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PHYS-S1701

Physics: electromagnetism

academic year
2025-2026

Course teacher(s)

Spencer Jolly (Coordinator)

ECTS credits

5

Language(s) of instruction

english

Course content

Electrostatics: The electric field, Gauss’s law, electric potential, capacitors and resistors.

Magnetostatics: The magnetic field, Ampere’s law, Biot-Savart law, magnetic materials.

Electromagnetism: Faraday’s law, self-induction, displacement current, Ampere-Maxwell law, Maxwell’s equations, electromagnetic waves, Lorentz force.

Objectives (and/or specific learning outcomes)

Develop basic knowledge of the physics of electricity, magnetism, and electromagnetism, and in the process advance general problem-solving skills and physical and mathematical intuition.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Lectures complemented by exercise sessions.

References, bibliography, and recommended reading

Some textbooks that could be helpful include:

University Physics 15th ed. (mainly chapter 21-32), by Young and Freedman

Physics for Scientist & Engineers 5th edition (mainly chapters 21-31), by Giancoli

Contribution to the teaching profile

LO 2.1 Adopt a scientific approach to data collection, research and analysis and communicate results with clear, structured and sophisticated arguments.

LO 2.2 Display critical thinking, logical and abstract reasoning and develop an independent approach to learning.

Other information

Contacts

Dr. Spencer W. Jolly
Office: Campus du Solbosch, Bât. C, Niv. 2, local S.C.2.124
Email: spencer.jolly@ulb.be

Campus

Solbosch

Evaluation

Method(s) of evaluation

  • written examination

written examination

  • Open question with short answer
  • Open question with developed answer
  • Closed question with multiple choices (MCQ)

A combination of multiple-choice questions, and open-ended problems to be solved. The exam session is in May/June, and another try can be attempted in August if necessary. All exam periods are of the same structure and difficulty.

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

The exam at the end of the year will comprise the majority of the final note, with a minority based on an intermediate test of the basics taking place in the classroom.

Language(s) of evaluation

  • english

Programmes