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Syllabus
Fall 2015
Mission Statement: Harvey Mudd College seeks to educate engineers, scientists and mathematicians well versed in all of these areas and in the humanities and social sciences so that they may
assume leadership in their fields with a clear understanding of the impact of their work on society.
Course Goals: Students who take this course should finish with a basic understanding of static and
dynamic electromagnetic systems, the classical and quantum behavior of light, and the importance
of electricity and magnetism in modern society. In addition, students should develop an increased
appreciation of the role mathematics plays in describing the physical world.
Successful students in this course will be able to:
Calculate fields and forces resulting from electric charge and current distributions
Work with the wave equation to describe the propagation of electromagnetic waves
Derive the interference and diffraction patterns of light using the fundamental principles of
quantum mechanics
Lectures: Tuesday and Thursday 8:109:25 am in Shanahan 1430.
Sections: Monday and Wednesday 8, 9, 10, 11 am, 1:15 pm. (There will be no recitation sections
held November 25, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, but the homework will be collected in your
section instructors office.)
Course Instructors: J. Eckert, S. Gerbode, T. Lynn, G. Lyzenga, S. Nichols, J. Townsend.
Texts: Physics by Halliday, Resnick, and Krane, 5th Edition, Volume 2, available at Huntley
Bookstore and Quantum Optics by J. S. Townsend, available in the Physics Department office (Keck
1234) for $5. (The Townsend text is Chapter 1 of the Physics 52 textbook Quantum Physics: A
Fundamental Approach to Modern Physics. Some students may wish to purchase the full text at
Huntley.)
Homework: Problems will generally come from the texts; however, a few are attached to the syllabus (these problems are designated SUP). Students should write up problems neatly, beginning
with the problem statement. It is generally wise to use words as well as equations and diagrams so
that your writeup explains both the problem and your solution to a reader at your level.
All problems are due at the beginning of recitation section. In general, late homework will not
be graded without an acceptable reason; it is the students responsibility to contact the instructor
in advance for permission. In calculating the final homework grade, two homework scores will be
dropped so as to maximize each students score.
Solutions to the homework problems will be posted on the course Sakai site. Recitation problem
answers but not solutions will also be posted. In this way, recitation problems can be used as a
genuine store of unsolved practice problems for study purposes. Students are encouraged to discuss
them with each other and with instructors.
In addition to the guidelines above, this course will also adhere, under the HMC Honor Code, to
the following homework policy:
When working on homework, you may not use homework or recitation problem solutions from
Physics 51 in previous years or from sources external to HMC.
You should start by working on the problem sets independently, and discuss the problems with
classmates and instructors only after making a reasonable attempt at independent solutions.
Final solutions should be prepared by each student individually, without directly consulting
any material written by others.
If you write on your papers during recitation to remind yourself of the correct method or
answer, make it clear to the grader that this material is not to be graded.
Each Monday problem set includes an asterisked problem. To help you gauge your learning
and to develop the ability to solve problems independently, this problem is to be done without
assistance from other students (including students not in the course, such as AE tutors);
however, you may speak with course instructors for general guidance. If you are unable to
complete a problem on your own, for maximal credit you should still present the solution as
far as you are able to independently develop it.
These rules are established to help you learn the course material and to be fair to all students.
Exams: This semester there will be two 75-minute exams and a three-hour final exam. All exams
will be closed books and notes. They will cover material from the lectures, text, section discussions,
and homework problems. The first exam is scheduled for Thursday, October 1, from 8:10 to 9:25 am;
the second exam will be on Thursday, November 12, from 8:10 to 9:25 am. The final exam will take
place on Wednesday, December 16, from 7:00 to 10.00 pm.
Grades: The course grade will be determined from the final exam (35%), two midterm exams
(totaling 45%, with the higher exam result counting for 25%), and homework (20%). In addition,
class participation in the recitation section will be used at your instructors discretion as part of
the homework score in the determination of final grades.
Getting the Most Out of Physics 51: Each student should attend and actively participate in
lectures and recitations, and do the assigned reading and homework problems in order to master
the course material. Assigned reading will be most helpful to your learning if it is done before the
lecture. If you have questions about the homework problems or course concepts, you are encouraged
first and foremost to see your section instructor or other instructors in the course. You might also
find it helpful to attend Academic Excellence or talk to your classmates.
Electronic Device Use in Lecture and Recitation: During class please silence your cell phone
and do not use it to place calls, text, or access the Internet. You may not use an electronic device
during class for purposes other than those related to the course, such as taking notes.
Students Requiring Extra Time on Exams: If you are permitted extra time on exams, it is
your responsibility to notify your recitation instructor at least a week before each exam to make
your needs known. This allows us to arrange for appropriate extra space in which you can take the
exam.
