| Day, Date, Year | Lecture Content and Homework Assignment |
|---|---|
| Mon. Jan. 13, 2014 |
Lecture: Scattering of electromagnetic waves by dielectric spheres. Homework #1 (due 1/22/13): Consider the scattering of electromagnetic waves by conducting spheres, i.e., section 10.1.C. Obtain Jackson's equations (10.13) and (10.14) for this scattering. |
| Wed. Jan. 15, 2014 |
Lecture: Scattering by dielectric spheres, continued; why the sky is blue. Homework #1 (due 1/22/13): You are at the equator, it is still before noon, and the sun is shining 60 degrees above the horizon. You choose a right-handed coordinate system in which z is up, and x is to the west. (i) Which way does the y-axis point? (ii) If the incoming sunlight direction is in the x-z plane, what is the direction of the sunlight and what are two possible polarization directions? (iii) Your friend Alice is two miles north of you and observing a spot in the sky 2 miles directly above you. What are two possible polarization unit vectors for light scattered from that spot to Alice? What is the relative intensity of light with those two polarizations? (iv) Your friend Bob is two miles east of you and observing a spot in the sky 2 miles directly above you. What are two possible polarization unit vectors for light scattered from that spot to Bob? What is the relative intensity of light with those two polarizations? |
| Fri. Jan. 17, 2014 (WK1) |
Lecture: Introduction to Special Relativity. Covariance of the Wave
Equation. Homework #1: No homework. |
| Tue. Jan. 21, 2014 |
Lecture: Covariance of the Wave Equation, continued. The Lorentz
Transformation and 4-vectors. Homework #2 (due 1/29/13): Jackson 11.1. |
| Wed. Jan. 22, 2014 |
Lecture: 4-vectors and their invariant lengths and dot products. Homework #2 (due 1/29/13): Jackson 11.3. |
| Fri. Jan. 24, 2014 (WK2) |
Lecture: Using Lorentz invariant scalar products. Minkowski spacetime. Homework #2 (due 1/29/13): Jackson 11.6. |
| Mon. Jan. 27, 2014 |
Lecture: Lorentz transformations: inverse = reverse. Spacelike,
lightlike and timelike intervals. 4-velocity. The velocity addition
formula. Rapidity. Elapsed time and elapsed proper time. Homework #3 (due 2/5/13): Jackson 11.4. |
| Wed. Jan. 29, 2014 |
Lecture: Class canceled by university due to inclement weather. Homework #3 (due 2/5/13): None. |
| Fri. Jan. 31, 2014 (WK3) |
Lecture: Energy and momentum as components of 4-momentum. Homework #3 (due 2/5/13): Jackson 11.19. |
| Mon. Feb. 3, 2014 |
Lecture: Conservation
of 4-momentum applied to relativistic particle collisions and decays. Homework #4 (due 2/12/13): Jackson 11.20. |
| Wed. Feb. 5, 2014 |
Lecture: Solution of further particle collisions and decay problems in Special Relativity. Homework #4 (due 2/12/13): Jackson 11.22. |
| Fri. Feb. 7, 2014 (WK4) |
Lecture: Contra- and co-variant forms of the coordinate 4-vector. The
metric tensor and its properties: (a) raises and lowers indices
(converts contra- and co-variant vectors into each other) and (b)
defines the length of an infinitesimal 4-displacement. Homework #4 (due 2/12/13): Two protons, each with energy 7 TeV, collide head on. A large number (~100) of pions and other particles are produced and come flying off in all directions. Find an approximate relation between the polar angle θ and the longitudinal rapidity of an emerging pion. |
| Mon. Feb. 10, 2014 |
Lecture: Rank-2 and higher rank tensors. Electromagnetic
4-vectors. Electromagnetic equations in covariant form. The
electromagnetic field tensor. Homework #5 (due 2/19/13): Jackson 11.14 (a) and (b) only. |
| Wed. Feb. 12, 2014 |
Lecture: Class canceled by university due to inclement weather. Homework #5 (due 2/19/13): None. |
| Fri. Feb. 14, 2014 (WK5) |
Lecture: Class canceled by university due to inclement weather. Homework #5 (due 2/19/13): None. |
| Mon. Feb. 17, 2014 |
Lecture: Generators of Lorentz transformations. Homework #6 (due 2/26/13): Jackson 11.13. [Note: you may want to read Griffiths' sub-section 12.3.1 before attempting the problem.] |
| Wed. Feb. 19, 2014 |
Lecture: Generators of Lorentz transformations, concluded. Homework #6 (due 2/26/13): (a) Obtain the expression for the general (boost) Lorentz transformation matrix given by eq. (11.98) from the previous expression (11.97). (b) Obtain the same matrix directly from eq. (11.19). |
| Fri. Feb. 21, 2014 (WK6) |
Lecture: Relativistic formulation of the Lorentz Force Law. Lorentz
transformation of the electric and magnetic fields. Homework #6 (due 2/26/13): Jackson 11.15. |
| Mon. Feb. 24, 2014 |
Lecture: Lorentz transformation of electric and magnetic fields,
concluded. Thomas precession, introduced. Homework #7 (due 3/5/13): Jackson 11.18. |
