Suggestions for practice problems in E&M

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SUMMARY

This discussion focuses on practice problems in Electromagnetism (E&M) derived from notable textbooks including Griffiths, Jackson, and Schwinger. Participants share links to insightful problems on Physics Forums, such as the electric field of a charged dielectric sphere and the magnetic field of a ferromagnetic cylinder. Additionally, a complex problem involving the equation B = μ₀H + M is presented, emphasizing the divergence of magnetic fields and the role of magnetic charge density. The discussion highlights the importance of understanding both homogeneous and inhomogeneous differential equations in solving E&M problems.

PREREQUISITES
  • Familiarity with Griffiths' and Jackson's E&M textbooks
  • Understanding of magnetic charge density and its implications
  • Knowledge of Biot-Savart's law and its applications
  • Basic concepts of differential equations in physics
NEXT STEPS
  • Explore the electric field of a charged dielectric sphere on Physics Forums
  • Investigate the magnetic field of a ferromagnetic cylinder problem
  • Study the implications of the divergence of magnetic fields in E&M
  • Learn about the complete solutions for inhomogeneous differential equations in electromagnetism
USEFUL FOR

Students and educators in physics, particularly those studying Electromagnetism, as well as researchers looking for challenging problems to enhance their understanding of E&M concepts.

IxRxPhysicist
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Hey all,
I am working my way through a couple of emag books (Griffiths, Jackson, and Schwinger) and I was wondering if any of y'all have suggestions for problems that you thought were particularly physically insightful or useful.

Cheers,
IR
 
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IxRxPhysicist said:
Hey all,
I am working my way through a couple of emag books (Griffiths, Jackson, and Schwinger) and I was wondering if any of y'all have suggestions for problems that you thought were particularly physically insightful or useful.

Cheers,
IR
Try these problems/posts that were recently on Physics Forums:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/electric-field-of-a-charged-dielectric-sphere.890319/
https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...field-of-a-uniformly-polarized-sphere.877891/
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/magnetic-field-of-a-ferromagnetic-cylinder.863066/
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/potential-of-sphere-given-potential-of-surface.887477/
 
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@IxRxPhysicist I have one more E&M problem that I don't think is included in the above that you might find useful. Begin with the equation ## B=\mu_o H +M ## which is an equation that comes out of the "pole" model of magnetostatics. (J.D. Jackson emphasizes the "pole" model.) (Sometimes you will see this equation as ## B=\mu_o H +\mu_o M' ## where ## M'=M/\mu_o ##.) Upon taking the divergence of both sides ## \nabla \cdot B=\mu_o \nabla \cdot H +\nabla \cdot M ##. But ## \nabla \cdot B=0 ## so that ## \mu_o \nabla \cdot H=-\nabla \cdot M ##. You might recognize the right side as ## -\nabla \cdot M=\rho_m ## where ## \rho_m ## is the magnetic charge density (fictitious). The problem is to solve this for ## H ##. ##\\ ## The result is that ## H ## has an integral solution with the inverse square law ## H(x)=\int \frac{1}{4 \pi \mu_o} \frac{\rho_m(x')(x-x')}{|x-x'|^3} \, d^3x' ##. The question is, where is the current in conductor contribution to ## H ## which is absent from this solution? I will give you a hint: The inhomogeneous differential equation ## \nabla \cdot H =\frac{\rho_m}{\mu_o} ## can also have a solution to the homogeneous equation as the complete solution. (The current in conductor contribution to ## H ## can be found using Biot-Savart's law. The Biot-Savart solution obeys ## \nabla \cdot H=0 ##.) ## \\ ## Note: A similar problem is encountered if you take the curl of both sides of the above equation. ## \nabla \times B=\mu_o J_{total} ## (in the steady-state case) where ## J_{total}=J_{free}+J_m ## and ## \nabla \times M=\mu_o J_m ## so that ## \nabla \times H=J_{free} ##. This has a Biot-Savart type integral for ## H ##, but the question is where did the magnetic "pole" contribution go that we found above with the ## \nabla \cdot H ## equation? And the answer is again similar: This time, the homogeneous ## \nabla \times H =0 ## needs to be considered as having a contribution to the complete solution for ## H ##.
 
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