Physics II / Electromagnetic Induction
Practice question · True or false

An electric field induced by a changing magnetic flux can be described by a scalar potential.

Hints
  1. What is the curl of the induced electric field?
  2. A field with non-zero curl cannot be a gradient.
Show the answer

False

Why

False, the induced field has ×E=B/t0\nabla\times\mathbf{E} = -\partial\mathbf{B}/\partial t \neq 0, and only a curl-free field can be written as a gradient. This is exactly where the electrostatic potential picture stops working.

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