About the Course

Physics 2320 surveys a seminal branch of physics known as electromagnetism, relating an impressively diverse set of physical phenomena to a single physical notion: electric charge. Rainbows and radio waves; clinging socks and compass needles; friction, lightning, the aurora and the very concept of light itself are unified under this description. It is even this field of electromagnetism that lead Albert Einstein to his revolutionary theory of Special Relativity.

We begin the semester by defining two fundamental physical notions: electric charge and the electric field. Together with Coulomb’s Law describing the electric interaction between two charges, these two notions will underly most of the semester . Confining ourselves at first to the special case of stationary charges – a branch of electromagnetism known as electrostatics ― we’ll develop an extraordinarily useful relationship between field and charge (Gauss’ law) and introduce the concepts of electric energy, electric potential, and capacitance. Generalizing to the realm of electrodynamics, in which we deal with charge in motion, the fundamental notions of current and resistance are introduced and the discussion turns for awhile to their practical application in electrical circuits.

Our attention then shifts (seemingly!) to magnetism; magnetic interactions are described and the magnetic field is introduced. But our diversion from electric phenomena is fleeting, for we discover that magnets effect the motions of charged objects ― giving us our first inkling that electric and magnetic phenomena are linked. Electrodynamics is quickly drawn back into the story as we discover a connection between electric currents and magnetic fields and examine the laws describing this connection (those of Biot-Savart, Ampere, and Faraday). The crescendo builds to Maxwell’s unification of the electric and magnetic theories in the form of his four famous equations. Elegant and powerful, these equations stand as one of humankind’s greatest intellectual achievements.

And what Maxwell tells us is that electric and magnetic fields travel in waves, and that these electromagnetic waves... are light! We explore some fundamental behaviors of light, including reflection, refraction, and interference. And with this the stage is set for a revolution. For it is through Maxwell that Einstein discovers that space and time are both connected and relative; and it is through the study of light that Planck is led to the quantum. And so we conclude the semester with an exploration of some of the most fascinating aspects of our physical description of nature ― Special Relativity and Quantum Mechanics.

COURSE SYLLABUS