There are studies of students' understanding of the concept of the electric field, the magnetic field, and the use of the superposition principle that have contributed to the creation of both educational strategies and assessment tools. However, the difficulties of these two concepts have not been compared comprehensively. Therefore, this study…

Contribution: This article proposes a comprehensive graduate course on magnetic design that addresses existing gaps in current power electronics (PEs) education, provides theoretical foundations and hands-on skills, and matches syllabi coverage with current societal needs for electronic energy conversion. Background: A growing worldwide interest…

Magnetism is traditionally taught within the subject of electromagnetism at the undergraduate and graduate levels in physics courses, with the goal of establishing a solid foundation of the underlying physical mechanisms before advancing to more specialized topics. Oftentimes, a laboratory component of these courses involves practical, hands-on…

Introducing abstract concepts to students from applied fields can be challenging. Electromagnetics is one of those courses where abstract concepts are introduced. This work presents a conceptual model which defines learning objectives in three levels for Engineering Electromagnetics. Each level is aligned with its own assessment and evaluation…

This technology report outlines a robust and easy to assemble magnetic stirrer that is programmable. All of the parts are recycled from obsolete computer hardware except the Arduino microcontroller and motor driver, at a total cost of around $40. This multidisciplinary approach introduces microcontrollers to students and grants the opportunity to…

Understanding Maxwell's equations in differential form is of great importance when studying the electrodynamic phenomena discussed in advanced electromagnetism courses. It is therefore necessary that students master the use of vector calculus in physical situations. In this light we investigated the difficulties second year students at KU Leuven…

This study presents and interprets some conceptual difficulties junior-level physics students experience with Ampere's law. We present both quantitative data, based on students' written responses to conceptual questions, and qualitative data, based on interviews of students solving Ampere's law problems. We find that some students struggle to…

The paper describes a simple set-up of the Oersted experiment. A planar coil of wires has been used to deflect vigorously the magnetic needle (more than 80 angular degrees) when a current of up to 1 A flows along it. Based on theoretical analysis the torque on the magnetic field is analytically expressed taking into account the inhomogeneity of…

Ladder-type circuits where a given unit is repeated infinitely many times are dealt with in many textbooks on electromagnetism as examples of filter circuits. Determining the impedance of such circuits seems to be regarded as simple, which may be due to the fact that the invariance of the infinite system under the operation of adding one more unit…

Discusses superconducting microelectronics based on the Josephson effect and its advantages over conventional integrated circuits in speed and sensitivity. Considers present uses in standards laboratories (voltage) and in measuring weak magnetic fields. Also considers future applications in superfast computer circuitry using Superconducting…

Discusses electric and magnetic forces between parallel-wire conductors and derives, in a simple fashion, order of magnitude estimates of the ratio of the likely electrostatic and electromagnetic forces for a simple parallel-wire balance. (Author/HM)