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Maxwell equations (Faraday and Ampere-Maxwell laws) can be presented as a three component equation in a way similar to the two component neutrino equation. However, in this case, the electric and magnetic Gauss's laws can not be derived…
We will provide detailed arguments showing that the set of Maxwell equations, and the corresponding wave equations, do not properly describe the evolution of electromagnetic wave-fronts. We propose a nonlinear corrected version that is…
The form of Maxwell's theory is well known in the framework of general relativity, a fact that is related to the applicability of the principle of equivalence to electromagnetic phenomena. We pose the question whether this form changes if…
We examine the difficulties that introductory physics students, undergraduate physics majors, and physics graduate students have with concepts related to conductors and insulators covered in introductory physics by giving written tests and…
We discuss the development and evaluation of five research-based tutorials on Coulomb's law, superposition, symmetry and Gauss's Law to help students in the calculus-based introductory physics courses learn these concepts. We discuss the…
The Energy and Momentum Conceptual Survey (EMCS) is a multiple-choice survey that contains conceptual problems involving a variety of energy and momentum concepts covered in a typical introductory physics course for science and engineering…
Causality in electrodynamics is a subject of some confusion, especially regarding the application of Faraday's law and the Ampere-Maxwell law. This has led to the suggestion that we should not teach students that electric and magnetic…
We describe the development of a junior-senior level course for Physics majors designed to teach Mathematica skills in support of their undergraduate coursework, but also to introduce students to modern research level results. Standard…
In their study of physics beyond the first year of University -- termed upper-division in the US, many of students' primary learning opportunities come from working long, complex back-of-the-book style problems, and from trying to develop…
Although Physics is the same worldwide, students belonging to different learning systems as well as different cultural environments may develop different styles of approaching and reasoning out Physics problems. In a first experiment we…
The purpose of this sophomore-level textbook is twofold: to introduce the student to classical electrodynamics and, at the same time, explain in simple terms the quantum theory of conducting substances (in particular, the solid ones). The…
In this study, we examine introductory physics students' ability to perform analogical reasoning between two isomorphic problems which employ the same underlying physics principles but have different surface features. Three hundred and…
Project/problem-based learning, as an active methodology, improves significantly the learning process, making students take an active role in the construction of their own knowledge, and at the same time, develop soft and social skills that…
One can interpret the Dirac equation either as giving the dynamics for a classical field or a quantum wave function. Here I examine whether Maxwell's equations, which are standardly interpreted as giving the dynamics for the classical…
Invoking Maxwell's classical equations in conjunction with expressions for the electromagnetic (EM) energy, momentum, force, and torque, we use a few simple examples to demonstrate the nature of the EM angular momentum. The energy and the…
Maxwell equations provide a complete description of the electromagnetic (EM) phenomena, which have been one of the key fundamental-theories of modern physics, such as electromagnetism, optics, quantum theories, etc. The vacuum permittivity…
We examine the relationship between homework completion and exam performance for students having different physics aptitudes for five different semesters of an introductory electricity and magnetism course. In our analysis, we plot exam…
The relationship between magnetoelectricity and electromagnetism is a subject of a strong interest and numerous discussions in microwave and optical wave physics and material sciences. The definition of the energy and momentum of the…
We present a critical analysis of the classical approaches to energy subjects, based on the work-energy theorem and the conservation of mechanical energy proposed in the courses of the first years of tertiary education. We show how these…
We address the question "How do students make sense of Physics from the point of view of constituting physics knowledge?". A phenomenographic study is described as a result of which we present six qualitatively different ways in which…