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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2017/2018

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

Undergraduate Course: Foundations of Electromagnetism (PHYS09050)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Physics and Astronomy CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 9 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryThis is a one-semester course, covering time-independent and time-dependent properties of electric and magnetic fields leading to the vector calculus formulation of Maxwell's Equations and the derivation of electro-magnetic waves in vacuo and in media.
Course description - Integral and differential forms of Gauss's Law. Examples of 1D, 2D, 3D charge distributions.
- Potential. Poisson's Equation. Calculation of electric fields.
- Uniqueness theorem. Solution of electrostatic problems. Method of images.
- Dipole field. Quadrupole field. Multipole expansion.
- Electrostatic boundaries. Polarisation in dielectrics. Surface charges.
- Biot-Savart Law. Magnetic vector potential. Calculation of magnetic fields.
- Integral and differential forms of Ampere's Law. Examples of 1D, 2D current distributions.
- Magnetostatic boundaries. Magnetisation. Surface currents.
- Time-varying fields. Faraday's Law. Induction.
- Calculation of self and mutual inductance.
- Displacement current. Maxwell's equations and their solution in vacuo.
- Introduction to Electromagnetic waves.
- Solution of Maxwell's equations in dielectrics.
- Continuity theorem. Conservation laws
- Poynting vector. Energy storage & transport by waves.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Dynamics and Vector Calculus (PHYS08043)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Students MUST NOT also be taking Electromagnetism (PHYS09060)
Other requirements None
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2017/18, Part-year visiting students only (VV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 22, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Revision Session Hours 1, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 51 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 80 %, Coursework 20 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Coursework 20%, examination 80%.
Feedback Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. State the integral laws of electromagnetism and state and derive Maxwell's equations.
  2. Formulate and solve with vector calculus problems of static and time-varying electrical and magnetic field including utilisation of the electric scalar potential and the magnetic vector potential.
  3. Derive and apply the concepts of: Maxwell's displacement current; the continuity equation; self- and mutual inductance; Poynting's vector; energy flux; radiation pressure.
  4. Define and explain: polarisation and magnetisation; the fields D, H, E and B; the relation between E, B and the force on a particle; polarisation charges and magnetisation currents; boundary conditions on fields at interfaces between media; Maxwell's equations in media.
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsFEMag
Contacts
Course organiserDr Andreas Hermann
Tel: (0131 6)50 5824
Email: a.hermann@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Yolanda Zapata-Perez
Tel: (0131 6)51 7067
Email: yolanda.zapata@ed.ac.uk
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