General Introduction

Dear Students,

This module aims to introduce basic concepts in electricity and magnetism. It also provides you with an understanding of the physics embodied in Maxwell’s equations. It is intended to lay the foundation before you encounter hard-core engineering subjects. The module prepares you for future modules in the second, third and fourth years dealing with wave propagation and electromagnetism phenomena.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed the module, you should be able to:

• Demonstrate more understanding about the concepts of charge, field and flux;
• Understand and outline the interaction between electrostatic or magnetic fields and different classes of material (dielectric materials, dia-, para-, and ferro-magnetic materials);
• Understand the phenomena of capacitors and inductance;
• Understand the behavior of electricity generators and electric motors, and be able to find the energy in simple magnetic fields;
• Understand the phenomenon of resistance and be able to calculate the current and potential distributions in simple DC networks;
• Understand the significance of all quantities that appear in Maxwell’s equations, and describe how these equations lead to electromagnetic waves.

Teaching Team: