PHY 302: Classical Electrodynamics I
3 credits | Prerequisites: PHY 102, 223 for Major; PHY 230 for Minor
Course rationale
This is a core course for physics major students. Classical Electrodynamics is a founding pillar of physics. The focus of the first of the two courses of Classical Electrodynamics is on time-independent phenomena in electricity and magnetism. Equipped with vector calculus this course describes different phenomena by using Maxwell’s equations
Course content
Electric Field: the concept of a vector field, Coulomb’s law, the electric field, continuous charge distribution, divergence of the electric field, Gauss’s law, application of Gauss’s law; Work and Energy in Electrostatics: introduction to potential, Poisson’s and Laplace’s equation, boundary conditions, the energy of a point and continuous charge distribution, conductors; Electrostatic Potential: Laplace’s equation in various dimensions, conductors, boundary condition and uniqueness theorems, Techniques to Solve Laplace’s Equation: separation of variables, method of images, multipole expansion; Polarization: dielectrics, induced diploes, polar molecules alignment, bound charges, filed inside a dielectric; Displacement Current: Gauss’s law in the presence of dielectrics, boundary conditions, susceptibility, permittivity, dielectric constant, boundary value problem with linear dielectrics, energy, and force; Magnetic Field: Lorentz force law, the magnetic field, and force, current, Biot-Savart law, steady current, the magnetic field of a steady current; Magnetic Vector Potential: divergence and curl of the magnetic field, Ampere’s law, vector potential, boundary condition, multiple expansion; Magnetic Fields in Matter: magnetization, diamagnets, paramagnets, ferromagnets, torque and force on the magnetic dipole, bound currents, the magnetic field inside matter, the auxiliary field H, magnetic susceptibility and permeability; Maxwell’s Equations: electromotive force, electromagnetic induction, Faraday’s law, induced electric field, inductance, Maxwell’s equation, magnetic charge; Conservation Laws: charge and energy, the continuity equation, Poynting’s theorem, momentum, Maxwell’s stress tensor, conservation of momentum and angular momentum
Course objectives
- Understand various concepts related to electricity and magnetism.
- Apply vector calculus to express the laws of electrodynamics.
- Use appropriate mathematical formalism to solve different problems of interest.
- Familiarize yourself with Maxwell’s equations in different forms.
- Understand the classical mechanics of electrodynamics.
References
- Introduction to Electrodynamics (4th edition) by David J. Griffiths
- Electricity and Magnetism (3rd edition) by Edward M. Purcell, and David J. Morin
- Classical Electrodynamics (2nd edition) by Hans Ohanian
- Classical Electrodynamics by Julian Schwinger, Lester L. Deraad Jr., Kimball A. Milton, Wu-yang Tsai, Joyce Norton