Course Meeting Times
Lectures: 4 sessions / week, 1 hour / session
Course Description
This course runs parallel to 8.02, but assumes that students have some knowledge of vector calculus. The class introduces Maxwell's equations, in both differential and integral form, along with electrostatic and magnetic vector potential, and the properties of dielectrics and magnetic materials. The class also touches on special relativity and the properties of electromagnetic waves.
Prerequisites
Physics I (8.01), Multivariable Calculus (18.02)
Textbooks
Main Text
Griffiths, David J. Introduction to Electrodynamics. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. ISBN: 9780138053260.
Reference Texts
Purcell, Edward M. "Electricity and Magnetism." In Berkeley Physics Course. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1984. ISBN: 9780070049086.
Feynman, Richard P., Robert B. Leighton, and Matthew Sands. The Feynman Lectures on Physics. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 2005. ISBN: 9780805390452.
Grading Policy
| ACTIVITIES | PERCENTAGES |
|---|---|
| Problem sets | 25% |
| Exam 1 | 15% |
| Exam 2 | 15% |
| Exam 3 | 15% |
| Final exam | 25% |
| Class participation | 5% |
Calendar
| WEEK # | SES # | TOPICS | KEY DATES |
|---|---|---|---|
Week 1Introduction, electric field | 1 | Intro: Electrostatics | |
| 2 | Electrostatics problem solving | ||
Week 2Mathematical background | 3 | Vector review | |
| 4 | Divergence, gradient, curl | ||
| 5 | Integral calculus, Dirac delta function | ||
| 6 | Dirac delta function, curvilinear coordinates | ||
Week 3Gauss's law and electric potential | 7 | More curvilinear coordinates: Div and grad in spherical coordinates; Gauss's law | |
| 8 | Applications of Gauss's law: Field lines, point charge, Gaussian surfaces | Problem set 1 due | |
| 9 | Applications of Gauss's law: Line charge, plane charge | ||
| 10 | Electric potential; Poisson's equation; Laplace's equation | ||
Week 4Work and energy in electrostatics; conductors and capacitors | 11 | Electrostatic boundary conditions; conductors | |
| 12 | Capacitors, dielectrics, work | Problem set 2 due | |
| 13 | Capacitors, work, first and second uniqueness theorems | ||
Week 5The method of images and multipole expansion | 14 | Method of images | |
| 15 | Parallel plate capacitor, electric dipole | Problem set 3 due | |
| 16 | Separation of variables | ||
Week 6Exam 1 | 17 | Review for exam 1 | |
| 18 | Exam 1 | ||
Week 7Magnetostatics and special relativity | 19 | Dielectrics | |
| 20 | Magnetostatics, electric currents | ||
| 21 | Special relativity | Problem set 4 due | |
| 22 | Special relativity (cont.) | ||
Week 8Magnetic fields | 23 | Electric fields and force | |
| 24 | Magnetic fields; Lorenz force law | ||
| 25 | Cycloidal motion; Biot-Savart law | Problem set 5 due | |
| 26 | Biot-Savart law (cont.); Ampere's law | Problem set 6 due | |
Week 9Magnetic fields; Maxwell's laws; magnetic properties of materials | 27 | Maxwell's equations | |
| 28 | Induction | ||
| 29 | Magnetic boundary conditions; magnetic dipole | ||
| 30 | Magnetization; magnetic properties of materials | ||
Week 10Exam 2; magnetized materials | 31 | Review for exam 2 | |
| 32 | Exam 2 | ||
| 33 | Ampere's law in magnetized materials | ||
| 34 | Bound current; ferromagnetism | ||
Week 11Circuits | 35 | Circuits | |
| 36 | Circuits; undriven RC circuits; Thevenin's theorem | ||
| 37 | Thevenin's theorem (cont.); Ohm's law; Faraday's law; Lenz's law | Problem set 7 due | |
| 38 | Alternating current circuits | ||
Week 12Circuits (cont.) | 39 | Inductance | |
| 40 | Undriven RLC circuits | ||
| 41 | Driven RLC circuits; Ladder impedance | Problem set 8 due | |
Week 13Maxwell; momentum | 42 | Maxwell's equations | |
| 43 | Poynting vector; Maxwell stress tensor | ||
| 44 | Conservation of momentum; Minkowski force | ||
| 45 | Review for exam 3 | ||
Week 14Electromagnetic waves | 46 | Exam 3 | |
| 47 | Electromagnetic waves | ||
| 48 | Electromagnetic waves (cont.) | ||
| 49 | Topics for next week; relativity | ||
Week 15Advanced topics in relativity; quantum | 50 | Faraday tensor; Maxwell; General relativity | |
| 51 | Quantum | Problem set 9 due | |
| 52 | Schrodinger equation |