Lecture log
This lecture log lists the main topics covered in each lecture and gives references to relevant sections in the textbook (Griffiths; section numbers refer to the 3rd ed.) and Ingve Simonsen's lecture notes (available here). Topics not covered in the textbook (or covered in a very different way) are shown in red.
| Date | Topics | Textbook | 2014 notes | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 11/1 | General course information. Vector analysis. Vectors. Coordinate systems. Gradient, divergence, curl, Laplacian. The Einstein summation convention. The Levi-Civita symbol. | 1 | 1 | |
| Fri 13/1 | Proving vector identities. The divergence theorem and Stokes' theorem. Some results involving the Dirac delta function. Some general issues. Charge and current densities, point charges, the continuity equation. | 1, 8.1.1 | 1 | |
| Wed 18/1 | The field concept. Maxwell's equations. Macroscopic vs. microscopic equations. Spatial averaging. Microscopic vs. macroscopic description of an interface. Electrostatics. Electric field from a stationary charge distribution. Electric (scalar) potential. Poisson and Laplace equation. Boundary value problems. | 2.1-2.3.4 | 2-2--2-3, 2-6--2-7 | |
| Fri 20/1 | Electrostatic boundary conditions. Properties of conductors. Boundary value problems for Poisson and Laplace equation. Uniqueness theorem. The method of images. Separation of variables method for Laplace equation: Cartesian coordinates. | 2.3.5, 2.5.1, 3.1.5, 3.2, 3.3.1 | 2-4--2-5, 3-1--3-11 | |
| Wed 25/1 | Separation of variables method for Laplace equation: Cartesian coordinates (continued). Spherical coordinates with azimuthal symmetry. Legendre polynomials. Spherical coordinates, general case (very brief discussion). Multipole expansion for the electric potential. | 3.3, 3.4.1 | 3-10--3-27, 3-30 | |
| Fri 27/1 | Multipole expansion (continued). Multipole, dipole, and quadrupole moments. "Pure"/"point" dipole vs. "physical" dipole. Dielectrics. Polarization. Volume and surface polarization (bound) charge. Microscopic description of polarization: The Lorentz model. | 3.4, 4.1, 4.2.1 | 3-30--3-34, 3-36--3-37, 4-1--4-3 | |