Honor Code: The HMC Honor Code applies to all students in this course.
Physics 51 Schedule
Date
Day
Assignment
Sept 1
Tue
Sept 2
Wed
Sept 3
Thurs
Sept 7
Mon
Sept 8
Tue
Sept 9
Wed
Sept 10
Thurs
Sept 14
Mon
Sept 15
Tue
Sept 16
Wed
Sept 17
Thurs
Sept 21
Mon
Sept 22
Tue
Sept 23
Wed
Sept 24
Thurs
Date
Day
Assignment
Sept 28
Mon
Sept 29
Tue
Lecture 9 DC Circuits
Read: HRK Chapter 31
Sept 30
Wed
Oct 1
Thurs
Oct 5
Mon
Oct 6
Tue
Oct 7
Wed
Oct 8
Thurs
Oct 12
Mon
Oct 13
Tue
Oct 14
Wed
Recitation 13 Problem Set 12: HRK E33.33 (parts (a)-(e) only), P33.12
Oct 15
Thurs
Oct 19
Mon
Fall Break
Oct 20
Tue
Fall Break
Oct 21
Wed
Oct 22
Thurs
Date
Day
Assignment
Oct 26
Mon
Oct 27
Tue
Oct 28
Wed
Oct 29
Thurs
Nov 2
Mon
Nov 3
Tue
Nov 4
Wed
Nov 5
Thurs
Nov 9
Mon
Nov 10
Tue
Nov 11
Wed
Nov 12
Thurs
Nov 16
Mon
Nov 17
Tue
Nov 18
Wed
Nov 19
Thurs
Date
Day
Assignment
Nov 23
Mon
Nov 24
Tue
Nov 25
Wed
Nov 26
Thurs
Thanksgiving
Nov 30
Mon
Dec 1
Tue
Dec 2
Wed
Dec 3
Thurs
Dec 7
Mon
Recitation 26 Problem Set 23: Townsend Problems 1.25*, 1.27, 1.29, 1.34
Dec 8
Tue
Dec 9
Wed
Dec 10
Thurs
Dec 16
Wed
Supplemental Problems
~ = y
SUP1: Consider the vector field C
x + x
y in the x-y plane.
(a) Sketch the field lines.
~ C.
~
(b) Calculate
(c) Calculate
~ C)
~ dA
~ over a surface bounded by
(
SUP2: A dielectric material of dielectric constant e and thickness b is placed in the interior of a
parallel-plate capacitor with plate separation d, shown below. Assume that there is a uniform free
surface charge density on the plates of the capacitor.
(a) What is the polarization charge density pol induced on each surface of the dielectric? Hint:
Determine your answer using Gausss law and the definition of the dielectric constant, e =
E0 /E.
(b) Show that the capacitance is given by
C=
e 0 A
b + e (d b)
SUP3: A parallel-plate capacitor has circular plates of radius R and separation d. The capacitor
is connected to a battery of voltage V and then disconnected so that the charge ought to remain
constant. The air is humid, however, and the stored charge leaks back across the capacitor gap
at the rate ileak . Assume that this leakage current is uniformly distributed across the area of the
plates. Find the magnetic field everywhere between the plates.
SUP4: In a material of non-zero electrical resistivity , the relationship between electric field
~ = ~j. For copper, = 2 108 m. A copper wire with a circular
and current density is E
cross-sectional area of 4 mm2 carries a current of 40 A.
(a) What is the longitudinal electric field (field along the length of the wire) in the copper?
~ changing, and what is the
(b) If the current is changing at a rate of 5000 A/s, at what rate is E
resulting displacement current?
(c) Does the displacement current contribute significantly to the magnetic field outside the wire?
Explain your answer.
SUP5:
~ = E0 y
(a) Consider an electromagnetic wave in a vacuum with electric field E
sin(kxt). What
is the propagation direction of this electromagnetic wave?
~ = E0 y
(b) Consider an electromagnetic wave with electric field E
sin(kx + t). What is the
propagation direction of this electromagnetic wave?
~ = E0 y
(c) Consider the electric field E
[sin(kx t) + sin(kx + t)]. Show that this electric field
satisfies the wave equation
~
~
~
~
2E
2E
2E
1 2E
+
+
=
2
2
2
2
x
y
z
c t2
provided /k = c.
SUP6: Light traveling in air (n1 = 1) enters the smooth, flat surface of a pond (n2 = 1.33) at
normal incidence.
(a) What fraction of the light is reflected and what fraction is transmitted?
(b) If the maximum amplitude of the electric field in the incident light is E0 , what is the maximum
amplitude of the electric field in the reflected light?
(c) When you see scenery reflected in a still pond or lake, how is that situation different from
the one you have just calculated?