Learning the Basic Physics of Electromagnetic Radiation Through Computational Modeling
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13052/2025.ACES.J.401101Keywords:
Charge acceleration, computer modeling, electromagnetic radiation, Lienard-Wichert fields, Poynting vector, reflection radiation, source radiation, time-domain electromagneticsAbstract
While electromagnetics (EMs) may be perceived to be a mathematically intensive subject, the following discussion demonstrates that many important education-related aspects of EM radiation can be “discovered” through computational modeling. The goal here is to demonstrate an intuitive learning environment that reveals important features of EM physics to incentivise a desire to learn about the underlying mathematics on which the computer model is based. The idea is that seeing the fascinating details that the equations produce prior to confronting the possibly intimidating background mathematics can be a more productive and enjoyable exercise.
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References
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