Maxwell stress tensor
E15195
The Maxwell stress tensor is a mathematical construct in classical electromagnetism that represents how electric and magnetic fields transmit mechanical stresses, such as pressure and tension, through space and matter.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Maxwell stress tensor canonical | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T130768 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Maxwell stress tensor Context triple: [James Clerk Maxwell, knownFor, Maxwell stress tensor]
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A.
Maxwell's equations
Maxwell's equations are the fundamental set of four equations in classical electromagnetism that describe how electric and magnetic fields are generated and interact with charges and currents.
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B.
Einstein tensor
The Einstein tensor is a mathematical object in general relativity that encapsulates how spacetime curvature is related to the distribution of matter and energy.
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C.
Einstein field equations
The Einstein field equations are the core mathematical framework of general relativity, relating the curvature of spacetime to the distribution of matter and energy.
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D.
A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism
A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism is James Clerk Maxwell’s foundational 19th-century work that systematically formulated the classical theory of electromagnetism, including the famous Maxwell’s equations.
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E.
Navier–Stokes equations
The Navier–Stokes equations are fundamental partial differential equations in fluid mechanics that describe how the velocity field of a fluid evolves under forces like pressure and viscosity.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Maxwell stress tensor Target entity description: The Maxwell stress tensor is a mathematical construct in classical electromagnetism that represents how electric and magnetic fields transmit mechanical stresses, such as pressure and tension, through space and matter.
-
A.
Maxwell's equations
Maxwell's equations are the fundamental set of four equations in classical electromagnetism that describe how electric and magnetic fields are generated and interact with charges and currents.
-
B.
Einstein tensor
The Einstein tensor is a mathematical object in general relativity that encapsulates how spacetime curvature is related to the distribution of matter and energy.
-
C.
Einstein field equations
The Einstein field equations are the core mathematical framework of general relativity, relating the curvature of spacetime to the distribution of matter and energy.
-
D.
A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism
A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism is James Clerk Maxwell’s foundational 19th-century work that systematically formulated the classical theory of electromagnetism, including the famous Maxwell’s equations.
-
E.
Navier–Stokes equations
The Navier–Stokes equations are fundamental partial differential equations in fluid mechanics that describe how the velocity field of a fluid evolves under forces like pressure and viscosity.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
concept in classical electromagnetism
ⓘ
mathematical construct ⓘ physical quantity ⓘ tensor field ⓘ |
| appearsIn |
classical field theory textbooks
ⓘ
electromagnetism textbooks ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
electric fields
ⓘ
magnetic fields ⓘ material media ⓘ vacuum ⓘ |
| coordinateSystem | often expressed in Cartesian coordinates ⓘ |
| describes |
electromagnetic stress
ⓘ
momentum flux of electromagnetic field ⓘ pressure due to electromagnetic fields ⓘ tension due to electromagnetic fields ⓘ |
| domain | electromagnetism ⓘ |
| encodes |
flow of electromagnetic momentum
ⓘ
mechanical stresses in electromagnetic fields ⓘ |
| followsFrom |
Noether theorem applied to translational invariance of electromagnetic field
ⓘ
conservation of momentum in electromagnetic fields ⓘ |
| generalizedBy | electromagnetic energy-momentum tensor in special relativity ⓘ |
| hasAlternativeFormulation | covariant energy-momentum tensor form ⓘ |
| hasComponentType | Cartesian tensor components ⓘ |
| hasDimension |
force per unit area
ⓘ
pressure ⓘ |
| hasRank | second-order tensor ⓘ |
| hasSymmetry | symmetric tensor in vacuum ⓘ |
| introducedInField | 19th-century electromagnetism ⓘ |
| isPartOf | classical field theory formalism ⓘ |
| mathematicalForm | 3×3 matrix of field components ⓘ |
| namedAfter | James Clerk Maxwell ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Lorentz force
ⓘ
Maxwell's equations ⓘ
surface form:
Maxwell equations
Poynting vector ⓘ electromagnetic energy-momentum tensor ⓘ |
| relates | surface integral of stress to total electromagnetic force ⓘ |
| usedBy |
electrical engineers
ⓘ
optical engineers ⓘ physicists ⓘ |
| usedFor |
analyzing forces in capacitors and inductors
ⓘ
analyzing optical trapping forces ⓘ analyzing radiation pressure on surfaces ⓘ computing net electromagnetic force on a body ⓘ computing torque due to electromagnetic fields ⓘ |
| usedIn |
classical electrodynamics
ⓘ
continuum mechanics of electromagnetic media ⓘ electromagnetic force calculations ⓘ electromagnetic momentum conservation laws ⓘ electromagnetic radiation pressure calculations ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: Maxwell stress tensor Description of subject: The Maxwell stress tensor is a mathematical construct in classical electromagnetism that represents how electric and magnetic fields transmit mechanical stresses, such as pressure and tension, through space and matter.
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.