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Section 16.

9: The Divergence Theorem


The Divergence Theorem is a multivariable analogue of the Fundamental Theorem of
Calculus. It says that the integral of the flux density over a simple solid region E equals the
flux integral through the surface S, which represents the boundary of the region.
Some examples of simple solid regions are pictured at right: the region bounded by an
ellipsoid, the region bounded by a cylinder and two planes, and the region bounded by a
rectangular box. For a formal definition of a simple solid region, refer to the text.
We’ll intuitively develop the Divergence Theorem by noticing that we have two ways to
calculate the total flux of a vector field 𝐹𝐹⃑ out of a simple solid region E:

1. Calculate the flux of 𝐹𝐹⃑ across S, where S has positive (outward) orientation:

𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐹𝐹⃑ 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐸𝐸 = � 𝐹𝐹⃑ ∙ 𝑑𝑑𝑆𝑆⃑


𝑆𝑆
2. Using 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝐹𝐹⃑ , which gives the rate of outward flux per unit volume at any point in E:

First we divide E into a stack of small boxes, each having volume ∆𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
(the triple subscript indicating the location of the box in the stack).
∆𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
Then, considering just one such box, we have the following:

𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐹𝐹⃑ 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 ≈ 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝐹𝐹⃑ ∆𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖

The natural next step would be to add the contributions of all the boxes:

𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐹𝐹⃑ 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐸𝐸 ≈ �(𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝐹𝐹⃑ ∆𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 )


𝑖𝑖,𝑗𝑗,𝑘𝑘
Then, in the limit as ∆𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 → 0,

𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐹𝐹⃑ 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐸𝐸 = � 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝐹𝐹⃑ 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑


𝐸𝐸
Equating the results from the two approaches gives

𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐹𝐹⃑ 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐸𝐸 = � 𝐹𝐹⃑ ∙ 𝑑𝑑𝑆𝑆⃑ = � 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝐹𝐹⃑ 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑆𝑆 𝐸𝐸

This statement is the conclusion of the Divergence Theorem, formally presented on the next page.

You may be surprised that the flux through the interior “walls” of the
small boxes doesn’t seem to contribute to the total flux out of E. The
reason is that these fluxes cancel each other out (see figure at right).

1
2
�⃗ , and S, the surface
Exercise 1: Consider the vector field 𝐹𝐹⃗ (𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦, 𝑧𝑧) = 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥𝚤𝚤⃗ + (𝑦𝑦 2 + 𝑒𝑒 𝑥𝑥𝑧𝑧 )𝚥𝚥⃗ + sin(𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥) 𝑘𝑘
of the region bounded by the parabolic cylinder 𝑧𝑧 = 1 − 𝑥𝑥 2 and the planes 𝑧𝑧 = 0, 𝑦𝑦 = 0, and 𝑦𝑦 = 2 − 𝑧𝑧.

a. Use the Divergence Theorem to evaluate ∬𝑆𝑆 𝐹𝐹⃗ ∙ 𝑑𝑑𝑆𝑆⃗.

b. If I decided not to use the Divergence Theorem here, what would I have to do to evaluate
∬ 𝐹𝐹⃗ ∙ 𝑑𝑑𝑆𝑆⃗ ?
𝑆𝑆

2
�⃗
Exercise 2: Use the Divergence Theorem to calculate the flux of 𝐹𝐹⃗ (𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦, 𝑧𝑧) = 3𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 2 𝚤𝚤⃗ + 𝑥𝑥𝑒𝑒 𝑧𝑧 𝚥𝚥⃗ + 𝑧𝑧 3 𝑘𝑘
2 2
across S, the surface of the solid bounded by the cylinder 𝑦𝑦 + 𝑧𝑧 = 1 and the planes 𝑥𝑥 = −1, 𝑥𝑥 = 2.

If 𝐹𝐹⃗ represents the rate of fluid flow per unit area, then 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝐹𝐹⃗ (𝑃𝑃0 ) represents the net rate of outward flux
per unit volume (flux density) at 𝑃𝑃0 .
Case A: If the field vectors that end near 𝑃𝑃0 are shorter than the vectors that start near 𝑃𝑃0 , then
the net flow is outward near 𝑃𝑃0 , and 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝐹𝐹⃗ (𝑃𝑃0 ) > 0. We say 𝑃𝑃0 is a source in this case.
Case B: If the field vectors that end near 𝑃𝑃0 are longer than the vectors that start near 𝑃𝑃0 , then
the net flow is inward near 𝑃𝑃0 , and 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝐹𝐹⃗ (𝑃𝑃0 ) < 0. We say 𝑃𝑃0 is a sink in this case.

Exercise 3: A vector field 𝐹𝐹⃗ is shown. Use the interpretation of divergence presented above to classify
each point as a source or a sink.
a. 𝑃𝑃1

b. 𝑃𝑃2

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