the book. The chapter covers the topics and concepts in the vector
analysis including vector algebra, orthogonal coordinate systems, vector differentiation
operators, and vector integration. The chapter also introduces the scalar and vector field
concepts, in addition to the divergence and Stokes’ theorems. The chapter includes
numerous illustrative examples covering each topic in the chapter, in addition to
miscellaneous solved problems supported by illustrative figures to enhance the student
problems solving skills. The chapter is ended by numerous homework problems
covering the topics of the chapter.
Keywords: Curl, curvilinear orthogonal coordinate, divergence, divergence
theorem, flux, gradient, Laplacian, position vector, right-hand rule, scalar, scalar
field, scalar product, Stokes’ Theorem, vector, vector field, unit vector, vector
product.
