Spring Term, 2001

Lecture: 9:50 - 11:00 MWF, Science Hall 040

Professor: Matthew R. Stoneking

Office: Science Hall 221

Phone: X6724

email: stonekim

Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:30 PM-3:00 PM or by appointment

Catalog course description: Develops and explores Maxwell's equations: charge and current densities, particle motions, electrostatics, magnetostatics, induction, Maxwell's equations, electromagnetic waves, responses of matter. Prerequisites: Physics 12 and Mathematics 21. Offered every year.

Text:

Introduction to Electrodynamics, Third Edition, by David. J. Griffiths, Prentice-Hall (Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 1989). This is truly one of the best-written undergraduate physics texts around. Read it. Enjoy it.

The Theory of the Electromagnetic Field, by David M. Cook, Prentice-Hall (1975). A fine introductory E&M text written by a fine member of the Lawrence faculty. Out of print.

Electricity and Magnetism, by E.M. Purcell, McGraw-Hill (1985). This is the 2nd volume in the Berkeley Physics Course series. It is a commonly used introductory E&M text. Can be found in SH 040.

Electromagnetic Fields and Waves, by Lorrain, Corson, and Lorrain, W. H. Freeman and Company (1988). This text is an intermediate undergraduate text. An older edition is on the shelf in SH 040.

Classical Electrodynamics, by J. D. Jackson, John Wiley and Sons (1962). This is the standard graduate level E&M text. It is a classic, but treats the subject very abstractly.

The Feynman Lectures on Physics, volume II, by Feynman, Leighton, and Sands, Addison-Wesley (1964). The Feynman lectures are required reading for all serious physicists. Can be found in SH 040.

Grading policy: Grades will be determined from the following components, weighted as indicated:

Exams: There will be two closed book, one hour midterm exams, and a comprehensive three hour final exam.

Problem sets: Problem sets will be assigned on a (roughly) weekly basis. Note the weighting of the problem sets toward the final grade. This reflects the importance attached to completing problem assignments. You are expected and encouraged to work together on the problem sets, but must write up your own solutions.

Presentations, Attendance and Participation: This component of your grade reflects the importance of actively participating in the class. Attendance will not be taken explicitly, but you are expected to ask questions in class, respond to my questions, and show evidence of having read the textbook. Each student will also have the opportunity to present one or two problem solutions to the rest of the class some time during the term.

• Chapter 2: Electrostatics
• Chapter 3: Special Techniques
• Chapter 4: Electric Fields in Matter

• Chapter 5: Magnetostatics
• Chapter 6: Magnetic Fields in Matter

• Chapter 7: Electrodynamics
• Chapter 9: Electromagnetic Waves

• Overview of the course
• The Laws of Electrostatics

• The electric field
• Continuous charge distributions

Read Griffiths 2.1.1-2.2.1 (pp. 58-69). [and from chapter 1, Griffiths 1.1 (pp. 1-12)]

• Electric field lines
• Gauss' Law (integral form)

Read Griffiths 2.2.2-2.2.3 (pp. 69-74) [and from chapter 1, Griffiths 1.2.1 1.2.4,1.3.1-1.3.4 (pp. 13-18, 24-33), especially the divergence and the divergence theorem]

• The divergence theorem
• Gauss’ Law (differential form)
• Applications of Gauss’ Law

Read Griffiths 2.2.4-2.3.4 (pp. 76-86)[and from chapter 1, Griffiths 1.2.5-1.2.7, 1.3.5-1.3.6 (pp. 19-24, 34-38)]

• Electric potential
• Stokes’ theorem and the curl of E
• Poisson’s equation
• Laplace’s equation

Read Griffiths 2.3.5-2.5.4 (pp. 87-106) [and from chapter 1, Griffiths 1.4.1-1.4.2 (pp. 38-44)]

• Conductors
• Electrostatic boundary conditions
• Capacitance
• Electrostatic energy

Problem presentation day

Read Griffiths 3.1.1-3.1.6, 3.3.1 (pp. 110-121, 127-136)

• Properties of solutions to Laplace’s equation
• Uniqueness theorems
• Separation of variables (Cartesian coordinates)

Read Griffiths 3.3.2 (pp. 137-144)

• Separation of variables (spherical coordinates)
• Example: Conducting sphere in uniform E field

Read Griffiths 3.4 (pp. 146-155)

• Multipole expansion

Read Griffiths 4.1 (pp. 160-166) [and from chapter 1, Griffiths 1.5 (pp. 45-51)]

• Numerical solutions to Laplace’s equation

Read Griffiths 4.2.1-4.4.1 (pp. 166-184)

• Polarization
• Bound charges
• Electric displacement
• Linear dielectrics
• electric susceptibility/dielectric permittivity/dielectric constant

Read Griffiths 4.4.2-4.4.3 (pp. 186-193)

• Examples of problems with dielectrics

Read Griffiths 5.1-5.2 (pp. 202-219)

• The laws of magnetostatics
• Oersted’s observation
• Lorentz force
• Magnetic field
• Biot-Savart law
• Definition of the Ampere

Read Griffiths 5.3.1-5.3.2 (pp. 221-224)

• Current density and the continuity equation
• Magnetic field lines
• Ampere’s Law
• Divergence of B

• Applications of Ampere’s law

Read Griffiths 5.4 (pp. 234-246)[and from chapter 1, Griffiths 1.6 (pp. 52-54)]

• Magnetic vector potential
• Multipole expansion
• Magnetic dipole moment
• A little bit of quantum mechanics

No class on Friday 11 May: Midterm Reading Period

Read Griffiths 6.1-6.4 (pp. 255-282)

• Magnetization
• Paramagnetism, diamagnetism, ferromagnetism
• Bound currents
• The auxiliary field

• Example of a problem with magnetization
• Ohm’s law, resistivity and resistance
• Joule heating
• Electromotive force

Read Griffiths 7.2.1-7.2.2 (pp. 301-309)

• Motional emf
• Faraday’s law
• Applications of Faraday’s law

Read Griffiths 7.2.3-7.2.4 (pp. 310-320)

• Inductance
• Magnetic energy

No class on Monday 28 May: Memorial Day

• Displacement current
• Maxwell’s equations

• The wave equation
• Electromagnetic waves in vacuum

• Electromagnetic waves in dielectric media
• Index of refraction
• Radiation

Catch-up / get-ahead / problem presentation day

Review for Final Exam