Physics 942: Electromagnetic Theory II, Fall 2019

This web page

Topics:

  • Poynting Theorem
  • waves
  • waveguides/cavities
  • radiation/antennas
  • scattering
  • special relativity/4-vector notation
  • conservation laws
  • Lagrangian/Hamiltonian for fields and particles
  • Radiation from moving charges

Prerequisites:

Enrollment in a CEPS graduate program or by permission.

Instructor:

Prof. Joachim (Jimmy) Raeder
Space Science Center
University of New Hampshire
8 College Road
Durham, NH 03824-3525
Office: 245G Morse Hall
Phone: 603-862-3412
Fax: 603-862-3584
E-Mail: J.Raeder@unh.edu
Web: Physics Department EOS page Research page

Venue:

MWF, 11:10 - 12:00 251 DeMeritt

Communication:

Via e-mail and through this web page. Check often.

Office Hours:

M, 2-3pm, or by appointment.

Textbooks:

  • J. D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics, Third Edition, Wiley, 1999 (primary)
  • A. Zangwill, Modern Electrodynamics, Cambridge, 2013 (sometimes too dense)
  • J. M. Charap, Covariant Electrodynamics (secondary text; modern, compact, everything in 4-vector notation, which is much cleaner than vector algebra)

Other texts:

'Backups'

  • D. J. Griffiths, Introduction to Electrodynamics,Prentice, 1999 (still worth looking into, but never goes as deep as Jackson)
  • F. Melia, Electrodynamics (secondary text; modern, very compact, good to read if you have already basic knowledge)

'Classics'

  • Landau & Lifshitz, Electrodynamics of Continuous Media (classic, Jackson-like, old notations)
  • M. Schwartz, Principles of Electrodynamics (moderately modern, easy to read but leaves out a few things)
  • A. Shadowitz, The Electromagnetic Field (mostly statics)
  • Panofsky and Phillips, Classical Electricity and Magnetism (Jackson-like, less clearly written)
  • G. Owen, Introduction to Electromagnetic Theory (old, incomplete, funny hand-drawn graphics)

'Relativity first'

  • C. A. Brau, Modern Problems in Classical Electrodynamics (good to read, fairly comprehensive)
  • A. O. Barut, Electrodynamics and Classical Theory of Fields and Particles (difficult to read)

For Students with Disabilities:

Students who require some accommodation by the instructor because of a disability must contact as early as possible the instructor and document the disability through the ACCESS Office. Any requests for special considerations relating to attendance, pedagogy, homework, etc., must be discussed with and approved by the instructor. In cooperation with the DRC, course materials can be provided in alternative formats (for example, large print, audio, diskette, or Braille). (ACCESS Office, 118 Memorial Union Building, Voice/TTY: 603-862-2607 Fax: 603-862-4043.)

Your academic success in this course is very important to me. If, during the semester, you find emotional or mental health issues are affecting that success, please contact the University’s (http://www.unhcc.unh.edu/) Counseling Center (3rd floor, Smith Hall; 603 862-2090/TTY: 7-1-1), which provides counseling appointments and other mental health services.

Grading:

  • Homework: 20%
  • midterm: 30%
  • Final: 50%

Homework:

  • All assignments can be done in groups of at most 3 students. Group work is encouraged. Write down the names of your group partners at the top of the first sheet of your submission. If you work in a group, turn in only one copy
  • Due dates will be announced with the homework and posted on this site.
  • Homework must either be handed in during class or dropped off into the mailbox in front of my office (245G Morse).
  • The solutions to many textbook problems can now be found on the web, so it is very tempting to copy those solutions. However, if you can find them, I can find them too. Also beware that some of these solutions have errors or inaccuracies that make them easy to spot!

Exams:

  • Each exam will have 5 hard problems, which count 50 points each.
  • 100 points are a perfect score.
  • One of the problems will be the same, or very close, to a homework problem. Those who do their homework diligently can cash in 50 points right there!
  • Extra points in the midterm carry over to the final, so if you get 150 or so in the midterm you can sleep easy.

Tentative schedule:

Mon, 2019-09-02 OFF/Labor Day
Wed, 2019-09-04 Plane waves (Zangwill 16.1-4; Jackson 7.1-2); Reflection/Refraction (Zangwill 16.1-3; Jackson 7.3)
Fri, 2019-09-06 Reflection/Refraction/Polarization(Zangwill 16.1-3; Jackson 7.4)

Mon, 2019-09-09 OFF/travel
Wed, 2019-09-11 OFF/travel
Fri, 2019-09-13 OFF/travel

Mon, 2019-09-16 Dispersion, plasma frequency(Zangwill, 18.1-4; Jackson 7.5); Resonant absorption, ionosphere(Zangwill 18.6; Jackson 7.8)
Wed, 2019-09-18 Group velocity(Zangwill 16.5; Jackson 7.3); Magnetized plasma waves (Zangwill 18.5; Jackson 7.6)
Fri, 2019-09-20 Waveguides, wall effects (Zangwill 19.1-2; Jackson 8.1)

Mon, 2019-09-23 OFF
Wed, 2019-09-25 Cylindrical guides (Zangwill 19.3-4; Jackson 8.2); TE/TM modes (Zangwill 19.4; Jackson 8.3-4)
Fri, 2019-09-27 Energy flow/losses in waveguides (Zangwill 19.5; Jackson 8.5); Cavity oscillations, Q-factor (Zangwill 19.6; Jackson 8.7-8)

Mon, 2019-09-30 OFF
Wed, 2019-10-02 Radiation (Zangwill 20; Jackson 9.1); Electric dipole radiation (Zangwill 20.4; Jackson 9.2)
Fri, 2019-10-04 Magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole radiation (Zangwill 20.7; Jackson 9.3)

Mon, 2019-12-02 Final_tentative