Physics 214 Electromagnetic Theory I


Crn 87081
Howard University, Department of Physics and Astronomy
MWF 11:10am-noon

Home, Syllabus, Access Homework

Dr. Marcus Alfred
Thirkield Hall, room 202
202-806-6258
bisonphysics@yahoo.com
Office Hours: 10-11am Mondays

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The topics we will cover include Electrostatics, magnetostatics, Maxwell equations, electromagnetic waves, waveguides, radiation scattering and diffraction, special theory of relativity, radiation by moving charges..

COURSE GOALS

Students should experience phenomena describing and/or motivating the laws of physics or physics models
Students will understand the motivation and quantification of the laws of physics
Students will master the construction fundamental physics models from laws, standard techniques and standard methods

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Students will derive common physics expressions
Students will recognize common physics methods and techniques
Students will list example phenomena of physics concepts
Students will apply concepts to simple models
Students will construct theoretical models and potential experiments
Students will describe applications, phenomena, and models in terms of physics

COURSE OUTLINE

Electrostatics

Boundary Value Problems I

Boundary Value Problems II

Multipoles, Macroscopic Media, Dielectrics

Magnetostatics, Faraday's Law, Quasi-static Fields

Maxwell Equations, Macroscopic EM, conservation laws

Plane Electromagneic Waves and Wave Propogation

Waveguides, Resonant Cavaties, and Optical Fibers

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

Challenging questions
Short answer exercises
Demonstrations

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES

Course prerequisite or corequisite:

Attendance: Attendance is not mandatory but highly recommended. Many homework and exam problems will be based on work and examples done in class.

Homework: Homework will be assigned each week on a Monday. It will be due the following Monday in lecture. Each assignment will be approximately 5 problems. Each homework assignment will be approximately 100 points. THERE IS NO LATE HOMEWORK!

Exams: The midterm exam is worth 20% of your grade. The final exam is worth 30% of your grade. The midterm is on Friday, 10/07/11 in class. The final is on 11/30/11 from 10am - 12 noon. All exams are closed book and no electronic devices are allowed. Bring only a pen and pencil.

Grades: A student’s grades in the class are based on a composition of 50% homework, and 50% for the exams.

Cheating: Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated. Please refer to the Howard University Handbook (H - book) for university guidelines on cheating. No talking under any circumstances is permitted during an exam. If help is needed simply contact the instructor. In addition, only a pencil is required for all exams; notebooks, calculators, and scratch paper will not be needed.

Required Textbook: Jackson. Classical Electrodynamics. Third edition, Wiley. ISBN 0-471-30932-X.

General Policies: All lectures and recitations may be videotaped and NOT made available to the general public.

Howard University is committed to providing an educational environment that is accessible to all students. In accordance with this commitment, students in need of accommodations due to a disability should contact the Office of the Dean for Special Student Services for verification and determination of reasonable accommodations as soon as possible after admission to the University, or at the beginning of each academic semester. The Dean of the Office for Special Student Services, Dr. Barbara Williams, may be reached at 202-238-2420

TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE

WEEK 1: Welcome, Chap 1, (8/22/11 - 8/26/11)
WEEK 2: Chap 1: Electrostatics (8/29/11 - 9/2/11)
WEEK 3: Chap 2: Boundary Values I(9/5/11 - 9/9/11)
WEEK 4: Chap 2: Boundary Values I(9/12/11 - 9/16/11)
WEEK 5: Chap 3: Boundary Values II(9/19/11 - 9/23/11)
WEEK 6: Chap 3: Boundary Values II(9/26/11 - 9/30/11)
WEEK 7: Chap 4: Multipoles(10/03/11 - 10/07/11)
WEEK 8: Chap 4: Multipoles(10/10/11 - 10/14/11)
WEEK 9: Chap 5: Magnetostatics (10/17/11 - 10/21/11)
WEEK 10: Chap 5: Magnetostatics(10/24/11 - 10/28/11)
WEEK 11: Chap 6: Maxwell Equations (10/31/11 - 11/04/11)
WEEK 12: Chap 6: Maxwell Equations (11/07/11 - 11/11/11)
WEEK 13: Chap 7: Plane EM waves (11/14/11 - 11/18/11)
WEEK 14: Chap 7: Plane EM waves (11/21/11 - 11/25/11)

HOMEWORK HELP

Help with homework is available most days in room 207 in the physics building from 5-7pm.