In the usual bookwork treatment, it is easy to show that the differential and integral forms of Maxwell's equations are equivalent using Gauss's and Stokes's theorems. I have always thought that neither version is more fundamental than the other and each has its place in solving problems. (See also Which form of Maxwell's equations is fundamental, in integral form or differential form? )
But: I have a conceptual problem with applying the integral forms of these equations in cases where there is time-dependence and the "size" of the loop or area means there is a significant light travel time across the regions considered compared with the timescale on which fields vary.
e.g. Suppose there is a time-varying current in a wire $I(t)$ and I wish to find the fields a long way from the wire. My first instinct is that this ought to be solved using the inhomogeneous wave equations to give A- and V-fields that are dependent on the retarded time - hence leading to the E- and B-fields.
But what about using Ampere's law in integral form? What is the limit of its validity? If we write $$ \oint \vec{B}(r,t)\cdot d\vec{l} = \mu_0 I(t) + \mu_0 \int \epsilon_0 \frac{\partial \vec{E}(r,t)}{\partial t} \cdot d\vec{A}$$ then presumably the $t$ that is defined on each side of the equation cannot be the same, since a change in $I$ at time $t$, presumably leads to a change in $B(r)$ at a time $t + r/c$? I suppose one does not care about this so long as the timescale for a current change is $\gg r/c$.
So my question is: Are the integral forms of Maxwell's equations inherently limited by this approximation, or is there a way of formulating them so that they take account of the finite size of a region in cases where the fields are time-variable?
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