Course Name
Paradigms in Physics: Static Fields
Course Number
PH 422 / PH 522
Year/Term
2026
Display other available years here.
Course Credits
4
Class meeting times
7 hours of lecture/discussion per week for five weeks.
Prerequisites
PH 422: PH 213, PH 335 (may be taken in the same term), MTH 255 (may be taken concurrently) PH 522: None
Course description
Theory of static electric, magnetic, and gravitational potentials and fields using the techniques of vector calculus in three dimensions.

Topic/Day

Activities

Resources

Homework Due

W2 D3
Veterans Day (No Class)
W3 D3
Electric Field Due to a Point Charge as a Gradient
GSF: Electric Field
GEM 2.1.1-2.1.2
W4 D1
Unit: Maxwell's Equations in Differential Form
Derivatives of Vector Fields
Definition of Divergence
Read After Class:
GSF: The Definition of Divergence
GEM 1.2.4
W4 D2
Divergence Theorem
GSF: The Divergence Theorem
GEM 1.3.4
Taylor 13.7
Differential Form of Gauss's Law
W4 D3
Current Density
Total Current
Read After Class:
GSF: Current
GEM 5.1.3, 5.2.2
W4 D4
Thanksgiving (No Class)
W4 D5
Thanksgiving Break (No Class)
W5 D1
Product Rule
Integration by Parts
Second Derivatives
Laplace's Equation
Conductors
Read After Class:
GSF: Conductors
GEM 2.5
W5 D3
Magnetic Field \(\vec{B}\) from Magnetic Vector Potential \(\vec{A}\)
GEM 5.4.1
W5 D4
Stokes' Theorem
Differential Form of Ampère's Law
Curl-Free Vector Fields
Read After Class:
GSF: Curl-Free Vector Fields
GEM 1.6.2
Taylor 4.4
12/10, noon