2023-11-01
PowerPoint slides of the Electricity and Magnetism course
[ PP-slide links are at the bottom of this page ]
Preface
I am pleased to share with you a comprehensive set of slides for the course "Electricity and Magnetism, Part II," which I had the privilege of teaching to first-year physics, applied physics and astronomy BSc students from 2017 to 2023. This course draws its foundation from the textbook "Introduction to Electrodynamics" by D.J. Griffiths (4th edition), focusing on Chapters 7 to 12. I am confident that these PowerPoint slides will prove to be a valuable resource not only for fellow educators but also for students and teaching assistants.
In several instances, I employed more in-depth derivations to tailor the course material to the needs of first-year students who may not yet have a strong grasp of mathematical concepts such as differential vector calculus, differential equations, and tensors. To ensure clarity and accessibility, I took a conceptual approach to explain the "why," "what," and "how" of each derivation before delving into the details. This step-by-step approach is designed to help students better understand and structure the material. Additionally, I adopted a notation with arrows above vector variables while maintaining the bold font. This choice aligns with our pedagogical approach, as it encourages students to clearly differentiate between scalars and vectors. By following this notation, I aimed to reinforce this important distinction throughout the course.
Furthermore, I incorporated animations into the slides, making them well-suited for online teaching, particularly during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020-21. These animations enhance the visual and interactive aspects of the presentation, making it easier for students to grasp complex concepts in an online learning environment.
The lecture slides closely adhere to the structure of Griffiths' chapters while simultaneously enriching the content with a diverse array of elements. These additions encompass historical insights, contemporary applications drawn from modern physics, captivating lecture demonstrations, multimedia resources like movies, and interactive lecture exercises. While the slides maintain alignment with Griffiths' chapters, they also offer a lecture-specific breakdown. This breakdown can be particularly valuable for instructors, as it aids in the thoughtful planning and organization of the course.
The inclusion of historical material aims to offer students a more comprehensive understanding of the pioneering scientists responsible for the development of electrodynamics and the underlying rationale guiding their breakthroughs.
The integration of examples from modern physics serves to establish direct links between classical electrodynamics and contemporary advancements in the field. For instance, phenomena such as laser tweezers, metamaterials, and free-electron lasers serve as illustrative instances of this connection.
Lecture demonstrations serve as a highly effective means of directly validating the theoretical concepts just covered through straightforward experiments conducted within the lecture hall. I owe a debt of gratitude to the physics lab team led by Dr. R.J.H. Klein-Douwel and Hans de Vries, who devised and prepared several of these demonstrations specifically for the lectures.
Movies were incorporated into the course on occasions when lecture demonstrations were either unavailable or as visual aids to elucidate various concepts discussed during the lectures.
The lecture exercises are designed to assess the students' comprehension and are presented in the form of two-minutes online polls. I actively encouraged students to engage in discussions with their peers to foster interactivity and self-directed learning. The lively exchange of ideas and the hum of conversations among students is precisely the kind of engagement every teacher aspires to hear in the lecture hall. I want to express my deep appreciation to Prof. A.M. van den Berg, whose valuable contributions were instrumental in developing many of these exercises.
Lastly, but certainly not least, I want to express my deep appreciation for the valuable collaboration with Prof. Steven Hoekstra. His dedicated coordination of the course for many years, as well as his contributions to Part I (Chapters 1-6), have been instrumental in the success of this course.
Feel free to access and utilize these slides, whether you are an instructor seeking supplementary materials or a student seeking a clearer grasp of the course content. Your feedback and suggestions for improvement are always welcome at
Maxim S. Pchenitchnikov (aka Pshenichnikov)
Faculty of Science and Engineering
University of Groningen
The Netherlands
1 November 2023
Please click on the links below to download the PowerPoint files :
Chapter 7. Electrodynamics.pptx
Chapter 8. Conservation laws.pptx
Chapter 9. Electromagnetic Waves.pptx
Chapter 10. Potentials and Fields.pptx
Chapter 12. Electrodynamics and Relativity.pptx