Howard University

Washington DC, 20059

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY tel.: +1-202-806-6245

 

Electromagnetic Theory I
PHYS-214 (83752): MW: 1:10–2:30 pm, Thirkield Hall, Rm. 103
[Topics][Daily Schedule][Minimal Requirements][Assignments] → [eGear]

Instructor: Tristan Hübsch
Office hours: MT 2:30–5:00 pm, W 2:30–3:45 pm, and by appointment (a day in advance); check my weekly schedule
Office: Thirkield Hall #213, 202-806-6267, thubsch@mac.com or thubsch@howard.edu

Textbook (required): J.D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics (3rd ed.)
(optionalR. Wald: Advanced Classical Electromagnetism
(optionalA. Zangwill, Modern Electrodynamics
(optionalL.D. Landau & E.M. Lifshitz, The Classical Theory of Fields
(optionalW. Greiner & D.A. Bromley, Classical Electrodynamics
(optionalD.J. Griffiths, Introduction to Electrodynamics

Grading recipe (no make-ups are offered, except in cases of documented medical or family emergency):

Component Time Remark % of Grade
Homework See in daily schedule Late HW = 0 credit !!! 20%
Classwork/Quizzes ≤ 2/week,  unannounced current material; short and straightforward 20%
Midterm Exams
(two)
See in daily schedule material covered since the previous exam 20% (each)
Drop the one worst of the above components (for each student individually).
Final exam Last week of semester comprehensive: complete course content 40%

— See also the minimal requirements for passing the course —

The goal of this course is to provide a comprehensive and detailed treatment of electrostatic and magnetostatic configurations, Maxwell’s equations (and all the physics laws they encompass), and the response of dielectric and magnetic media to electromagnetic fields. Prerequisites to this course include electricity and magnetism at an advanced undergraduate level, and the working knowledge of vector calculus and orthogonal functions, such as those of the Bessel and Legendre and trigonometric type. The course also introduces the special theory of relativity stemming from the spacetime symmetries of Maxwell’s equations.

“Success = 1% inspiration + 99% perspiration” —T.A. Edison
However, learning is still 100% learning!

Topical Schedule

§1
Introduction to Electrostatics
§2
Boundary-Value Problems in Electrostatics I
§3
Boundary-Value Problems in Electrostatics II
1st Midterm exam, §1–3: Wednesday, 09/25 open-text, in-class + take-home due Monday, 09/30
§4
Multipoles, Electrostatics of Macroscopic Media, Dielectrics
§5
Magnetistatics, Faraday’s Law, Quasi-Static Fields
2nd Midterm exam, §4–5: Wednesday, 10/30 open-text, in-class + take-home due Monday, 11/04
§6
Maxwell Equations, Macroscopic Electromagnetism, Conservation Laws
§11
Special Theory of Relativity
Final exam, comprehensive: given Wednesday, 11/20 — due Monday, 12/02