| Wed. Feb. 26, 2014 |
Class
test #1. Covers all material taught in this course up to Wed.,
2/12/2014. Homework #7: No homework. |
| Fri. Feb. 28, 2014 (WK7) |
Lecture: Discussions of presentations, electronic speed and apparent magnetic field in Bohr orbits. Homework #7 (due 3/5/13): Find the number of independent components in rank 2, 3, 4, and 5 tensors which are completely antisymmetric with respect to exchange of any two indices. |
| Mon. Mar. 3, 2014 |
Lecture: Presentation: "Mie Scattering" by Ken Stephenson. Thomas precession. The Spin 4-vector. Homework #8 (due 3/19/13): Jackson 11.11. |
| Wed. Mar. 5, 2014 |
Lecture: Introduction to the BMT equation. Presentations: "Polarization by Lenses" by Charles Dean; "Fresnel Lenses" by
Nick Tyler. Homework #8 (due 3/19/13): Investigate the behavior of the metric tensor and the totally anti-symmetric rank-4 tensor under Lorentz transformations. |
| Fri. Mar. 7, 2014 (WK8) |
Lecture: The BMT equation. Presentation: "non-linear electromagnetic
effects" by Lin Li. Homework #8 (due 3/19/13): Thomas precession revisited: Starting from the BMT equation (11.164), derive equation (11.170). Unlike Jackson, you should not skip any steps (show all your work, with every step in detail). |
| Mon. Mar. 17, 2014 |
Lecture: Thomas Precession, concluded. Presentations: "Thomson
Scattering" by Stacy Varner; "van Allen Radiation Belts" by Clint
Wiseman. Homework #9 (due 3/26/13): Spin precession continued: Starting from equation (11.170), derive equation (11.171). Unlike Jackson, you should not skip any steps (show all your work, with every step in detail). |
| Wed. Mar. 19, 2014 |
Lecture: The BMT equation, precession of muon spin, and measuring the
gyromagnetic anomaly, a = (g-2)/2. Homework #9 (due 3/26/13): Jackson 12.11. |
| Fri. Mar. 21, 2014 (WK9) |
Lecture: Lagrangian Formulation for the Motion of a free particle. Homework #9 (due 3/26/13): Jackson 12.1. |
| Mon. Mar. 24, 2014 |
Lecture: Lagrangian Formulation for the Motion of a Charged Particle
in an Electronagnetic Field: The Lorentz Force Law. Homework #10: No homework. |
| Wed. Mar. 26, 2014 |
Lecture: Lagrangian Formulation for the Motion of a Charged Particle
in an Electronagnetic Field: The Maxwell Equations. Homework #10 (due 4/2/13): Obtain all the Maxwell equations from variations of the fields in the Lagrangian density (which includes an interaction term with particles and a free field term involving the electromagnetic field tensor), and from related equations using the electromagnetic field tensor. Use appropriate conversions to get the result in SI units. |
| Fri. Mar. 28, 2014 (WK10) |
Lecture: The Poynting Vector and energy flow. Homework #10 (due 4/2/13): Griffiths 8.2. |
| Mon. Mar. 31, 2014 |
Lecture: The Maxwell Stress Tensor and conservation of momentum. Homework #11 (due 4/16/13): Griffiths 8.4. |
| Wed. Apr. 2, 2014 |
Lecture: Solving Griffiths problems involving the Maxwell Stress
Tensor. Homework #11 (due 4/16/13): Griffiths 8.3. |
| Fri. Apr. 4, 2014 (WK11) |
Lecture: More Griffiths problems involving the Maxwell Stress
Tensor. Extra Lecture: Review for Class Test #2. Homework #11: No homework. |
| Mon. Apr. 7, 2014 |
Lecture: Preponed to 1/21/14. Homework: No homework. |
| Wed. Apr. 9, 2014 |
Class
test #2. Covers all material taught in this course up to and
including Wed., 3/19/2014. Homework: No homework. |
| Fri. Apr. 11, 2014 (WK12) |
Lecture: Preponed to 4/4/14. Homework: No homework. |
| Mon. Apr. 14, 2014 |
Lecture: Noether's theorem. Homework: No Homework. |
| Wed. Apr. 16, 2014 |
Lecture: Noether's theorem examples. Homework: No Homework. |
| Fri. Apr. 18, 2014 (WK13) |
Lecture: The stress tensor. Homework: No Homework. |
| Mon. Apr. 21, 2014 |
Lecture: Derivation of the Stress Tensor and Conservation Laws. Homework: No Homework. |
| Wed. Apr. 23, 2014 |
Lecture: Completion of derivation of the Stress Tensor and Conservation Laws. Homework (suggestion only, not due): Field Theory #1 |
| Fri. Apr. 25, 2014 (WK14) |
Lecture: Emmy Noether. Final exam discussion, continued: transfer of energy from a
massive charged particle to a free electron (approximation for an
electron in a medium): maximum energy that can be transferred,
momentum kick, kinetic energy transfer. See Jackson sections 11.10 and
13.1 for detailed explanations. Homework: No Homework. |
| Mon. Apr. 28, 2014 |
Lecture: Discussion of Jackson problem 12.12, and Griffiths problems
12.62, 12.64 and 12.67. Homework: No Homework. |
| Fri. May 2, 2014 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM | FINAL EXAM: Covers ALL material! |
| Student | Presentation Topic |
|---|---|
| Student #1 | Topic #1 Slides Report |