Electrodynamics Tutorial Series/Intro

Topics Covered

• Format of the series
• Requirements
  • Calculus
  • Basic Physics (Newtonian Mechanics)
  • Griffiths Introduction to Electrodynamics
• What to Expect
• Broad topic discussions
• Why it's hard
• Why it's fun
• Why it's useful

Script

Hi, I'm Jonathan Gardner, and we're going to learn electrodynamics.

Normally, people would wave their hands and smile and help you try to grasp what's really going on. I'm not going to do that. We're going to learn this subject the same way a physicist would.

Although there's a lot of math, it's not hard, and you'll actually feel smarter.

Take your time, review material often, and try to learn something new everyday.

Requirements: You should have a good grasp of algebra and calculus. If you don't, that's ok, but you'll have to be willing to learn. You should also understand basic physics, such as Newtonian mechanics. If you don't, you can probably make it, but again, you'll have to be willing to learn.

Most of all, you need an open mind. You are smart enough to grasp this, if you give your brain the time it needs to make sense of it all.

What do I promise? I promise to cover the material in Griffith's "Introduction to Electrodynamics." I promise to broaden your understanding of how math and physics works together. I promise to show you why physics is fun and interesting. And most of all, I promise you'll be much smarter than you were before you started this course.

Electrodynamics is made up of two word-parts: electro, that having to do with electricity or lightning, and dynamics, meaning how things change and what that means. This is an interesting topic because by studying how electricity and magnetism really works, you can find the math behind God's statement, "Let there be light."

This is hard because there's a lot of multivariable calculus. It's hard to picture a three dimensional vector field in your mind, it really is. It's also hard because we go from simple electrostatics, where things behave more or less in a straight line, to magnetism, where nothing is straight and everything bends.

It's fun because it's hard. There are a ton of tricks we use to take complicated things and make them ridiculously simple. When you understand the concepts of electrodynamics, you'll be able to freak your friends out with your amazing ability to analyze the world of electricity with only your right hand!

And it's useful because we live in a world of electricity. You'll know what voltages and amperes and farads and ohms really mean. You'll see how the nanoscopic world of particles and atoms interacts with the macroscopic world of lightning and modern electronics. Where engineers only know the "what", you'll be able to understand the "why".

Buckle up, grab a pad of paper and a good pen or pencil, and pay attention, because I won't be repeating myself. (And remember, you can always rewind!)