PHY 102: General Physics II (Electricity & Magnetism)

Course Overview: General Physics II (Electricity & Magnetism)

• Course code: PHY 102
• Academic units: 2 Units
• Contact hours: 30

Key Topics Covered

• Forces in Nature

  • Understanding fundamental forces affecting charged particles.

• Electrostatics

  • Electric charge: properties and methods of charging.
  • Coulomb’s Law: quantifies the electrostatic force between charges based on distance and magnitude.
  • Superposition principle: net force on a charge due to other charges.

• Electric Field and Potential

  • Concept of electric fields generated by point charges.
  • Potential energy associated with charge configurations.

• Gauss’s Law

  • Relates electric flux through a closed surface to the charge enclosed.

• Capacitance

  • Measures a capacitor's ability to store charge per unit voltage.
  • Introduction to electric dipoles and their behavior in electric fields.

• Energy in Electric Fields

  • Energy storage in the electric fields of capacitors.

• Conductors and Insulators

  • Behavior of conductors vs. insulators in electric fields.

• DC Circuits

  • Fundamental concepts: current, voltage, and resistance.
  • Ohm’s Law: V = IR, where V is voltage, I is current, and R is resistance.
  • Resistor combinations: series and parallel analysis.
  • Circuit analysis: techniques for solving various DC circuit configurations.

Magnetic Concepts

• Magnetic Fields

  • Definition and characteristics of magnetic fields around current-carrying conductors.

• Lorentz Force

  • Force exerted on a charged particle moving through a magnetic field.

• Biot-Savart and Ampère’s Laws

  • Biot-Savart Law: calculates the magnetic field generated by a current element.
  • Ampère’s Law: relates magnetic field strength to electric current via a closed loop.

• Magnetic Dipoles

  • Behavior and effects of magnetic dipoles in magnetic fields.

Dielectrics and Energy Storage

• Importance of dielectrics in capacitors and their effect on capacitance.
• Energy stored in magnetic fields and the concept of flux linkage.

Electromagnetic Concepts

• Electromotive Force

  • Potential difference generated by changing magnetic fields.

• Electromagnetic Induction

  • Faraday’s Law: induced EMF in a circuit due to changing magnetic flux.
  • Lenz’s Law: direction of induced currents oppose the change.

• Inductance

  • Self-inductance: property of a coil inducing EMF in itself.
  • Mutual inductance: interaction between two coils influencing each other.

Transformers and Waves

• Step-up and step-down transformers: changes in voltage and current.

• Maxwell's equations: foundational to classical electromagnetism.

• Electromagnetic Oscillations and Waves

  • Analysis of AC voltages and currents in circuits containing inductors, capacitors, and resistors.

Structure of Course Delivery

• Weekly breakdown of topics with problem-solving sessions by Instructor Mr. Azeez.
• Emphasis on practical problem-solving and conceptual understanding throughout the semester.