Physics 3320 (Fa14)

Introduction, then review all week.
1. Overview of 3310, focus on electrostatics.
2. Review of Electrostatics and Maxwell's equations. Class activity #1 (Div theorem, and Stokes theorem)
3. More review of electrostatics, Gauss' and Ampere's law. Class activity #2 (Gauss) and #3 (Ampere) (If you don't have time to finish in class, try them at home. Ask on piazza if you have any questions!)

Homework #0 : Due Wed Aug 28 start of class (Yes, that soon!) It is meant to review 3310 - if anything is unfamiliar, it should give you an idea about where you need to catch up.

Week 2:

Sep 2-Sep 5

(Mon holiday!)

New material:
Read 7.1 for Friday.
As always, see the lecture notes link (top of this page, or directly from the main website) for my own notes.

1. (Holiday!)

2. Boundary conditions and magnetostics:
Finish up our review. (See lecture notes for a bit more review if you want!)

3. Start new stuff - Ohm's law and current conservation.
Class activity on Current conservation

Preflights open up Friday afternoon:
Preflight #1 is due Wed AM:
Important: the Password is always 3320
These are normally due Mon at 10 AM, but this week it's delayed to Wed (Sep 3) at 10 AM due to the holiday.
(We grade preflights only on participation, not on correctness!)

Homework #1: Due Wed (Sep 3) start of class
(Mon office hours cancelled - holiday!)

Ch 7.1.1 for Mon,
7.1.2 for Wed.
7.1.3 and 7.2.1 for Friday

1. Ohm's law (example) and class activity on currents in resistors.

2. Current flow, continuity, and intro to EMF.
Here's the PheT sim about batteries (that crashed, I'll show it Friday)

3. Motional EMF, intro to flux rule and Farady's law. (We won't do this activity on motional EMF on paper, but this might be helpful for studying. We'll do it in class)

Preflight #2 : Due Monday at 10 AM! Password is always 3320 this term.
These do not go live till Friday after class (sometimes maybe Thursday evening)... so you basically have the weekend for it. They are meant as prep for the coming week!)
Homework #2: Due Wed, Start of class, as always.

Ch 7.2.2 for Mon.
7.2.3 for Wed.
7.2.4 for Fri.
(My lecture notes to page 7-29 for this week)

1. More on the "flux rule", and Faraday's law. Class activity. Also, the MIT falling magnet video (more cool ones here we won't get to in class) and a short video (like our class demo...) and one on levitating trains (just way cool)

2. Faraday's law continued, define mutual (and self) inductance.

3. More on Inductors, including inductors in simple circuits.

Preflight #3: Due Mon at 10 AM.
Password is always 3320 this term

Homework #3: Due Wed start of class

1. Inductor energy, and solving more general circuits, ending with the "phasor" idea . Class activity on complex numbers

2. Solving circuits with phasors (including Capacitors) . Class activity on phasors.

3. Wrap up RLC stuff, at the end we start back into Griffiths: Leading to the Full set of Maxwell equations

Preflight #4: Due Mon at 10 AM.

Homework #4: Due Wed Sep 25 Start of class

Wrapping up Ch 7 this week. (We may start the very beginning of Ch 8 on Friday, 8.1, but I won't expect you to read it ahead of time, given the Thurday exam! But you'll need 8.1 for next Monday...)

1) Full maxwell equations (the "Maxwell-Ampere" law) Class activity #1 and #2.

2) Wrap up Maxwell Ampere term. If time: Start finishup up Ch 7 (full equations in matter (with a brief review of D and H fields - but you should review Ch 4 and 6 yourself ahead of time to remember the basics of polarization, magnetization, D, and H) More on equations in matter, and boundary conditions) today.

(EXAM IS THURSDAY, 7:30 -9:30, in HUMN 150) See the exams link under "course info"

3) Still wrapping up Ch 7 (See Wed notes). Possibly introducing Ch 8, conservation laws and Poynting vector today, if time.

Preflight #5: Due Mon at 10 AM.

Homework #5: Due Wed Oct 2 Start of Class.

8.1.1-3 and 8.2.1. For Mon and Wed.
We're not going through 8.2.2 in detail, but will focus on the ideas! (Ditto 8.2.3 and 8.2.4) So, read it, with an eye to understanding the big picture.

(See Ch 8 lecture notes)

1) Conservation laws, Poynting's theorem and conservation of energy.

2) Conservation of energy. Class activity.

3) More on conservation laws. Conservation of momentum.

Preflight #6: Due Mon

Homework #6: Due Wed Oct 8 Start of Class.

Week 8:

Oct 13-17

9.1.1-4, and 9.2 (all)

(See Ch 9 lecture notes )

1) Wrap up conservation laws. End of class: start on 1D and 3D Waves

2) Waves using "complex notation", did the "plot lines of constant k dot r" activity and started a class activity on waves.

