ELETTRODINAMICA CLASSICA E RELATIVITA' SPECIALE

Degree course: 
Corso di First cycle degree in Physics
Academic year when starting the degree: 
2020/2021
Year: 
2
Academic year in which the course will be held: 
2021/2022
Course type: 
Compulsory subjects, characteristic of the class
Credits: 
8
Period: 
Second semester
Standard lectures hours: 
64
Detail of lecture’s hours: 
Lesson (64 hours)
Assessment: 
Voto Finale

Module B is unofficially divided into two sub-modules, the first dedicated to teaching classical electrodynamics, the second to Einstein's special (or restricted) theory of relativity. In particular, the specific contents can be summarized as follows:

CLASSICAL ELECTRODYNAMICS
- ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION
Static Maxwell equations, Faraday-Neumann-Lenz law, applications of Faraday's law, self-induction, RL circuits, electric oscillations, Maxwell equations

- ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES
Maxwell's equations without sources: plane waves, spherical waves

- RADIATION FROM MOVING CHARGES
Maxwell equations with sources: potentials, retarded potentials, point charge, dipole approximation, spectrum of electromagnetic waves, multipoles expansion

- RADIATION-MATTER INTERACTION
Diffusion, chromatic dispersion in a dielectric, absorption of radiation, free electrons.

SPECIAL RELATIVITY
- FORMULATION OF THE THEORY
Minkowski space-time, Lorentz transformations, composition of velocity, relativistic acceleration, paradoxes of RS

- RELATIVISTIC MECHANICS
Generalization of Newtonian mechanics, massless particles, example: charge in an EM field, example: particle in a central potential

-VECTOR AND TENSORAL ALGEBRA
Four-vector, tensors, 1-forms, metric tensor, covariant formulation of mechanics, example: Compton effect, example: energy-momentum tensor

- COVARIANT ELECTRODYNAMICS
Principle of minimum action and the electromagnetic tensor, covariant formulation of Maxwell's equations, transformations of fields, radiation from relativistic charges

The second module is carried out entirely on handouts provided by the teacher.
For the electrodynamics part a useful more advanced reference text is J. D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics. For further information on the part of special relativity we recommend: V. Barone, Relativity; B. Schutz, A first course in general relativity; L. Susskind and A. Friedman, Restricted relativity and classical field theory; G. Rybicky and A. Lightman, Radiative processes in astrophyiscs.

The second module is delivered, during the first semester, at the end of the first module, and consists of 64 hours of frontal lessons. The teacher of the module holds the lesson through the use of an i-PAD, introducing the different topics and carrying out calculations and demonstrations, as well as some example problems. At the end of each lesson, the produced file is uploaded to the e-learning platform and made available to students.
For both modules, 12 hours of practice are provided, held by a trainer in order to better prepare students to take the written exam. Further exercises, also taken from previous exam topics, are carried out in class by the teacher of each module.

For more information or to request a meeting with the teacher, please contact the teacher via e-mail address:
- Prof Francesco Haardt, e-mail: francesco.haardt@uninsubria.it

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