CCNY PHYS 20900 - Fall 2026

To prepare for:

Monday, Sep 14, 2026

  1. Wave things
    1. Derive the Linear Wave Equation. One method can be found here: https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/16-2-mathematics-of-waves
  2. Maxwell Equations
  3. Be able to explain in fundamental terms (i.e. each term/symbol, what it means, what it does, drawings are helpful) the following 4 Maxwell equations (as they are known in integral form).

    1. \begin{align} \oint \vec{E} \cdot d\vec{A} &= \frac{Q_{\text{enc}}}{\varepsilon_0} && \text{(Gauss's Law)} \\[8pt] \end{align}
    2. \begin{align} \oint \vec{B} \cdot d\vec{A} &= 0 && \text{(Gauss's Law for Magnetism)} \\[8pt] \end{align}
    3. \begin{align} \oint \vec{E} \cdot d\vec{\ell} &= -\frac{d \Phi_\textrm{M}}{dt} && \text{(Faraday's Law)} \\[8pt] \end{align}
    4. \begin{align} \oint \vec{B} \cdot d\vec{\ell} &= \mu_0 I_{\text{enc}} + \mu_0 \varepsilon_0\frac{d \Phi_\textrm{E}}{dt} && \text{(Ampère–Maxwell Law)} \end{align}
    5. Derive eq 16.16 from OpenStax U. Physics Volume 2
    6. Derive eq 16.18 from OpenStax U. Physics Volume 2
    7. Use the above to show that the electric field follows a linear wave equation, i.e. obtain equation 16.20