ABSTRACT

This is a “how to guide” for a calculus-based introductory course in electricity and magnetism. Students taking the subject at an intermediate or advanced level may also find it to be a useful reference. The calculations are performed in Mathematica, and stress graphical visualization, units, and numerical answers. The techniques show the student how to learn the physics without being hung up on the math. There is a continuing movement to introduce more advanced computational methods into lower-level physics courses. Mathematica is a unique tool in that code is written as "human readable" much like one writes a traditional equation on the board.

Key Features:

  • Concise summary of the physics concepts.
  • Over 300 worked examples in Mathematica.
  • Tutorial to allow a beginner to produce fast results.

The companion code for this book can be found here: https://physics.bu.edu/~rohlf/code.html

chapter Chapter 1|28 pages

Coulomb's Law and Electric Field

chapter Chapter 2|16 pages

Gauss's Law

chapter Chapter 3|18 pages

Electric Potential

chapter Chapter 4|16 pages

The Biot-Savart Law

chapter Chapter 5|12 pages

Ampere's Law

chapter Chapter 6|12 pages

Magnetic Vector Potential

chapter Chapter 7|10 pages

Faraday's Law

chapter Chapter 8|18 pages

Circuits

chapter Chapter 9|20 pages

Fields Inside Materials

chapter Chapter 10|20 pages

Electromagnetic Waves

chapter Chapter 11|20 pages

Fields in Moving Frames of Reference