Physics 7311 - Electromagnetic Theory I

Course Information - Spring 2026

• Lecturer: Professor Randall J. Scalise
• Lecture meeting times and place: TTh 9:00am - 12:20pm Fondren Science Building room 32
• Office hours: by appointment.
• SMU Required Syllabus Statements
• Contact:
  • Call or leave a message at 768-2504, or
  • Leave a note in the Physics Department Office - 102 Fondren Science, or
  • send me e-mail: <scalise@smu.edu>
• Text:
  • Classical Electrodynamics by Jackson (3rd edition)
• Lecture Notes
  • Lecture 1
  • Lecture 2
  • Lecture 3
  • Lecture 4, Green functions (1/2), Green functions (2/2)
  • Lecture 5
  • Lecture 6
  • Lecture 7, page 7-18
  • Lecture 8, Soap film
  • Lecture 9
  • Lecture 10
  • Lecture 11
  • Lecture 12
  • Lecture 13
  • Lecture 14
  • Lecture 15
  • Conformal mapping, Notes from Peter Olver
  • Variational Techniques: Feynman Lectures 2-19, Jackson 1.12
  • Lecture 16
  • Lecture 17
  • Lecture 18
  • Lecture 19
  • Lecture 20
  • Lecture 21, On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, by A. Einstein June 30, 1905
  • Lecture 22, Extra notes
  • Lecture 23
  • Lecture 24
  • Lecture 25
  • Lecture 26
  • Lecture 27, Hidden Momentum, Purported Relativity Paradox Resolved
  • Lecture 28
  • Superconductivity PDF, audio
    • Do uniformly accelerated charges radiate?
      • Rick Bradford
      • Kirk McDonald
      • See also Sidney Coleman lectures
  • Ponderomotive force and Wikipedia entry
• Grading:
  • Homework 60%
  • MidtermExam 20%
  • Final Exam 20%
• Homework Assignments Due dates are strictly enforced. 50% if late; 0% once the solutions are posted. You may work together, but the work that you turn in should be unique. Identical work will receive a grade that is divided among all parties. It is possible to find answers to some homework solutions on the internet; do not do this. The point, after all, is not to fool me into thinking that you have learned physics, but rather actually to learn some physics.
  • Assignment #1: PDF due Thursday 30 January 2025 at 11:59:59 PM
  • Assignment #2: PDF due Thursday 6 February 2025 at 11:59:59 PM
  • Assignment #3: PDF due Thursday 13 February 2025 at 11:59:59 PM
  • Assignment #4: PDF due Thursday 20 February 2025 at 11:59:59 PM
  • Assignment #5: PDF due Thursday 27 February 2025 at 11:59:59 PM
  • Assignment #6: PDF due Thursday 6 March 2025 at 11:59:59 PM
  • No homework due on Thursday 13 March 2025 because of the midterm exam on Friday 14 March 2025.
  • No homework due on Thursday 20 March 2025 because of Spring Break.
  • Assignment #7: PDF due Thursday 27 March 2025 at 11:59:59 PM
  • Assignment #8: PDF due Thursday 3 April 2025 at 11:59:59 PM
  • Assignment #9: PDF due Thursday 10 April 2025 at 11:59:59 PM
  • Assignment #10: PDF due Thursday 17 April 2025 at 11:59:59 PM
  • Assignment #11: PDF due Thursday 24 April 2025 at 11:59:59 PM Conformal Mapping Mathematica notebook
  • Assignment #12: PDF due Thursday 1 May 2025 at 11:59:59 PM
  • Magnetism study problems
• Homework solutions
• Midterm Exam - online, Friday 14 March 2025 during the lecture period (50 minutes)
• Final Exam - online, Thursday 8 May 2025 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM
• Student learning outcome: Students will be able to apply their knowledge of electromagnetic theory in solving physics problems.
• Recommended Reading:
  • Introduction to Electrodynamics by Griffiths
  • Fundamentals of Electromagnetic Phenomena by Lorrain and Corson
  • Electromagnetic Fields and Energy by Herman A. Haus and James R. Melcher
  • Charged Disc

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