2021 Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses Basic science and technology courses
Fundamentals of Electromagnetism 2 Q
- Academic unit or major
- Basic science and technology courses
- Instructor(s)
- Toshi-Aki Shibata
- Class Format
- Lecture
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 7-8 Fri (S421)
- Class
- Q
- Course Code
- LAS.P104
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2021
- Offered quarter
- 4Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- English
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
Following Fundamentals of Electromagnetism 1, this course covers static magnetic fields, changing electromagnetic fields, Maxwell’s equations, and electromagnetic waves.
Electromagnetism is important for understanding nature, and is essential for the study of science, engineering, life sciences, and other specialized courses. Students will learn the basic laws of electromagnetism in vacuum, and their mathematical descriptions. This will allow them to understand general electromagnetic phenomena as well as allow them to solve general problems in electromagnetism.
Fundamentals of optics and elementary particles are also key topics that will be covered in this course.
Course description and aims
By completing this course, students will be able to:
1) Understand the concepts of induced electromotive force, induced electric field, self-induction, mutual induction, magnetic energy, displacement current, etc., correctly, and describe them mathematically.
2) Understand Gauss's law for magnetic flux density, Ampére’s law, Faraday's law and Maxwell-Ampére’s law correctly, and apply them to solve problems in electromagnetism.
3) Understand electromagnetic waves on the basis of Maxwell’s equations.
4) Find mathematical solutions to problems in electromagnetism expressed by the appropriate equations, and explain the physical meaning of said solutions.
5) Understand basic optics and elementary particle interactions.
Keywords
Gauss's law, Ampére’s law, electromagnetic induction, Faraday's law, induced electromotive force, induced electric field, self-inductance, mutual inductance, magnetic energy, displacement current, Maxwell-Ampére’s law, Maxwell’s equations, electromagnetic waves, optics, elementary particles
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
Two-thirds of each class is devoted to fundamentals and the rest to advanced content or application. To allow students to get a good understanding of the course contents and practice application, problems related to the contents of this course are provided in Exercises in Physics II.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Ampére’s law is explained. | Take examples in our daily life which are related to Ampere's law and understand them. |
| Class 2 | Electromagnetic induction, Faraday's law and induced electromotive force are explained. | Understand the effects of time-dependent magnetic field. |
| Class 3 | Self-inductance and mutual-inductance are explained. | Understand the difference between self-inductance and mutual-inductance. |
| Class 4 | Displacement current and Maxwell-Ampére’s law are explained. | Understand the concent of displacement current. |
| Class 5 | Maxwell's equations are explained. | Understand the mathematical methods to drive Maxwell's equations. |
| Class 6 | The properties of electromagnetic fields and their applications are explained. | Understand how electromagnetic waves are applied in our daily life. |
| Class 7 | The basic relation between light and elementary particles is explained. | Understand that electromagnetic wave is also a photon, and has a property as a particle. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
assigned during the course when necessary.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Handouts of the lecture will be posted.
It is important to always read the physics textbooks of high school from the viewpoint of a University student and become able to
explain the contents in each page to other people.
Evaluation methods and criteria
The socre will be evaluated based on reports and examinations.
Related courses
- LAS.P106 ： Exercises in Physics II
Prerequisites
No prerequisites.
Other
It is recommended to take the course of Exercises in Physics II.