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SYLLABUS Physics 431 Electricity and Magnetism Physics 431 Fall, 2006, TR 8:10-9:25 Rm 512 Physics Text: Introduction to Electrodynamics, 3rd Edition David. J. Griffiths Instructor: Dr. Tom Callcott Office Hours: TR 9:30-12 and by appointment Room 611, SERF Phone: 974-8944 E-mail: [email protected] Introduction: This intermediate level course in classical electricity and magnetism is one of the core course of the undergraduate curriculum in Physics. The course is challenging because you will be learning not only new physics related to electricity and magnetism itself, but also more general concepts and mathematical methods related to the description of fields. In particular: • You will learn E&M at the level that it is most often used in experimental physics and practical applications. • You will get your first serious introduction to the field concepts that are used almost universally in more advanced theory. • You will learn and apply the mathematical methods of vector calculus, which is the natural mathematical language needed to describe fields. In addition, E&M provides an important bridge to many topics in modern physics. • As Einstein showed in his two Relativity papers of 1905, E&M is the only classical theory that is relativistically invariant, so that it provides many insights into special relativity. It may be more accurate to say that special relativity provides insight into E&M because you can, for example, combine Coulomb’s law for the electric field of a stationary charge with relativistic transformations to a frame in which the charge is moving to generate the equations for both the electric and magnetic fields of the moving charge. • Einstein’s Photoelectric Effect paper of 1905 showed that the electric field is quantized. He did not pursue this lead, but instead concentrated on General Relativity. Forty years later, Feynman and others succeeded in quantizing the electromagnetic field in the theory of Quantum Electrodynamics (QED), which provides the prototype of all later quantum field theories. The implication of this is that Classical E & M is an approximate theory valid in the many photon limit. Course Organization: This is a two semester course. In Phys 431, we will cover the first 6 chapters of Griffiths’ book, which develops mathematical techniques and describes static Electric and Magnetic fields in vacuum and in matter. Physics 432 covers the remaining chapters of the book. These chapters treat time dependent fields and the unification of Electric and Magnetic phenomena that was accomplished by Maxwell and applies this unified theory to the description of moving charges, electromagnetic waves, radiation phenomena, and the relativistic description of E&M. Because Maxwell did not have the modern formulation of vector calculus at his disposal, Maxwell’s E & M was very difficult to understand and very few did. Oliver Heaviside was particularly important in developing the formulation of the theory that we use today. Homework: Homework will be assigned at approximately two week intervals. It will be graded and will count as 25% of the class grade. The homework will be graded by a graduate student teaching assistant. It is very important that you work diligently on the homework and not only because it counts for much of your grade in the class. The notation and structure of field theory is elegant and compact and greatly aids in understanding the coupling of electric and magnetic fields, but it takes practice to learn how to reduce the equations to a form useful in applications. At various points in the course, we will develop formalisms that apply to electrostatics, magnetostatics, electrical circuits, optics, and the radiation of charged particles. Each of these is the foundation of a separate technical field, with its own set of mathematical methods. In the homework problems, you will find your way to the starting points for some of these special methods, but of course will not be able to explore them in depth. Tests: There will be a one hour midterm test covering Chapters 1-3 of the book and a final exam covering Chapters 1-6. On the final exam, approximately 1/3 of the exam will be devoted to the first half of the course and 2/3 to the second half. The midterm will count 25% of the course grade and the final exam will count as 50%. The midterm will be an in-class exam and the final will be a take home exam. I will grade the exam papers. The midterm exam will be given in early October (probably Oct. 10) and the final exam is scheduled for 8:00 AM, Dec. 14. The final exam will be distributed early and you will be asked to return the exam on Dec. 14.