Vector Analysis:

The quantities that we deal in electromagnetic theory may be either scalar or vectors [There are other class of physical quantities called Tensors: where magnitude and direction vary with co ordinate axes]. Scalars are quantities characterized by magnitude only and algebraic sign. A quantity that has direction as well as magnitude is called a vector. Both scalar and vector quantities are function of time and position . A field is a function that specifies a particular quantity everywhere in a region. Depending upon the nature of the quantity under consideration, the field may be a vector or a scalar field. Example of scalar field is the electric potential in a region while electric or magnetic fields at any point is the example of vector field.

A vector can be written as, , where, is the magnitude and is the unit vector which has unit magnitude and same direction as that of .

Two vector and are added together to give another vector . We have

................(1.1)

Let us see the animations in the next pages for the addition of two vectors, which has two rules:

1: Parallelogram law     and         2: Head & tail rule