Please make sure you have watched the revision lecture on the basics of Special Relativity Mini-Lecture 10: Revision of Special Relativity BEFORE this week's Monday lecture!
We shall introduce the Minkowski Representation (Index Notation) for Special Relativity (Mini-Lecture 11) and we shall discuss proper time and start the process of building 4-vectors for electrodynamics (Mini-Lecture 12a).
There are two interactive sessions each week: in the Simon lecture theatre A (Monday) and Stopford lecture theatre 6 (Wednesday).
There are two mini-lectures, with associated small exercises and lecture notes provided.
N.B. The material presented in Mini-Lecture 12a will not be covered in a live lecture. Please follow Mini-Lecture 12a online, before Monday's lecture in Week 5!
Remember that there is a Special Relativity Revision Exercise Sheet !
Please make sure you have watched the revision lecture on the basics of Special Relativity Mini-Lecture 10: Revision of Special Relativity BEFORE this week's lectures!
⚬ Monday 15:00-16:00 - Live Lecture 11: Special Relativity in the Minkowski Representation (Index Notation)
This live lecture covers approximately the same material as mini-lecture 11.
Podcast ............. Notes written to visualiser ............. Exercises from mini-lecture ............. Answers
⚬ Wednesday 9:00-10:00 - A "worked example" class, based on a past exam question - Solution to a Laplace's Equation problem
Podcast of the session ............. Question sheet ............. Answers written to visualiser, including full answers and notes for which there was not enough time in the interactive session
Before this session you might want to read ............. Some tips on finding the appropriate boundary conditions in Electrostatics and Magnetostatics
By clicking on the links given below you will be able to access the video of each mini-lecture, together with the associated small exercises and lecture notes.
Mini-Lecture 11: Special Relativity in the Minkowski Representation (Index Notation)
Video ............. Lecture notes written to visualiser ............. Exercises from mini-lecture ............. Answers
Mini-Lecture 12a starts our discussion of building 4-vectors for electrodynamics
Mini-Lecture 12a: Proper time and the 4-velocity
N.B. The material presented in Mini-Lecture 12a will not be covered in a live lecture. Please follow Mini-Lecture 12a online, before Monday's lecture in Week 5!
Video ............. Lecture notes written to visualiser
Mini-Lecture 11: Special Relativity in the Minkowski Representation (Index Notation)
Mini-Lecture 12a and 12b: Building 4-vectors for electrodynamics
Note to avoid a potential source of confusion: In some versions of the 4th Edition of D.J.Griffiths, Introduction to Electrodynamics, the chapter entitled "Electrodynamics and Relativity" is Chapter 12. Unfortunately, in some other versions of the 4th Edition it is chapter 11!
Special Relativity and 4-vectors: Revision of Physics and Notation
Jeff Forshaw and Gavin Smith, Dynamics and Relativity: Chapters 5, 6, 7, 11 and 12.
D.J. Griffiths, Introduction to Electrodynamics: Chapter 12. (N.B. if in your edition of Griffiths, chapter 12 in entitled "Potentials and Fields" then try looking in chapter 11!)
J.D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics: Chapter 11.
The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Volume 1: Chapters 15-17.
The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Volume 2: Chapters 25.
Remember that there is a Special Relativity Revision Exercise Sheet available ............. Answers will be posted at the end of Week 6.
In preparing for using index notation for 4-vectors and tensors in Special Relativity, you may want to take a look again at solving using index notation the Optional Revision Exercises on Vector Calculus ............. Answers using general index notation for vectors
In solving these problems you may find the following very brief preliminary remarks on using index notation for vector calculus useful. In addition, here is a somewhat more extensive introduction to using index notation for vector calculus by John Crimaldi of University of Colorado, Boulder.
Continue reading the material suggested above for Special Relativity.