3) EM Waves (Finished previous class' activity, and another quickie we will not do in class)

(Preflight #7 due Monday, 10 AM)

Homework 7 due on Wed. (Oct 15), but "auto-extension" to Friday (Oct 17) due to QM test

Read Griffiths 9.3.1-2 for this week

(Still Ch 9 lecture notes)

1) Still more on EM waves. (

2) Wave on a string, reflection and transmission, segue to EM Waves in matter and EM boundary conditions. Class activity.

3) Light scattering, reflection and transmission

Preflight #8: Due Mon @ 10 AM.

Homework 8 due on Wed. (Oct 22) (Note: there was a small typo in Q1. At the end of Q1a, it said "from the case at yt=0", but it should just be "from the case at y=0")

Read Griffiths 9.3.3 for Mon and Wed, and read 9.4.1 for Friday

1) R&T at oblique angles.

2) More about R&T at oblique angles - Snell's law and Brewster's angle and perhaps brief mention of total internal reflection (Evanescent waves)

3) Prof. Beale guest lectures. Here are his notes - he had several activities. EM waves inside conductors. Another small activity.

Preflight #9: Due Mon @ 10 AM

Homework 9 due on Wed. (Oct 29!) (Note: There is a hint for the EC (with an intermediate step) available on piazza)

Read Griffiths 9.4.2 for Mon.

We will treat 9.4.3 and 9.5 like we did "stress-energy tensor", we'll discuss it briefly in class, but you aren't responsible for it for tests or homework.

Read 10.1.1 for Wed, and 2 for Friday
Also, see lecture notes for Ch 10.

1) Reflection from conductors, and the "good conductor" limit. Wrap up, with some qualitative discussion of dispersion.

2) Start on potentials, V and A (and "gauge" choices". Short class activity on potentials

3) More on potentials, V and A. (And, "gauge" choices)
Another class activity on gauges

Preflight #10: Due Mon @ 10 AM.


Homework 10 due on Wed.

Week 12:

Nov 10-14

(2nd exam
Thurs Nov 13, 7:30 PM!)

Read through 10.2.1.
Note: We will not cover anything more in Ch 10 in detail, though we'll discuss the concepts in class before moving on.
Read 11.1.1 and 2 for Wed.

1) "retarded time" in the Lorentz gauge. Quick Class activity on retarded time

2) Retarded time example, class activity,

(Exam Thursday, see exam info page)

3) Wrap up retarded time story, (do another example: the infinite sheet), briefly summarize remainder of Ch 10 topics. Lead in to Ch. 11, EM radiation.

Preflight #11: This one is longer than usual, it has a bunch of review questions. Due Wed (not Monday) @ 10 AM

Homework 11 is NOT DUE this week because of the midterm - it will be due NEXT week.

Read thru 11.1.2 for Mon. (We'll do 11.1.3 on Wed) We'll get started on relativity Fri: 12.1.1-2 should be a review of Physics 3, but I'm guessing you'll want to "relearn" that!

See the extra relativity review powerpoints! These are quite helpful if you've forgotten your basic 2170 relativity, take time to work through them! (It may take you ~30 minutes or so, it's worth it!)

(or, pdf version, if you don't have powerpoint)

1) EM radiation from dipoles

2) More EM radiation, why is the sky Blue? Larmor formula.

3) Start special relativity, introduction to Lorentz transformations. (Please see the comments in the left column - look at those relative powerpoints ahead of class!)

Preflight #12: Back to our usual schedule: due Mon @ 10 AM.

Homework 11 is due Wed in class, as usual.

1) Relativity, Intro to Lorentz transformations (activity)
2) the Lorentz transformations, velocity addition (activity),
3) 4-velocity, invariants, and space-time (Minkowski) diagrams.

Preflight #13 @ 10 AM. See the extra relativity review powerpoints (or, pdf version, if you don't have powerpoint)

Homework 12 will be due at the usual time, Wed (Dec 4)

PLEASE FILL IN ONLINE FCQ's.

12.2.1-2 for Monday, we'll cover the rest of chapter 12 (qualitatively) on Friday. Read what interests you.

1) More on invariants, space-time intervals, 4-momentum,conservation of momentum

2) Practice test today!

3) Wrapping up, with a focus on "covariant notation".

Preflight, #14 (Bit of relativity, then mostly survey questions) is due Monday extended to Tuesday @10. (Last one, but I will provide one more "final exam review", for extra credit, due Friday@noon.)

Homework 13 (Last one!) will be due at the usual time, Wed (Dec 11)

I have a little set of review questions if you want a last (extra credit) "preflight" . Open this week, formally closes Friday@midnight. (But I will extend it to Mon@10 like usual, if you want to work on it after the last class)