To introduce electricity and magnetism as a basis for an Engineering Degree programme, and to provide a quantitative understanding of the many phenomena that waves and vibrations exhibit that will be needed in engineering courses. There is an emphasis on applications to provide practice, and to illustrate the relevance of the material.
Outline Syllabus
Electricity and magnetism:
Electrical Safety.What is electricity? Examples in nature and engineering. Experimental or empirical nature of electrical concepts.
Electrical charge: Forces between isolated charges. Relationship between charge and current. Current, voltage, resistance and capacitance: Observation and confirmation of Ohm`s Law.
Kirchhoff`s Laws.
Series and parallel resistance and capacitance.
Meters and bridges: Ammeters, voltmeters, potentiometers and Wheatstone bridges.
Electrical Field Strength.
Force on unit charge.
Potential energy.
Electrical potential difference: Relation to field strength.
Magnetic Fields: Generation by permanent magnets and electrical currents.
Examples in nature and engineering.
Concept of magnetic flux density: arising from currents and magnetic materials.
Electromagnetics: Lorentz-Heaviside equation for the force on moving charge, Faraday-Lenz law of electromagnetic induction.
Electric motors and Generators.
Waves and Vibrations:
Simple harmonic motion: wave properties: modes of travelling, frequency, amplitude, wavelength, phase, wave fronts, superimposition, interference, diffraction, refraction, Doppler effect, beating, amplitude and frequency modulation.
Specific behaviour of sound waves: Creation and detection, quantification, intensity, and the acoustic decibel.
Resonance in pipes and strings, waves in solids, attenuation.