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ELECTROMAGNETISM
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Course Name
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Electromagnetism
Course Code
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PHY2105
Credit hours
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3
Course Description
This course is offered to undergraduate physics majors, in the Bachelor of Science programme of Makerere
University. The following are the major topics:
 Electrostatics
 Stationary electric fields in conducting media
 Magnetostatic field laws
 Maxwell’s equations
 Orthogonality of E, B and k
 Poynting’s vector
 Plane electromagnetic waves in matter
5. Course Objectives
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
 Find the gradient of a scalar function, divergence of the curl of a vector function;
 Apply Gauss’s law of electrostatics to find electric field intensities due to symmetric charge distributions;
 Solve electrostatic problems involving forces on and energy stored in dielectric media in an electric field;
 Solve Laplace’s and Poisson’s equations;
 Explain electric conduction in metals, state and apply the equation of continuity;
 Derive expressions for the capacitances of cylindrical and spherical capacitors;
 Apply Biot-Sarvart’s law to find magnetic flux densities due to simple current distributions;
 Calculate magnetic force between current-carrying conductors of simple geometry;
 Solve magnetostatic problems involving magnetic scalar vector potentials;
 Explain magnetization in terms of atomic magnetic dipoles, and relate magnetization, magnetic field
intensity and magnetic flux density in linear and isotropic magnetic media;
 Apply the boundary conditions on the field vectors B and H;
 Apply the laws of electromagnetic induction to problems involving eddy currents, self and mutual
induction, and derive Neumann’s formula;
 State Maxwell’s equations of electromagnetism and derive the wave equations for B and H in dielectrics;
 Derive the relation between time-averaged Poynting’s vector and the energy density of the electromagnetic
field;
 Explain what is meant by total internal reflection and its application to propagation of radio waves.
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Course Outline:
Electrostatics
Poisson’s and Laplace’s equation for solution of simple potential problems in cartesian spherical and cylindrical
coordinates.
Stationary electric fields in conducting media
Conservation of change and continuity equation, calculation of resistance of a coaxial cable.
Magnetostatic field laws
Faraday’s law; ampere’s law; mutual inductance; magnetic vector potential.
Maxwell’s equations
Solutions in terms of electromagnetic waves in free space.
Orthogonality of E, B and k, Poynting’s vector in free space.
Plane electromagnetic waves in matter
Solutions of the wave equations in conducting and non conducting media, skin-depth.
7. Reading List
Electromagnetism: Notes by E.J.K.B. Banda
Fundamentals of Electricity and magnetism: by A. Kip.
Electormagnetic fields and Waves: by Lorrain P. and Corson, D.R.
Vector Analysis: Schaum’s Outline series.