PHYS 435 :: Physics Illinois :: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Schedule

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New Homework assignments will be published on this page on Wednesdays and discussed briefly in the next class meeting (Friday).  They will be due on Fridays of the next week at 1159 pm.  Just to be clear, that is 9 days after the homework is assigned.  You can submit your homework up to two days later (Sunday evening at 1159pm) for 90% credit.  After that late deadline, no credit can be earned.  On Tuesdays at 5 pm we will have an office hour to discuss the assignment due on Friday of that week.  Between the discussion in class on Fridays and the HW office hour on Tuesdays, you should be able to avoid spinning your wheels unproductively.

To hand in HW assignments, we use Gradescope.  The Entry Code is available here.  If you do your HW on paper, carefully scan your solution pages to produce a single clean and legible pdf file containing all the pages of your solution.  If you use an electronic tablet for your work, use it to produce the pdf file.  Submitt your file to the Gradescope HW depository.  It is important that your file can actually be read and graded.  Illegible files will not be graded and will result in zero credit.

Starting on Monday Jan 27, 2025, we will use iClickers to poll the class on questions on topics we have are covering in class.  As of right now, we will not grade the responses, but participation in this activity will feed into the classroom participation grade.  You need to register your iClicker for this class using your Gradebook page.

You can review videos of the lectures on Mediaspace.  You will have to log in using your UIUC credentials to see them.  Here's the link:    https://mediaspace.illinois.edu/channel/channelid/368570522

You can find notes for discussions here.

 

Date Lecture Reading Homework Discussion Exams
Wednesday 1/22/2025

Lecture 1
Review Maxwell's Equations from Physcis 212
Derive Maxwell Differential Equations
Gauss:  Flux of E through a closed surface is the charge enclosed/eps-0
Faraday:  Path integral of E around the perimeter of any open surface is (-1) times time derivative of magnetic flux through the open surface
Lecture1.pdf

 Griffiths Chapter 1 Divergence Theorem and Stokes Theorem.
Griffiths 2.1 and 2.2
Also, glance at Appendix A		 Assign HW1
due Jan 31, 2025 for 100%
Feb 2, 2025 for 90%
HW1 Solution		    
Thursday
1/23/2025		          
Friday
1/24/2025		 Lecture 2
Electric Potential Function for Static Sources
Solution by Superposition
Lecture2.pdf
 		 Griffiths Sec.2.3 Introduce HW1    
Monday
1/27/2025		 Lecture 3
E-field Interaction Energy
E-field Energy Density
Continuous charge density vs point charges
Lecture3.pdf		 Griffiths Sec. 2.4  

Discussion 1 pdf

Solutions1 pdf

  
Tuesday
1/28/2025		     HW1 Homework Office Hour
144 Loomis
5-6pm 		    
Wednesday 1/29/2025 Lecture 4
Point Charges, Dirac Delta function, Conductors and Capacitance
Lecture4.pdf		 Griffiths Sec. 2.5

Assign HW2 
due Feb 7 11:59pm 100%
or due Feb 9 11:59 pm 90%
HW2 Solution

    

Thursday
1/30/2025

Curl Subtleties
Path Integrals

Curl_subtleties.pdf

        
Friday
1/31/2025		 Lecture 5
Electric Potential Function
Boundary Conditions and Uniqueness
Lecture5.pdf		 Griffiths Sec. 3.1

Introduce HW2
HW1 due

    
Monday
2/3/2025		 Lecture 6
E-field and Potential from charges and conductors
Method of Images
Problems with Rectangular Symmetry
Lecture6.pdf		 Griffiths Sec. 3.1 and 3.2.1-3  

Discussion 2
pdf

Solutions 2 pdf

  
Tuesday
2/4/2025		     HW2 Homework Office Hour
144 Loomis
5-6pm 		    
Wednesday
2/5/2025		 Lecture 7
Method of Images
Problems with Spherical Symmetry
Solution for V(r) Inside and outside a grounded Conducting Sphere
Lecture7.pdf		 Griffitrhs Sec 3.2.4 Assign HW3
due 1159pm Feb 14 100%
or due 1159pm Feb 16 90%
HW3 Solution		    
Thursday
2/6/2025		          
Friday
2/7/2025		 Lecture 8
Separation of Variables for [grad^2]V(r) = 0
Boundary Value Problems with Rectangular Coordinates
Lecture8.pdf		 Griffiths Sec 3.3.1 Introduce HW3
HW2 due		    
Monday
2/10/2025		 Lecture 9
Separation of Variables
Solutions in Rectangular Coordinates
Fourier Series Solutions
Lecture9.pdf		 Griffiths Sec. 3.3.1
Notes		  