Day-to-Day Schedule

 — Students are required to read ahead —
08/19
D.01 
Introduction, Review & Survey (IRS): §I
08/21
D.02 
Coulomb’s law, Gauss’s law, and the scalar potential: §1.1–5
08/26
D.03 
Surface charges, Poisson and Laplace equations, Green’s theorem: §1.6–10
08/28
D.04 
Potential energy and energy density, variational and relaxation methods: §1.11–13 [HW1 due]
09/02
Observed Holiday:  Labor Day
09/04
D.05 
Method of images: §2.1–5 [HW2 due]
09/09
D.06 
Method of images II: §2.1–5
09/11
D.07 
Green function and orthogonal function expansion: §2.6–8 [HW3 due]
09/16
D.08 
Separation of variables and other methods: §2.9–12
09/18
D.09 
Laplace equation in cylindrical and spherical coordinates: §3.7–8 + 3.1–3 [HW4 due]
09/23
D.10 
Associate Legendre functions and spherical harmonics, Green’s functions: §3.4–6 & §3.9–13
09/25
— 
1st Midterm Exam (§1–3), open-text;   in-class part due by end of class
& take-home part due Monday, 09/30, 12:00 am (midnight, end of day)
09/30
D.11 
Multipole expansion, energy of a charge distribution, dielectrics: §4.1–4;
1st Midterm Exam due by 12:00 am (midnight, end of day)
10/02
D.12 
Polarizability and susceptibility in dielectric media: §4.5–7 [HW5 due]
10/07
D.13 
Biot-Savart law, Ampère’s law, the vector potential: §5.1–5
10/09
D.14 
Localized currents, Magnetic moment, force, torque and energy of currents: §5.6–9 [HW6 due]
10/14
University closed:  Mental Health Day
10/16
D.15 
Magnetized objects: §5.10–14 [HW7 due]
10/21
D.16 
Faraday’s law, energy in the magnetic field, inductance: §5.15–18
10/23
D.17 
Maxwell’s displacement current, potentials, gauge transformations: §6.1–4 [HW8 due]
10/28
D.18 
Retarded solutions: §6.5–6
10/30
— 
2nd Midterm Exam (§4–5), open-text;   in-class part due by end of class
& take-home part due Monday, 11/06, 12:00 am (midnight, end of day)
11/04
D.19 
Poynting’s Theorem: §6.7–9; 2nd Midterm Exam due by 12:00 am (midnight, end of day)
11/06
D.20  Space-time transformation of electromagnetic fields, Magnetic monopoles & Dirac quantization: §6.10–13 [HW9 due]
11/11
D.21 
Special theory of relativity I: §11.1–3
11/13
D.22 
Special theory of relativity II: §11.4–6 [HW10 due]
11/18
D.23 
Special theory of relativity III: Lorentz vs. Galilean symmetry (extra)
11/20 D.24 
Special-relativistic electrodynamics I: §11.7–9 [HW11 due]
→ Final Exam given; due Friday, 12/01, 12:00 am (midnight, end of day)
11/25
D.25 
Special-relativistic electrodynamics II: §11.10–12
11/27
— 
Classes and University Services Suspended at 12:00 noon; [HW12 due, @ 12:00 noon]
11/28 – 12/01:  Observed Holiday:  Thanksgivings
12/02
→ Final Exam due by 12:00 am (midnight, end of day)
All indicated times and deadlines cite “Eastern time,” standard or daylight-saving — as officially adopted by Howard University.

Minimal Requirements

To pass the course with a grade B or better, a graduate Student must by the time of the final exam be able to demonstrate the ability to:

  1. apply Coulomb’s, Gauss’s, Ampère’s, Biot-Savart’s and Faraday’s laws,
  2. use the methods of images and conformal mapping,
  3. use the Laplace, Poisson and Helmholtz differential equations and corresponding Green functions,
  4. use scalar and vector potentials for the electromagnetic field,

to solve concrete problems involving free charge- and current-densities, physical (imperfect) conducting media, and electromagnetic fields.

A graduate student who cannot demonstrate the above-listed skills by the time of the final exam automatically forfeits a grade of B or better — regardless of the total number of points acquired in homework, quizzes and exams.

Homework assignments (36 Shades of Hard)

# Due Problems
1. 08/28: End-of-Chapter 1: problems 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5; p.51
2. 09/04: End-of-Chapter 1: problems 1.6, 1.8 and 1.12; pp.51–52
3. 09/11: End-of-Chapter 2: problems 2.2, 2.3 and 2.5; pp.85–86
4. 09/18: End-of-Chapter 2: problems 2.8, 2.13 and 2.15; pp.88–89
5. 10/02: End-of-Chapter 3: problems 3.1, 3.3, and 3.5; pp.135–136
6. 10/09: End-of-Chapter 3: problem 3.7, 3.9 and 3.12; pp.137–139
7. 10/16: End-of-Chapter 4: problem 4.1, 4.6 and 4.7; pp.169–171
8. 10/23: End-of-Chapter 4: problem 4.8, 4.9 and 4.13; pp.172–173
9. 11/06: End-of-Chapter 5: problem 5.1, 5.5 and 5.13; pp.225–228
10. 11/13: End-of-Chapter 5: problem 5.16, 5.17 and 5.18; p.229
11. 11/20: End-of-Chapter 6: problem 6.2, 6.4 and 6.8; pp.284–287
12. 11/27: End-of-Chapter 11: problem 11.3, 11.14 and 11.19; pp.568–573

