Electricity and Magnetism

Catalog description

This course is the second semester of a three-semester sequence of calculus-based introductory physics for scientists and engineers. This course builds a strong foundation in the physical laws and principles of electromagnetism, grounded in a careful vector and calculus-based discussion. Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on developing the field-model of electromagnetism and on the strong connection between electrical and magnetic phenomena. Topics include the atomic basis of macroscopic electromagnetism; Coulomb's law; electric fields of static discrete and continuous charge distributions; electric dipoles; Gauss Law; electric potential and potential energy; conductors and insulators; capacitance, electrical current, and fundamentals of electric circuits including RC circuits, magnetism; Biot-Savart's law and the magnetic fields of common current distributions; magnetic dipoles; Lorentz force; Ampere's law; electromagnetic induction; and Lenz's and Faraday's laws. A brief introduction to displacement current, Maxwell's equations, and electromagnetic waves is provided. A graphing calculator is required for this course.