Course Name
Paradigms in Physics: Static Fields
Course Number
PH 422 / PH 522
Year/Term
2025
Display other available years here.
Course Credits
4
Class meeting times
7 hours of lecture/discussion per week for five weeks.
Prerequisites
PH 213, MTH 255 (may be taken concurrently), PH 335 recommended
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

Unit: Potentials Due to Discrete Charges
Introduction to the Unit
Learning Outcomes
1/6 Mon
Review on your own(as needed):Basic Calculus, Exponentials & Logarithms, Vectors
Unit: Integration in Curvilinear Coordinates
Introduction to the Unit
Learning Outcomes
1/16 Thurs
Total Charge: Spheres & Cylinders
Representations of Vectors
1/20 Mon
MLK (No Class)
Unit: Fields from Continuous Sources
Introduction to the Unit
Learning Outcomes
Unit: $\vec{E}$ as a Gradient
Introduction to the Unit
Learning Outcomes
Unit: Gauss's Law (Integral)
Introduction to the Unit
Learning Outcomes
1/28 Tues
Properties of Gradient
Electric Field Due to a Point Charge as a Gradient
GEM 2.1.1-2.1.2
Directional Derivatives
Products of Vectors: Cross Product
Triple Product
GMM: Cross Product
GEM 1.1.1-1.1.3
Unit: Divergence and Curl
Introduction to the Unit
Learning Outcomes
Unit: Magnetic Fields
Introduction to the Unit
Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
2/10, 7-9pm