All written assignments (HW & tests) are due by 12:00 am (midnight), end of the day indicated and should be sent by e-mail as single (bundled) PDF files; to this end, using a camera-to-PDF-scanner app on a smart-phone or tablet is highly recommended. Late homework will not be accepted, except in cases of documented emergency.

 

Other Matters

Collaboration Policy

Collaboration — but not blind copying — on the homework assignments is strongly encouraged; students should use this to learn from each other. There is no substitute for the diverse previous experiences and wealth of knowledge brought together by a cohort of students. All exams and quizzes are open text and open class-notes (including notebooks and class handouts), but no collaboration is allowed; by signing and submitting the exams and quizzes, the student vouches to have abided by this policy. Violation of this policy is covered under University regulations on academic dishonesty and cheating.

Presentation and Organization

First and foremost: your assignments are your communication to the instructor of the level of expertise to which you have mastered the subject matter covered in the course. So, while a neat presentation of home,- quiz- and exam-work is not required for full credit, it certainly makes it easier to assess the quality of the work and give the proper credit due. In all cases, include a simple sketch if it might help conveying the approach or the calculations. Where necessary, include all units and symbols such as the measure of an integral, arrow on a vector, vertical bars for the absolute value of a quantity, for the magnitude of a vector or for the determinant of a matrix, etc.

★!!  Each assignment is to be submitted (and is date-stamped) by e-mail (→ thubsch@mac.com), as a single PDF file. Handwritten and other “hard-copy” answer-sheets should be scanned and bundled into a single PDF file — there are many smartphone and tablet apps that do this automagically; some printers also include a flatbed scanner, if you prefer.

University Attendance Policy

Class Attendance Restricted to Registered Students: Only students whose names appear on the official course roster are permitted to attend class meetings. Students who are not registered are not permitted to attend or participate in course activities, do not have access to Blackboard, cannot submit course assignments, and will not receive a grade for this course. It is the students’ responsibility to ensure that they are properly registered by the published registration deadline. Requests to add courses after the deadline will not be considered.

ADA Procedures

Howard University is committed to creating an accessible, inclusive, and safe learning environment for all students and providing equal access to students with documented disabilities. Students seeking reasonable accommodation must first register with the Office of Student Services (OSS). There you can engage in a confidential conversation about the process for requesting reasonable accommodations in the classroom and clinical settings, which the Office of Student Services (OSS) determines. Accommodations must be requested each semester. Accommodations are not provided retroactively. If you want to request accommodations, please contact OSS via email at oss.disabilityservices@howard.edu or visit https://howard.edu/disability-services

Statement on Sex and Gender-Based Discrimination, Harassment and Violence

Howard University’s Policy Prohibiting Sex and Gender-Based Discrimination, Sexual Misconduct and Retaliation (aka, the Title IX Policy) prohibits discrimination, harassment, and violence based on sex, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, or marital status. With the exception of certain employees designated as confidential, note that all Howard University employees – including all faculty members – are required to report any information they receive regarding known or suspected prohibited conduct under the Title IX Policy to the Title IX Office (TitleIX@howard.edu or 202-806-2550), regardless of how they learn of it. For confidential support and assistance, you may contact the Interpersonal Violence Prevention Program (202-836-1401) or the University Counseling Service (202-806-7540). To learn more about your rights, resources, and options for reporting and/or seeking confidential support services (including additional confidential resources, both on and off campus), visit titleix.howard.edu.

 

©2024, Tristan Hübsch