Physics 704

Questions and Answers

Texts: Jackson, J.D.: Classical Electrodynamics.
           Lea: Mathematics for Physicists

Please read the appropriate section of the text before class. The material will undoubtedly be somewhat mysterious the first time you see it, and you will get more from each class if you have looked at the material in advance.

Assigned problems are listed on the schedule. Doing problems is the essence of a class based on Jackson. I shall collect and grade these every week. Do not get behind! The farther behind you get, the harder it is to catch up. Here are some guidelines for preparing your homework papers.Your grade for the class will be heavily based on these problem grades, although a good deal of credit will be given for a good attempt. (For what "good" means, check here.) You should include a clear and concise discussion of relevant physical principles and mathematical techniques in your solutions, and always discuss your result. Check this list for things you should NOT say in your solutions!

I strongly recommend that you plan to spend at least 15 minutes per week consulting with me in office hours.  Check my office hours now, and let me know if it is impossible for you to attend any of them.

I do not usually hand out homework solutions.  However, you may obtain a solution if you agree to write a one-paragraph discussion of the solution, including such factors as how it differs from your own attempt,  and what you have learned from reading it.  Such solutions are for your own personal use and should not be shared with other students.

There will be a take-home midterm, and an in-class and a take-home final. Problems and the midterm are due at the beginning of the class period on the day indicated. Assignments turned in late will be accepted only under exceptional circumstances.  While I encourage you to discuss the problems during the semester in study groups, please be sure that the work you turn in is your own.  Exams may not be discussed with anyone except me.   You can probably find solutions to many of the problems on the internet.  These solutions range from pretty good to outright wrong.  If you can tell the difference, you don't need the solution.  If you can't, the solution won't help you.  Please review the department's plagiarism policy.   Any use of such internet resources is strictly forbidden.

Please note that some of the assignments will involve a computer calculation. You must have some familiarity with at least one computer language such as C++, FORTRAN, BASIC, IDL , or a math package such as MATHEMATICA or MAPLE or MATLAB. Computers may also be (and should be) used to construct plots and diagrams in other assignments.

Grades will be assigned on the following basis: 

Homework problems:	Midterm:	Final:	Project
30%	30%	35%	5%

I am a tough grader, so the numbers you get on your assignments may be lower that you have been getting in other classes. An overall score of 80% or better usually gets an A. I do not grade on a curve, because the small numbers in graduate classes make the statistics unreliable. I compare you with the students who have taken this class over the last 20 years.

Please feel free to discuss all aspects of the class with me at any time. Discuss the homework problems among yourselves as well as with me (exams should not be discussed, however).  When you discuss problems with other students, general strategies should be discussed, not specific details.  Challenge each other!  Do not accept what someone else says unless she/he can justify his/her reasoning.  Try to attend published office hours, but also feel free to knock on my door whenever I am there. (I'll tell you if I am busy!) It's usually a good idea to make an appointment if you are coming outside office hours.

As graduate students, more is expected of you. You may find it helpful, indeed necessary, to use reference materials other than Jackson. You will need a reference that discusses the basic physical principles: I recommend the Feynman lectures, and also Lea and Burke. You should have access to a mathematical reference work listing integrals as well as properties of mathematical functions such as Legendre polynomials and Bessel functions. The book store has a few copies of Gradshteyn and Ryzhik if you want your own: otherwise using the library should suffice. Other books dealing with the material include: Lea, Mathematics for Physicists, especially Chapter 8 and Optional Topic C; Landau and Lifshitz, Classical Theory of Fields; Schwinger et al, Classical Electrodynamics,  Morse and Feshbach, Methods of Theoretical Physics; Jeffreys and Jeffreys, Mathematical Physics, especially Chapters 6, 18, 21, 22 and 24. A good reference for numerical values of functions is Ambramowitz and Stegun, Handbook of Mathematical Functions (USGPO and also Dover). For numerical techniques, I recommend Numerical Recipes, Press et al.

This class will be a challenge for all of us, and I hope that we can meet it together.

Finally, check out another student's take on this class:  JacksonForLife.pdf

Phys 704 is a core course in the MS degree in Physics:

PROGRAM/DEGREE: MS Physics COLLEGE: Science and Engineering