Of the four known forces in nature, the electromagnetic force is all-pervading, being effective at subatomic distances (the realm of the strong and weak nuclear forces, each being of extremely short range) and at astronomical distances (the realm where the gravitational force is significant). A proper study of electromagnetism is therefore central to physics, being an excellent example of the evolution of a physical theory from basic experiments to a mathematical formulation of great beauty and elegance.

Course Outline

The lectures are recorded (screen capture + audio only) and published online using Lectopia.

The lecture notes are available as interactive Version 7 Mathematica Notebooks:

1. Introduction
2. Gradients and potentials
3. Gauss' Law, Gauss' Theorem and divergence
4. Faraday's Law, Stokes' Theorem and curl
5. Magnetic fields
6. Electromagnetic Waves

• Appendix A: Differential Operators
• Appendix B: Dirac's Delta Function

The complete course is available as a PDF.

Topical Sections

The following topics are covered:

1. Introduction
2. Vector Analysis (Chapter 1)
3. Electrostatics (Chapters 2.1-2.3, 3.1, 3.4)
4. Magnetostatics (Chapters 5.1-5.3)
5. Electromagnetic Induction (Chapter 7.2)
6. Maxwell's Equations (Chapter 7.3)
7. Electromagnetic Waves in Vacuum (Chapter 9.2)

where (Chapter c.n) refers to chapters in Griffiths.

Assessment

The assessment will consist of two assignments (40%) and a 100 minute exam (60%).

Assignments

As they become available, the assignments and their solutions will be at the following links:

• Assignment 1 (nb, pdf); Solution 1 (nb, pdf)
• Assignment 2 (nb, pdf); Solution 2 (nb, pdf)

Exams

Past exams and solutions are available.

Textbook

The prescribed text is

Introduction to Electrodynamics by David J. Griffiths, Prentice Hall (3rd ed. 1999, 2nd ed. 1989)

The text may be purchased from the UWA bookshop. It is also the prescribed text for the Electrodynamics course in 3rd year.

Lecturer