Acquisition of fundamental physical concepts regarding electromagnetic phenomena, both in steady-state and time-varying conditions, and the techniques necessary for their analysis. Students should be able to calculate electric and magnetic fields of simple charge and current distributions, apply these concepts to simple devices such as capacitors and inductors, and analyse simple electromagnetic induction phenomena with variable fields and geometries. Finally, the properties of electromagnetic waves will be introduced at a basic level: polarisation, intensity, refraction and reflection, interference, and geometric optics.
Course Prerequisites
Concepts taught in first-year basic courses. In particular: integrals, derivatives, vector identities, vector derivatives and fundamental theorems relating to gradient, divergence and curl (Stokes and Gauss).
Teaching Methods
Lectures (hour/year): 64 Exercise classes (hour/year): 12 Practical activities (hour/year): 0 Lessons are taught using explanations and practical examples on the blackboard. Practical work consists of solving exercises and exam papers from previous years, encouraging active participation from students.
Assessment Methods
The examination consists of a written test and an optional oral test, or one set by the lecturer (24/30 maximum possible score for written exam). The written exam lasts 2 hours and requires the solution of 6 problems. In order to pass the examination, it is essential to demonstrate adequate knowledge of fields E, B and e.m. induction. The oral exam focuses on the review of the written exam and other possible in-depth questions on general topics of the course, with a degree of complexity depending on the student's preparation. The oral exam lasts 15-20 minutes.
Texts
Reference textbooks: Serway (easier, more intuitive), ISBN 9788836231331 or Mazzoldi-Nigro-Voci (more complete and formal, more difficult overall), ISBN 8879591525. There are many equivalent textbooks, however. See the course's website. Brief lectures videos prepared by the teacher (2016/17) and covering the whole course are available on the e-learning platform KIRO, including notes and useful links: see http://www.unipv.it/fis/fisica2/EleInfoBio/index.pdf (some topics have been dropped or treated in a simpler way in later years).
Contents
Electric phenomena in vacuum Coulomb force; electric field, potential energy and electric potential Electrical phenomena in dense media Conductors, capacitors, dielectrics, electric current Magnetic phenomena in vacuum Lorentz force, magnetic field, Biot-Savart law, Ampère law, induction Magnetism in the matter Fields M and H Electromagnetic waves in vacuum Maxwell equations, energy, power and intensity of the field, radiation pressure Interference, diffraction and polarization Waves in dense media Reflection, refraction, optics.
