PH5210 Electrodynamics I ... (3-0-0) f ... 3 Cr

Prerequisite: PH5320 or permission of instructor.

This course is a prerequisite for PH5211 and PH5250.

Text (Fall, 2006):

• Classical Electrodynamics, 3 ^rd ed., J. D. Jackson (ISBN 0-471-30932X)

• Week 1. Electrostatic fields and potentials, surface layers of charge or dipole moment, Gauss' and Green's theorem, Laplace and Poisson equations, Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions, Green function.
• Week 2. Solution of electrostatic problems by method of images, Green function, and expansion in orthogonal functions.
• Week 3. Solution of electrostatic boundary problems in spherical and cylindrical coordinates, expansions of the Green function, eigenfunctions.
• Week 4. Electric multipoles, polarizable media, electrostatic energy in the presence of dielectrics.
• Week 5. Magnetic fields of steady currents, Biot-Savart and Ampere laws, vector potential, force, torque and energy of currents in magnetic fields, magnetic moments of currents.
• Week 6. Magnetization, permanent magnets, magnetic scalar potential, solution of magnetic boundary value problems.
• Week 7. Faraday law of induction, energy in the magnetic field, self and mutual inductance, Maxwell equations in stationary media, Lorenz and Coulomb gauge.
• Week 8. Green function for the wave equation, retarded solutions obtained by Green functions, Poynting's theorem, electromagnetic field energy, momentum and angular momentum.
• Week 9. Plane waves, linear and circular polarization, Stokes parameters, reflection and refraction at a plane interface, total internal reflection, metallic reflection.
• Week 10. Models of the frequency dependence of dielectric constant and conductivity, waves in the ionosphere, magnetohydrodynamic waves.
• Week 11. Spreading of signals due to dispersion, causality, Kramers-Kronig relations, first and second precursors after traversal of a dispersive medium.
• Week 12. Penetration of fields into a conductor, cylindrical wave guides, TEM, TM and TE modes, energy flow and attenuation.
• Week 13. Resonant cavities, Schumann resonances. Fields of a local oscillating source, electric dipole, magnetic dipole, and electric quadrupole radiation, conter fed linear antenna.
• Week 14. Spherical wave solutions of the scalar wave equation, expansion of the scalar Green function, elementary solutions of the vecor wave equation, dyadic Green function, vector spherical harmonics.
• Week 15. Solutions of the vector wave equation, multipole moments, energy and angular momentum of multipole radiation, angular distribution of multipole radiation.

Course Rationale
One of the core required courses for graduate degrees in Physics.