PHYS 4200 Electricity and Magnetism
To provide students with the background in electricity and magnetism necessary to deal with experimental problems in electromagnetism. Part 1 will present the mathematical foundations for the entire treatment of electromagnetism. Part 2 deals with Coulomb's law and the electrostatics based on this law. Part 3 addresses stationary currents and magnetostatics. Part 4 deals with induction and quasi-stationary phenomena, self- and mutual-induction. Part 5 presents a treatment of Maxwell equations and the consequences of these equations, e.g., energy and momentum conservation, Plane waves, reflection, and refraction. Time permitting, we will discuss radiation from moving charges.
Course overview
- Department
- Physics
- School
- MCAS
- Credits
- 3
- Level
- Undergraduate
- Offered
- Every Spring
Requirements fulfilled
- Applied Physics B.S.: At least two of the following Advanced Physics Courses (Current University Catalog; students should confirm their catalog year)
- Mathematics B.S.: Natural science, computer science, or economics corequisites (Current University Catalog; students should confirm their catalog year)
- Physics B.S.: Required Physics Courses (Current University Catalog; students should confirm their catalog year)
Course evaluations
- Course rating
- 4.04 / 5 · Very Good
- Instructor rating
- 4.15 / 5 · Very Good
- Terms evaluated
- 5
| Term | Instructor | Course overall | Instructor overall | Well organized | Clear learning objectives | Intellectually challenging | Helpful assignments | Applicable beyond course | Attendance necessary | Weekly effort | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2026 | Brian Zhou | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 7–9 hrs/week | 16 of 19 |
| Spring 2025 | Brian Zhou | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 7–9 hrs/week | 15 of 17 |
| Spring 2024 | Brian Zhou | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4–6 hrs/week | 10 of 14 |
| Spring 2023 | Brian Zhou | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4–6 hrs/week | 8 of 8 |
| Spring 2022 | Benedetta Flebus | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4–6 hrs/week | 6 of 11 |