PHY 272 (PHY 272 H)-
Spring 2015
Instructor:
Luis A.
Orozco, Computer and Space Science Building, room 2201
Class hours: TuTh 12:30pm - 1:45pm, F 12:00 pm –
12:50 pm
Classroom: Physics 1410
Office
hours: Monday
4:00 to 5:00 PM, Tuesday 11:00 to 12:00 AM
Grader: Adam Zeitlin
Textbook:
"Electricity
and Magnetism", E. Purcell & D. Morin, 3rd edition. The lectures will
not follow the book closely and the book (either edition) is only recommended,
not required. The level of mathematical sophistication required in this class
is somewhat above what most students start the semester with. I will try to
help you with multivariable and vector calculus during the semester and a good
source for these topics is the free, online textbook "Mathematical Tools
for Physics", by J. Nearing, that can be found here. Chapters
8, 9 and 13 are the relevant ones.
Grades: The grade will be based on frequent homework (10%), and
three in-class exams (30% each).
Syllabus
and objectives: The goal of this class is to introduce the concept of
electromagnetic fields and the mathematics used in their description,
understand the laws governing them (Maxwell's equations) and apply these laws
to a large variety of situations arising in several branches of physics,
astrophysics and technology. The specific topics covered and the level of
sophistication will be comparable to Purcell's book but it's unlikely we will
be able to cover all chapters, in which case we will skip most of electric
oscillating current circuits (discussed in depth in PHY273), dielectrics and
magnetic materials.
Electrostatics
Charge and electric field
Gauss' law; flux
Electric potential; line integral; gradients, divergence and curl;
divergence and Stokes theorem
Conductors
Magnetostatics
Currents and Ohm's law; energy dissipation
Ampere's law
Electromagnetic
induction
Faraday's law; inductance and self-inductance
Alternating current circuits
Maxwell's
equations
Displacement current
Maxwell's equation in integral and differential form
Electromagnetic waves; energy transport
Electric
and magnetic fields in matter
Electric dipoles, polarization and dielectrics
Magnetic dipoles, magnetization, ferromagnetics,
paramagnetics and diamagnetics
Relativity
Origins of relativity and the relativistic invariance of Maxwell's
equations
Useful
links:
Some people like " Div, Grad, Curl, and All That: An Informal
Text on Vector Calculus", Fourth Edition, H. M. Schey.
Make sure you play with the applet to find the field
configurations generated by different charges distributions. It is the best way
to get some intuition for the Coulomb law. There are other, better versions
around the web. Let me know if you find a particularly good one.
Academic
Integrity: The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally
recognized Code
of Academic Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code
sets standards for
academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. As
a student you
are responsible for upholding these standards for this course. It is very
important for you to be
aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and
plagiarism. For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the
Student Honor Council, please visit
http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/whatis.html.