This course deals with electric and magnetic interactions, which are central to the structure of matter, to chemical and biological phenomena, and to the design and operation of most modern technology. The main goal of this course is to have you engage in a process central to science: the attempt to model a broad range of physical phenomena using a small set of powerful fundamental principles.

The specific focus is an introduction to field theory, in terms of the classical theory of electricity and magnetism. To aid in this goal you will develop computational models to visualize these fields and the interaction of charged particles. These models will be made using the Visual Python programming language. The course also emphasizes the atomic structure of matter, especially the role of electrons and protons in matter.

Topics include:

• Matter and electric field, polarization of atomic matter
• Electric fields of distributed charges, setting up physical integrals, numerical integration
• Electric potential and energy for fields
• Magnetic field, atomic model of ferromagnetism
• A microscopic view of electric circuits, surface charge model
• Capacitors, Inductors, Resistors, and Batteries
• Magnetic force, including motional emf
• Patterns of field in space (Gauss's and Ampere's laws)
• Faraday's law and non-coulomb electric field
• Electromagnetic radiation, including its production by accelerated charges and re-radiation (classical interaction of light and matter)