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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2015/2016

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Physics and Astronomy : Undergraduate (School of Physics and Astronomy)

Undergraduate Course: Classical Electrodynamics (PHYS10098)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Physics and Astronomy CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryA course on the Maxwell equations, their Lorentz invariance, covariant formulation, and gauge invariance. Applications included classical radiation from time dependent charges and currents, and in particular accelerating charges.
Course description * Electrodynamics: Maxwell's equations, charge, energy and momentum conservation, the electromagnetic potentials, electromagnetic radiation and its generation, electric and magnetic dipole radiation.

* Relativity: Lorentz transformations, 4-vectors, relativistic dynamics, the covariant formulation of Maxwell's equations, gauge invariance, magnetism as a relativistic phenomenon, the stress-energy tensor.

* Accelerating charges: covariant Green's functions, the Lienard-Wiechert potential, their associated fields, synchotron radiation, Larmor formula and the Abraham-Lorentz equation.

* Action principles: for point particles, scalar fields, vector fields, Noether's theorem, charge and energy-momentum conservation, the Yukawa potential, radiation vs matter.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 22, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 11, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Revision Session Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 61 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 100 %, Coursework 0 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) 100% Written Exam
Feedback Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)Classical Electrodynamics2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of the course the student should be able to:

1. understand origin of Maxwell's equations in magnetic and dielectric media

2. write down Maxwell's equations in linear, isotropic, homogeneous media

3. derive continuity conditions on electromagnetic fields at boundaries

4. derive electromagnetic wave solutions and propagation in dielectric and other media

5. understand transport of energy and Poynting vector

6. understand transport of momentum, Maxwell stress tensor and radiation pressure

7. show laws of geometric optics originate with Maxwell's equations at dielectric boundaries

8. calculate reflection and transmission coefficients for waves at dielectric boundaries

9. obtain scalar and vector potential equations in presence of sources

10. understand gauge invariance of Maxwell's equations, decoupling of scalar and vector potential equations in Lorentz gauge and corresponding solutions

11. solve for retarded potentials and electric and magnetic fields for simple problems involving time-dependent charge-current distributions

12. understand the term radiation zone and derive angular distribution of and power emitted by a dipole

13. write down electromagnetic field tensor in covariant notation

14. derive fully covariant forms of Maxwell equations, Lorentz gauge condition and continuity equation

15. obtain Lorentz transformations for electric and magnetic fields and apply to simple cases

16. show the stress-energy-momentum tensor components are energy density, Poynting vector and Maxwell stress tensor

17. derive Lienard-Wiechert potentials for a moving point charge

18. derive corresponding electric and magnetic fields

19. show that acceleration of the charge gives electromagnetic radiation

20. apply to cases of charges: slowly accelerating at low velocities; undergoing acceleration collinear with velocity, in a circular orbit (synchrotron radiation).
Reading List
D.J. Griths, Introduction to Electrodynamics, 3rd Edition, Prentice Hall 1999.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsCED
Contacts
Course organiserProf Donal O'Connell
Tel:
Email:
Course secretary Yuhua Lei
Tel: (0131 6) 517067
Email:
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