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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2013/2014 -
- ARCHIVE as at 1 September 2013 for reference only
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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Physics and Astronomy : Undergraduate (School of Physics and Astronomy)

Undergraduate Course: Classical Electrodynamics (PHYS11045)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Physics and Astronomy CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Course typeStandard AvailabilityAvailable to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Year 4 Undergraduate) Credits10
Home subject areaUndergraduate (School of Physics and Astronomy) Other subject areaNone
Course website http://www2.ph.ed.ac.uk/teaching/course-notes/notes/list/108 Taught in Gaelic?No
Course descriptionA 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.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed Symmetries of Classical Mechanics (PHYS10088) OR Tensors and Fields (PHYS10016)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements At least 80 credit points accrued in courses of SCQF Level 9 or 10 drawn from Schedule Q.
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus?Yes
Course Delivery Information
Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1) Learn enabled:  Yes Quota:  None
Web Timetable Web Timetable
Class Delivery Information Workshop/tutorial sessions, as arranged.
Course Start Date 13/01/2014
Breakdown of 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 )
Additional Notes
Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) Written Exam 100 %, Coursework 0 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours:Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)Classical Electrodynamics2:00
Summary of Intended 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).
Assessment Information
Degree Examination, 100%
Special Arrangements
None
Additional Information
Academic description Not entered
Syllabus * 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.
Transferable skills Not entered
Reading list D.J. Griths, Introduction to Electrodynamics, 3rd Edition, Prentice Hall 1999.
Study Abroad Not entered
Study Pattern Not entered
KeywordsCED
Contacts
Course organiserProf Donal O'Connell
Tel:
Email: Donal.O'Connell@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Paula Wilkie
Tel: (0131) 668 8403
Email: Paula.Wilkie@ed.ac.uk
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