Discussion 3

pdf

Solutions 3

pdf

  
Tuesday
2/11/2025		     HW3 Homework Office Hour
144 Loomis
5-6pm 		    
Wednesday
2/12/2025		 Lecture 10
Separation of Variables in Spherical Coordinates
Legendre Polynomials and Spherical Harmonics
Lecture10.pdf		 Griffiths Sec. 3.3.2 Assign HW4
due 1159pm Feb 21 100%
or due 1159pm Feb 23 90%
HW4 Solution		    
Friday
2/14/2025		 Lecture 11
Examples of Spherical Problems
Lecture11.pdf		 Griffiths 3.3.2

Introduce HW4
HW3 due

    
Monday
2/17/2025		 Lecture 12  (ZOOM)
Green's Functions Solve All Potential Problems!
Green's Identity
Charges and Boundary Conditions
Lecture12.pdf		 Notes Only  

Discussion 4

Solution 4

  
Tuesday
2/18/2025		     HW4 Office Hour
ZOOM
5-6 pm		    
Wednesday
2/19/2025		 Lecture 13  (ZOOM)
Fields from Charges Viewed from Far Away
Expansion of Electric Potential in Multipole Moments
First Example of Hierarchical Approximations
pdf		 Griffiths 3.4 Assign HW5
due Feb 28 1159pm for 100%
or Mar 2 1159 pm for 90%
HW5 Solution

 

  
Thursday
2/20/2025		          
Friday
2/21/2025		 Lecture 14
Dipoles
pdf		 Griffiths 3.4.1

Introduce HW5
HW4 due

    

Monday
2/24/2025

 Lecture 15
Introduction to Dielectrics
Polarization Density Vector Field P
Bound Polarization Charge
pdf		 Griffiths 4.1 and 4.2  

Discussion 5

Solution 5

  
Tuesday
2/25/2025		     HW5 Office Hour
144 LLP
5-6 pm		    
Wednesday
2/26/2025		 Lecture 16
Introduction to Dielectrics
Linear Dielectrics
Susceptibility to Polarization by an Applied E-field
Emergence of Bound Polarization Charge
Self Consistent Solution Required!
pdf		 Griffiths 4.4.1 Assign HW6
due by March 14 for 100%
or due by March 16 for 90% 
HW6 Solution

 

  
Thursday
2/27/2025		          
Friday
2/28/2025		 Lecture17
The "Displacement" Vector Field D
D is a helper Field
Boundary Conditions:
Matching D-perp and E-parallel at Dielectric Boundaries
Cartesian Coordinate Problems
pdf		 Griffiths 4.3

Introduce HW6
HW5 due

    
Monday
3/3/2025		 Lecture 18
Boundary Value Problems with Dielectrics
Spherical Problems
pdf		 Griffiths 4.2 and 4.3  

Discussion 6

Solution 6

  
Tuesday
3/4/2025		    

MT1 Office Hour
144 LLP
5-6 pm

    
Wednesday
3/5/2025

MidTerm 1. in class
Covers the content of Lectures 1 through 16

      

 
Thursday
3/6/2025		          
Friday
3/7/2025

Lecture 19
Energy and Forces in Problems with Dielectrics
Depolarizing Coefficients
pdf

Griffiths 4.4
Griffiths 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3

 Reintroduce HW6    
Monday
3/10/2025		 Lecture 20
Electric Currents
Ampere's Law
Law of Biot and Savart is Complicated!

​pdf		 Griffiths 5.1-3  

Discussion 7

Solution 7

  
Tuesday
3/11/2025		  

 

   HW6 Office Hour
144 LLP
5-6 pm		    
Wednesday
3/12/2025

Lecture 21
Magnetic Vector Potential, A
Gauges, the Coulomb Gauge
Robert Mills (of Yang-Mills) Paper on Gauge Theories
read through section IV.B
pdf

Griffiths 5.4
Griffiths Appendix B


Assign HW7
due March 28 for 100%
March 30 for 90%
HW7 Solution

    
Thursday
3/13/2025		    

 

    
Friday
3/14/2025

Lecture 22
Magnetic Multipoles
pdf

Griffiths 5.4.2 Introduce HW7
HW 6 due		    
Monday
3/24/2025		 Lecture 23  ( ZOOM)
Magnetic Multipoles
Levi Civita Symbol
pdf		 Griffiths 5.4.3  

Discussion 8

Solution 8

  
Tuesday
3/25/2025

 

   HW7 Homework Office Hour
(ZOOM)
5-6pm 
 		    
Wednesday
3/26/2025

Lecture 24   (ZOOM)
Magnetic Moments, Torques, Forces, Energy
Boundary Conditions
​pdf

Griffiths 6.1

Assign HW8
due by April 4 1159pm for 100%
April 6 1159pm for 90%
HW8 Solution

 

