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EM Problems

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 3:10 am
by noospace
What is the best source of EM problems relevant to the GRE is your opinion?

I'm assuming based on the syllabus that a text like Griffiths is appropriate.

Would it be adviseable to attempt most of the problems in Griffiths? How about Haliday and Resnick?

From ets.org:

2. ELECTROMAGNETISM:      18%
(such as electrostatics, currents and DC circuits, magnetic fields in free space, Lorentz force, induction, Maxwell's equations and their applications, electromagnetic waves, AC circuits, magnetic and electric fields in matter)
3. OPTICS AND WAVE PHENOMENA:      9%
(such as wave properties, superposition, interference, diffraction, geometrical optics, polarization, Doppler effect)

Re: EM Problems

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 3:14 am
by noospace
Incidentally, does anyone know where to obtain answers to the problems in Griffiths or other textbooks?

Re: EM Problems

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 3:27 am
by swepi
The solutions manuals to many books float around on peer2peer networks which you can access with eMule. I also ran across solutions to problems in books like Purcell's "Electricity and Magnetism" from some course web pages at MIT. If you need anything specific, I probably have it.

Re: EM Problems

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 4:12 am
by Helio
Halliday and resnik will cover you for the most part.. some details will be in griffiths

Re: EM Problems

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:55 am
by noospace
To what extent does the GRE examine electric/magnetic fields in matter (i.e., the concepts of electric displacement D and H field).

This is not really covered in HRW.

Re: EM Problems

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 9:45 am
by secander2!
They tend to like simple problems with two dielectric media next to each other and oftentimes they'll ask you to calculate the change in capacitance when a dielectric medium is placed between two plates. Problems involving mirror charges can also show up. In general, if you know the boundary conditions, and have a idea as to how they are applied to simple interfaces, you should be fine. Oh yea, you also might want to know how the speed of light changes in media: i.e. v_light = 1/sqrt(mu*epsilon). I think that basically covers it, but maybe somebody else remembers some things that I missed.

Re: EM Problems

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 3:28 pm
by coreycwgriffin
I'd say if you can do most of the problems in a university physics text (like Halliday and Resnick or Young and Freedman) in the E and M sections, and you read up on some stuff in Griffith or Purcell (like image charges and some of the more complex applications of Gauss' Law) you'd be fine.