P332 is a three credit-hour lecture course which is a continuation of
P331. It can
be best described in a direct quote from Griffith's text: "... we have
assembled electrodynamics piece by piece, and
now, with Maxwell's equations in their final form, the theory is complete.
There are no more laws to be learned, no further generalizations to be
considered, and no lurking (with perhaps one
exception) no lurking inconsistencies to be resolved.... But in another
sense we have just arrived at the starting point. We are at last in possession
of a full deck, and we know the rules of the game
- it's time to deal. This is the fun part, in which one comes to appreciate
the extraordinary power and richness of electrodynamics."
We will be covering conservation laws arising out of electrodynamics,
electromagnetic waves and their behavior (i.e., the foundations of optics),
transmission down wave guides, potentials and
fields in different gauges, retarded potentials (the "exception" referred
to above), dipole and other types of radiation, and electrodynamics and
relativity. We will probably have time for
supplementary topics and here we will follow the interests of the students
with choices of selected topics such as plasma physics, AC circuits, transmission
lines and antenna theory, numerical
methods, or tensors in General Relativity. More details are given in
the course syllabus above.
Along with lectures and assigned problem sets, use will be made of simulation software in a computer lab enhancing understanding by effective graphical presentation of fields and animations of various electromagnetic configurations.
Do not hesitate to contact Prof.
Rick Van Kooten for questions, details, etc.