  
Thursday
3/27/2025		          
Friday
3/28/2025		 Lecture 25   (ZOOM)
​Magnetic Materials, Magnetization Density, M.
pdf		 Griffiths 6.1 Introduce HW8
HW7 due		    
Monday
3/31/2025		 Lecture 26
Bound Currents, Magnetized Objects
​pdf		 Griffiths 6.2-3

 

Discussion 9

Solution 9

  
Tuesday
4/1/2025

 

   HW8 Office Hour
144 Loomis
5-6 pm		    
Wednesday
4/2/2025

Lecture 27
The Auxillary Magnetic Field, H
H is a Helper Field
B = mu0(H+M)
Boundary Conditions on B and H
Magnetic SCALAR Potential!
pdf

 Griffiths 6.3

Assign HW9
due by April 11, 2025 for 100%
April 13 for 90%
​HW9 Solution

 

  
Thursday
4/3/2025		          
Friday
4/4/2025

Lecture 28
Magnetic BVPs with Linear Paramagnetic Media
pdf

 Notes

Introduce HW9
HW8 due

    
Monday
4/7/2025

Lecture 29
E-Fields in conductors, Electrodynamics, Complex Impedances
pdf

 Griffiths 6.3  

Discussion 10

Solution 10

  
Tuesday
4/8/2025

 

   HW9 Office Hour
144 Loomis
5-6 pm		    
Wednesday
4/9/2025

Lecture 30
Electrodynamics
Field energy densitites
Repair Ampere's Law
pdf

 Griffiths 7.1 HW10
due April 25 1159pm 100%
due April 27 1159pm for 90%
HW10 Solution

 

  
Thursday
4/10/2025		          
Friday
4/11/2025

Lecture 31

Complex Impedances
​Recap of Faraday's Law
pdf

 Notes
Griffiths 7.2
HW9 due		  


 
Monday
4/14/2025		 Lecrture 32
Repairing Ampere's LawEnergy in fields
Magnetic Field energy density
Poynting's Vector
pdf		 Griffiths 7.3

 

Discussion 11

Solution 11		  
Tuesday
4/15/2025

 

   discuss Midterm 2    
Wednesday
4/16/2025

Midterm 2.  in class
Covers material through Lecture 29

    


 
Thursday
4/17/2025		          
Friday
4/18/2025

Lecture 33
Inhomogeneous Wave Equation from Maxwell
Homogeneous Wave Equation
Structure of Electromagnetic Waves
Poynting the way to Intensity of Electromagnetic Waves
pdf
 

 Griffiths 8.1.2
Notes

Notes
Griffiths 9.1-2		      
Monday
4/21/2025

Lecture 34
Plane Waves
Polarization of EM radiation
Intensity of EM radiation
Sinusoidal EM Waves
pdf
 

 Griffiths 9.1-2
Notes		  

 

Discussion 12

Solution 12

  
Tuesday
4/22/2025

 

  

HW10 HW Office Hour
144 Loomis
5-6pm 

    
Wednesday
4/23/2025

Lecture 35
​Superposition of Sinusoidal Waves
Pulses and Bandwidth (uncertainty condition)​
pdf
 

 Griffiths 9.2
Notes

Assign HW11
HW11 Solution
Due Mon May 5 at 1159 pm for 100%
  or Wed May 7 1159pm for 90%

 

  
Thursday
4/24/2025		          
Friday
4/25/2025

Lecture 36
Propagation of EM waves in Dielectrics
Polarization Current Density
Index of Refraction
pdf
 

 Griffiths 9.3.2-3
​Notes

Introduce HW11
HW10 due

    
Monday
4/28/2025		 Lecture 37
Reflection and Refraction from Dielectric Interfaces I
​pdf
 		 Griffiths 9.3.3

 

Discussion 13

Solution 13

  
Tuesday
4/29/2025

 

   HW11 Homework Office Hour
144 Loomis
5-6pm 		    
Wednesday
4/30/2025

Lecture 38
​Reflection and Refraction from Dielecrtric Interfaces II
​pdf
 

 Notes
Griffirths 9.4		  

 

  
Thursday
5/1/2025		          
Friday
5/2/2025

Lecture 39
​Propagation of EM waves in Conductors
Reflection of EM waves from Conductors
​pdf
 

 Notes      
Monday
5/5/2025		 Lecture 40
​Reflection of EM waves from Conductors
pdf
 		   HW11 due
due May 5 1159pm for 100%
due May 7 1159pm for 90%

Discussion 14

Solution 14

  
Tuesday
5/6/2025

 

        
Wednesday
5/7/2025

Lecture 41
Review
​pdf

   HW11 due
due May 7 1159pm for 90%

 

  
Thursday
5/8/2025		 Reading Day        
Friday
5/9/2025

Exams Start

        
FINAL
5/XX/2025