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...
P.s. Harnwell uses complex variables to solve the two dimensional problem
(only applicable when the third is infinite in length).
Yeah. Students are often not too pleased with that
solution. And they've got a point. Learning that
method of solution in this context is IMHO just an
advanced form of rote learning. It's nearly impossible
to connect it with anything else they know. And
there are only a handful of problems that yield to
that technique, so it's not clear what the point is.
Students think the "method" here is to pull a
hypothetical solution out of thin air (or somewhere
else) and then verify it. That hardly counts as
a "method". And explaining where this solution
really comes from would take a week.