Physics 704 - Spring 2013
Electromagnetic Theory II
Contact Information
Learning Outcomes
Course Policies and Classwork
Methods of Evaluation
Course Content
Course Schedule
Lectures: MWF 11:15 AM - 12:05 PM
Lecture Room: CLS 104
Professor: Prof. Milind V. Purohit
Office: PSC 609
Office hours: Thu 1:30-2:45, Rogers Room.
Phone: 777-6996
Home Page: "Milind V. Purohit's Home Page"
By the end of the term, successful students should be able to do the following:
- Obtain the transmitted wave that propagates through media by
considering the effects of the electronic properties of molecules.
- Solve for the radiation due to oscillating current distributions
and simple antenna configurations.
- Understand the general solution to the Helmholtz equation in the
radiation zone as a multipole expansion and how to obtain each term
from given source distributions.
- Examine the effects of scattering of waves by media at various
wavelengths.
- Learn how to apply the essentials of Einstein's theory of
relativity to electromagnetic phenomena. We consider especially
relativistic kinematics, the electromagnetic field tensor,
covariance thereof and the relativistic precession of spin.
- Study the motion of charged particles in electromagnetic fields
using the action principle.
- Understand and compute the energy loss of charged particles in
dense media; understand Cherenkov radiation and transition
radiation; study Bremsstrahlung radiation emitted during charged
particle collisions with nuclei. [We will cover as much as time
allows here.]
Students are expected to know electrodynamics at the PHYS 703
level before they take this course. Only students who have done
well in PHYS 703 should take this course. Also, students should know
mathematical methods of physics.
Course Policies (from CTE website):
The University of South Carolina has clearly articulated its policies
governing academic integrity and students are encouraged to carefully
review the policy on the Honor Code in the Carolina Community. Any
deviation from these expectations will result in academic penalties as
well as disciplinary action. The area of greatest potential risk for
inadvertent academic dishonesty is plagiarism. Plagiarism includes, but
is not limited to, paraphrasing or direct quotation of the published or
unpublished work of another person without full and clear
acknowledgement.
Classwork:
Classwork in the form of a
project report and presentation
based on a
topic of relevance to the course but outside of textbooks, for instance
(but not confined to) topics of recent interest. Examples include
the "Glory", beam-beam interactions in accelerators, northern lights,
physics of antennas, 1000 TeV electrons in the Crab nebula, etc.
Topics need to be approved in the first week of the semester and regular
meetings on progress are encouraged. 10% of the total course grade
is based on this work. Students may collaborate with up to one other
person, or may do the project by themselves. Collaboration should be
entered into if you wish to explore a topic in great depth; reports from
collaborations will be expected to be stronger than individual reports
(for the same grade).
Picking a topic
Consider the following when choosing a topic:
- Pick something that is new, i.e., not already covered in class,
but could be connected to what is taught in class. For instance,
discussing basic radiation formulas for electric dipole antennas is
not a good idea, since this is taught in class, but describing how
real dipole antennas are made for various applications and how the
differences between them is connected to the Maxwell equations might
make a very good topic.
- Connection to the course is important. The above topic clearly
connects well with what is taught in the course.
- Your contribution is important. A topic such as "The
Northern Lights" has great potential. On the one hand this is an
electromagnetic phenomenon and if you elucidate the details of how
photons of different colors are emitted starting with the Maxwell
equations you have added to the course. If however you simply get a
nice powerpoint presentation off the web and spend 10-20 minutes of
class time describing them, especially if no equations are derived
by you during the presentation, then we might as well click on a URL
directly. The goal is to impart some knowledge and learning, and
demonstrate that you understood something new on your own and expended
some effort to do so!
Presentations
There have been some misunderstandings regarding scope and topics of
presentations in the past. Hopefully, the following helps clarify by
emphasizing certain simple points:
- Scope: Keep it simple. When in doubt, omit complications and make
it simpler. For the final talk,
try to make it not comprehensive. 10 minutes is a very short
time. Try to make only one point and make it clearly. You do not need
to describe a whole field of study.
- Topic: Generally speaking, it means what it says. For example:
"Experimental observation of" means an experimental observation of
(whatever is specified). It does not mean a "theoretical derivation
of". It does not mean a "gedanken experiment explaining". It does not
mean an experimental observation of something completely
different. If you do not understand a topic, please ask for
clarification but stick to the topic!
Example of a presentation:
Imagine that you are interested in magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and want
to learn something about this rich topic. You may wish to start with
section 7.7 of the text by Jackson. In there he demonstrates the
existence of both longitudinal and transverse MHD waves. For the
the presentation you could:
(A) Explain what motivated you to make this presentation (connection to
your research, or interest in MHD for some other reason, etc.). This may
take one minute and one slide.
(B) Explain what is MHD and why it is of interest / where such phenomena
occur and need to be understood. This may take another slide /
minute.
(C) Consider equation (7.69) without a magnetic field and show, as
Jackson states a paragraph later, how ordinary sound waves result from
the equation and what speed one gets for them. This may take another
minute or two.
(D) Re-consider equation (7.69) with a magnetic field and show that both
longitudinal and transverse waves may result, and what is their speed.
Some of this work can be contained in your report and for the
presentation time may permit only a summary.
(E) Describe the longitudinal and transverse phenomena displayed in
Figs. 7.12 (a) and (b) respectively and described towards the end of
the section.
(F) Conclude with how the phenomenon of lines of force being "frozen in"
to the fluid, and how this shapes whatever physics phenomenon motivated
you to study this topic in the first place: perhaps solar flares, or
something else.
Students are evaluated through the semester using class participation,
homework, in-class tests as well as a final exam.
Grading:
Students turning in less than 70% of homeworks will automatically earn
an F grade. For other students, the course score will be calculated as
follows:
Classwork: 10%, Homework: 30%, Test 1: 10%, Test 2: 10%, Project: 10%, Final Exam: 30%.
Homework:
Homework problems will be assigned every week and will
be due at the Wednesday lecture of the next week.
Homework that is up to one week late earns 50% points; after that no
credit will be given.
Attendance: Mandatory!
The course content is derived from a variety of sources, including the
texts below. For examples of what is covered week by week, please see
the course schedule pages for previous years:
PHYS 704 Course Schedule, 2012
PHYS 704 Course Schedule, 2011
PHYS 704 Course Schedule, 2010
PHYS 704 Course Schedule, 2009
Texts:
- Jackson, John David. "Classical Electrodynamics", John Wiley & Sons, 3rd
Edition. ISBN: 047130932X.
-
Griffiths, David. "Introduction to Electrodynamics", Prentice Hall, 3rd
Edition. ISBN: 013805326X.
[This is a highly recommended accompanying text.]
In this course we focus on a study of electromagnetic wave propagation
through media (and waveguides), a relativistic formulation of
electrodynamics and also applications of Maxwell's equations to
radiation, diffraction and charged particles. Thus, we aim to cover
important topics from post-introductory chapters of the textbook by
Jackson, i.e., chapters 7-12.
In the previous semester's prequel to this course, i.e., in PHYS 703,
the basic concepts of electrodynamics are covered: electrostatics,
multipoles, dielectrics, magnetostatics, and Maxwell Equations,
i.e., we cover most of Chapters
1-5 in the textbook by Jackson, plus sections 6.1-6.4.
Office of Student Disability Services policy statement
"Any student with a documented disability should contact the Office of
Student Disability Services at 803-777-6142 to make arrangements for
appropriate accommodations."
This page is maintained by
"Milind V. Purohit"