Department of Physics, Unit Catalogue 2008/09 |
PH30077 Electromagnetism 2 |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Honours |
| Semester: 1 |
| Assessment: EX 100% |
| Requisites: |
| Before taking this unit you must (take PH20014 or take PH20061) and (take PH20017 or take PH20063) and take PH20020 |
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Aims : An aim of this unit is to provide a mathematical framework for the description of the radiation, transmission, reception and guidance of electromagnetic energy. A further aim is to provide an introduction to the interaction of electromagnetic waves with matter, focussing particularly on processes of absorption, luminescence and scattering within materials.
Learning Outcomes: After taking this unit the student should be able to: * describe dipole radiation using magnetic vector potentials; * understand the propagation of signals through transmission lines; * explain the basic features of guided modes in metallic, dielectric and fibre waveguides; * derive expressions for the real and imaginary parts of the complex dielectric constant of a dipole oscillator; * apply the Lorentzian dipole model to represent various physical resonances. * outline the main physical principles underlying Raman and Brillouin scattering. Skills: Numeracy T/F A, Problem Solving T/F A. Content: Radiation (3 hours): Electromagnetic potentials, retarded potentials, near and far fields, radiation from a Hertz dipole. Transmission lines (2 hours): Distributed parameters, equivalent circuit model, transmission line wave equation, loss-less and distortion free lines, terminated lines. Guided waves (6 hours): Metal and dielectric waveguides, optical fibres. Optical processes in materials (2 hours) absorption, emission, scattering, complex index and complex dielectric constant Classical Lorentzian model of optical materials (5 hours) Dipole oscillator model for atomic absorption; resonant frequency and linewidth of atomic absorption lines, frequency dependence of the real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant. Application to crystalline insulators, semiconductors, glasses, and metals (including plasmons). Lattice vibrations (2 hours) reststrahlen and inelastic scattering of light. Colours in the natural world (2 hours). |