Course content

Electrostatics: Coulomb's law. Electric field and force. Gauss' law. Electric potential and energy. Conductors. Capacitance. Dielectrics. Magnetostatics: Magnetic field, force, moment and energy. Magnetic dipole. Biot-Savart's law. Ampere's law. Magnetic flux. Magnetic materials. Electromagnetic induction: Faraday's law. Lenz' law. Inductance. Simple electric circuits. Experimental methods: Measuring physical quantities. Data acquisition. Interpretation. Documentation.

Learning outcome

The student is expected to: 1. Obtain, through a combined theoretical and experimental approach to the subject, a fundamental understanding of electromagnetic phenomena. 2. Learn how to analyze various problems in electromagnetism with mathematical methods involving vectors and elementary differential and integral calculus. 3. Learn experimental methods in physics.

Learning methods and activities

Lectures, compulsory laboratory exercises and compulsory calculation exercises. A re-sit examination may be changed from written to oral.

Compulsory assignments

• All laboratory exercises
• 8 of 12 Calculation exercises

Recommended previous knowledge

Basic physics from upper secondary school, and TFY4145 Mechanical Physics. Mathematics corresponding to TMA4100. In addition, TMA4105 and TMA4115 is taken in parallel with TFY4155.

Course materials

Suggested literature: Young & Freedman: University Physics; or in Norwegian: Lillestøl, Hunderi, Lien: Bind 2: Varmelære og elektromagnetisme. Alternative literature: Griffiths: Introduction to electrodynamics; Tipler & Mosca: Volume 2: Electricity and magnetism. Light; Fishbane, Gasiorowicz & Thornton: Physics, Volume II; Alonso & Finn: Physics.

Credit reductions