Content will focus on concepts and practical application of Maxwell's equations aiming to develop understanding of fundamental effects of electromagnetism and optics. This includes guiding, radiation and scattering of electromagnetic waves, and particle dynamics in electromagnetic fields. Content will also include the relativistic formulation of Maxwell's equations and application of the relativistic formulation of Maxwell's equations. This course is one of the 3rd year options for the physics major, and is recommended for those intending to do honours in Physics.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Have an advanced understanding of Maxwell's equations and have gained practical experience in solving Maxwell's equations using analytic and numerical techniques.
- Understand the wave solutions of electromagnetism and their relevance to optics including propagation of electromagnetic waves in materials, birefringence, boundary conditions at material interfaces and reflection and transmission of waves at interfaces, polarisation, spatial phase, coherence, Fourier theory and spatial filtering, Maxwell stress tensor and mechanical forces exerted by electromagnetic waves, radiation from time dependent charge distributions.
- Covariant (relativistic formulation) of electrodynamics including four vectors, the electromagnetic field tensor, Lagrangians and fields, gauge transformations and symmetries.
- Apply the covariant formulation of electricity and magnetism to brehmstrahlung and related effects
- Explain the purpose and advantages of writing physical laws in tensor form.
- Demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills and be able to research and explain scientific concepts.
Indicative Assessment
- Assignments (20) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Mid term Exam (30) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Final Exam (30) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Report (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
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Workload
The course will be taught in flipped classroom (blended) mode. The expected workload will consist of approximately 130 hours throughout the semester including:
- Face-to face component which will consist of 2 hours of mandatory workshop per week (24 hours total), 1 x 1 hour tutorial per week.
- Approximately 80 hours of self directed study which will include on-line content, background reading, work on assignments and oral presentation
- Students are expected to actively participate and contribute towards discussions.
Inherent Requirements
To be determined
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Modern Electrodynamics, Andrew Zangwill. Cambridge University Press, ISBN-9780521896979
Classical Electrodynamics 3rd edition, J.D. Jackson, ISBN-9780471309321
Introduction to Electrodynamics 4th edition, David J Griffiths, Prentice Hall, SBN-10: 9332550441.
Assumed Knowledge
Multi variable calculus.
Ordinary and partial differential equations and the solution of boundary value problems
Vector calculus including gradient, divergence and curl, Stoke's theorem and the divergence theorem.
Specialisations
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 2
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
Units | EFTSL |
---|---|
6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
Year | Fee |
---|---|
2021 | $4110 |
- International fee paying students
Year | Fee |
---|---|
2021 | $5880 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4310 | 22 Feb 2021 | 01 Mar 2021 | 31 Mar 2021 | 28 May 2021 | In Person | View |