Computational Field Lab

PHYS 326 · ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM

Measure the field.
Test the model.

Ten semester projects turn vector calculus, integration, PDEs, particle motion, induction and radiation into simulations that must survive comparison with real measurements.

Choose a project See the numerical path

Teaching proposal · projects are choices, not published course requirements

ONE SHARED NUMERICAL SPINE

Skills arrive when the course needs them

Every project starts with a small physical model and grows alongside the six PHYS 326 assignment cycles.

  1. 01Vector fieldscoordinates, units, plots
  2. 02Integrationdiscretize, sum, converge
  3. 03Laplace / Poissonboundaries, residuals, grids
  4. 04Particle motionODEs, stability, invariants
  5. 05Magnetism / inductionBiot–Savart, flux, energy
  6. 06Waves / validationdispersion, uncertainty, data

TEN PROJECT CHOICES

A final result students can defend

Each opening page is the destination: an interactive simulation, a published benchmark, and a residual or error that makes agreement visible.

WHAT COUNTS AS A RESULT

A convincing plot needs three checks

1

Numerical verification

Refine the mesh or time step, test a known limit and show the calculation has settled.

2

Physical consistency

Check units, symmetry, signs, conservation and the direction of every vector quantity.

3

Experimental validation

Compare the measured observable, include uncertainty, and separate fitted data from held-out tests.