PHY3032 : Classical Fields
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Dr Mark Rayson
- Owning School: Mathematics, Statistics and Physics
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
- Capacity limit: 55 student places
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 5.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
To enhance the students’ knowledge of the fundamental theory of electromagnetism and to enable the students to view these laws within the wider context of physics as a whole.
Module Summary
The theory of electromagnetism was a tour de force of 19th century physics. In this module it will be placed in its proper context with regard to another pillar of classical physics, namely, special relativity. The course ends with a discussion of a radical change to our view of the world required to understand previously covered phenomena when considering the particle nature of light.
Outline Of Syllabus
Scalar and vector fields, vector calculus, electrostatics, scalar potentials, Maxwell’s equations inferred from electrostatics and coordinate transformations, magnetic charge and duality transformations, magnetic vector potentials, four-potential and four-current, radiation and the particle nature of light.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 11 | 2:00 | 22:00 | Formal Lectures |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 32 | 1:00 | 32:00 | Completion of in course assignments |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 5 | 1:00 | 5:00 | Tutorial/problem class |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 41 | 1:00 | 41:00 | Preparation time for lectures, background reading, coursework review |
| Total | 100:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The teaching methods are appropriate to allow students to develop a wide range of skills, from understanding basic concepts and facts to higher-order thinking.
Lectures and small group teaching are used for the delivery of theory and explanation of methods, illustrated with examples, and for giving general feedback on marked work.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written Examination | 120 | 2 | A | 85 | N/A |
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prob solv exercises | 2 | M | 5 | Problem-solving exercises assessment |
| Prob solv exercises | 2 | M | 5 | Problem-solving exercises assessment |
| Prob solv exercises | 2 | M | 5 | Problem-solving exercises assessment |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
A substantial formal unseen examination is appropriate for the assessment of the material in this module. The format of the examination will enable students to reliably demonstrate their own knowledge, understanding and application of learning outcomes. The assurance of academic integrity forms a necessary part of programme accreditation.
Examination problems may require a synthesis of concepts and strategies from different sections, while they may have more than one ways for solution. The examination time allows the students to test different strategies, work out examples and gather evidence for deciding on an effective strategy, while carefully articulating their ideas and explicitly citing the theory they are using.
The coursework assignments allow the students to develop their problem solving techniques, to practise the methods learnt in the module, to assess their progress and to receive feedback; these assessments have a secondary formative purpose as well as their primary summative purpose.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- PHY3032's Timetable