David Tong -- Cambridge Lecture Notes on Electromagnetism

David Tong: Lectures on IB Electromagnetism

This is an introductory course on electromagnetism given to second year undergraduates at the beginning of 2015. It assumes a prior knowledge of special relativity. Individual chapters and problem sheets are available below. The full set of lecture notes come in around 120 pages and can be downloaded here. Please do email me if you find any typos or corrections.


PostScript      PDF

Content


  • Div, Grad and Curl:   Postscript    PDF

  • 1. Introduction and Electrostatics:   Postscript    PDF
    Introduction; Charge, Current and Conservation; Forces and Fields; Maxwell Equations; Gauss' Law; Coulomb Law; Electrostatic Potential; Electrostatic Energy; Conductors.
  • 2. Magnetostatics:   Postscript    PDF
    Ampere's Law; The Vector Potential; Magnetic Monopoles; Gauge Transformations; Biot-Savart Law; Magnetic Dipoles; Magnetic Forces; What is a Magnet?
  • 3. Electrodynamics:   Postscript    PDF
    Faraday's Law of Induction; Inductance; Magnetostatic Energy; Resistance; Displacement Current; Light; Polarisation; Poynting Vector.
  • 4. Electromagnetism and Relativity:   Postscript    PDF
    Review of Special Relativity; Indices; Continuity Equation; Magnetism and Relativity; Maxwell Equations in Covariant Form; Gauge Transformations in Covariant Form; Lorentz Force Law; Relativistic Motion of Particles in Background Fields.

Problem Sheets

  • Problem Sheet 1:   Postscript    PDF    Electric Fields

  • Problem Sheet 2:   Postscript    PDF    Magnetic Fields

  • Problem Sheet 3:   Postscript    PDF    Electromagnetic Waves and Relativity


Electromagnetism on the Web


Some Classic Resources