PART IV: Electromagnetism
To the best of our knowledge, the universe is governed by four forces. Gravity is the dominant force at the largest scales. The two nuclear forces hold away at the very smallest distances. The electromagnetism applies to everything in between. Electromagnetism controls the interactions between atoms and molecules at the atomic level. Remarkably, four straightforward and sophisticated equations encompass the entire explanation of the force of electromagnetic. The Maxwell equations are the name given to this. Few areas in physics, or any other field for that matter, can explain how such a highly varied collection of occurrences can arise from so little. This course aims to present the Maxwell equations and explore some of the several narratives they hold.
Contents:
Introduction
Electrostatics
Potentials
Electric Fields in Matter
Magnetostatics
Electrodynamics
These lecture notes are far from original. They borrow heavily from the following references:
1. Classical Electrodynamics, by John David Jackson (1998).
2. Introduction to Electrodynamics, by David J. Griffiths (1999).
3. Modern Electrodynamics, by Andrew Zangwill (2013).
4. A Student’s Guide to Maxwell’s Equations, by Daniel Fleisch (2008).
5. David Tong: Lectures on Theoretical Physics.