This website serves 2 different courses: APHY 150 and 477(Y)/577

Electromagnetism, and Computational Methods (Undergraduate, and Graduate Core)

Spring 2024 (3 units course credit each)

Tu-Th 09:00 A.M. - 10:20 A.M. Physics Builiding (building code PH) Room 225 (150); 10:30 - 11:50 Room 224 (477/577)
Zoom: should the need arise

Professor: Matthew Szydagis
Teaching Assistants (TAs) / Graders: Shane Carney (577) and Monireh Pourrahimi (150)

Prof's Office Hours: 4:30 - 6:30pm Tuesdays and Thursdays in 312, in person, for BOTH classes; personal appointments outside these days and times are also possible
Teaching Assistants' Office Hours -- Shane for x77: Mon. 9-10 Rm 224 and 12-1, the Optics Lab (Room B033) in the basement of the Physics building. Monireh for 150: Wed. 9-10 Rm 224

Text for 150: Physics for Scientists and Engineers, R.A. Serway and J.W. Jewett (10th edition) Hybrid (with WebAssign). If physical book you use is a used copy of an earlier edition that should also be fine. Text for 577/477: None.

The following table logs topics, and your homework assignments, per class.

DateTopics (APHY150 E&M)Topics (APHY477 Comp)
Th01.18Electric Fields, READ: Chapter 22Intro to C and C++, Hello, World
Tu01.23Continuous Q Distributions, READ: Ch. 23Second Example, Third Example
Th01.25Gauss' Law, DO: H.W. #1 due TODAYGolden Ratio HW, Fourth Example
Tu01.30Gauss' Law, READ: Ch. 24Fifth Example, Guest Lecture
Th02.01Electric Potential, DO: HW2 due TODAYThe Drake Equation, Random Numbers
Tu02.06Capacitance, READ: Ch. 25The Monty Hall Problem, Boy vs. Girl?
Th02.08Dielectrics, DO: HW3 due TODAYMC Simulation, review all examples to date
Tu02.13Current, READ: Ch. 26Reactor, Sphere, Integrator
Th02.15Resistance, DO: HW4 due TODAYMC Integration, Summation
Tu02.20DC Circuits, READ: Ch. 27Reactor Solution, The C(++) Glossary
Th02.22DC Circuits, DO: HW5 due TODAYDiff Eq (Euler), Pendulum, Input File
Tu02.27Magnetic Fields, READ: Ch. 28Diff Eq (RK4), Pendulum(Matlab)
Th02.29Magnetic Fields, DO: HW6 due TODAYSimUniverse, Input Params
Tu03.05The Biot-Savard Law, READ: Ch. 29playing catchup
Th03.07Ampere's Law, DO: HW7 due TODAYplaying catchup
Tu03.12Review for MidtermDiff Eq (Verlet), Rocket Solution
Th03.14THE MIDTERM EXAMThe Earth-Moon System, Input Params
Tu03.19SPRING....................................................................BREAK
Th03.21SPRING....................................................................BREAK
Tu03.26Faraday's Law, READ: Ch. 30playing catchup
Th03.28Lenz's Law, DO: HW8 due 04/04playing catchup

Please consult the PDF syllabus for 150 here for more information.

Please consult the PDF syllabus for 477(y)/577 here for more information.

I'm getting overwhelmed by things beyond just class and might need some sort of help/counseling? Please don't ignore this. If you think you might need help/support and it's not too serious, just stop by my office even outside of office hours, or send me an e-mail. I often ignore emails about things like "Are you sure there's no extra credit?" but I'll reply quickly to an email if you're in trouble. If you think it might be more serious, you should get in touch with University Counseling and Psychological Services (https://www.albany.edu/counseling_center/index.shtml). They are very good, and they are absolutely confidential. If you think it's an emergency, go to this link (https://www.albany.edu/counseling_center/emergency.shtml) or just call 911.