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Re: Appropriate for Gen Phys? was: comprehending electric/magnetic interactions



On Thursday, Jul 3, 2003, at 15:22 US/Eastern, Gary Turner wrote:

Sounds about the right level to me. We do discuss the link between
forces
and potentials in electric and gravity fields. I haven't previously
introduced the potential of a magnetic field specifically, b/c we
usually
cover magnetic fields in passing and electromagnetism at the end of the
semester when time gets more desperate. Seems obvious now, perhaps I
should introduce this in Gen Phys.

One of the many significant advantages of Chabay and Sherwood's _Matter
& Interactions_ is that B fields are encountered MUCH earlier in the
semester than with a traditional course. This adds to the overall
utility of the field concept. Indeed, this CAN, and SHOULD be covered
in the introductory course.

The reason I struggle with this material is because all of my E&M has
been
very problem-oriented with the tough math stressed. I've never taken a
course where we worked on the concepts in E&M quite the same way we
work
on concepts in Gen Phys.
I would like to give students a chance to develop these concepts. Is
Gen
Phys the right place?

See above. :-)

As others on this list will tell you, I'm very excited about, and
delightfully partial to, M&I's approach and have used it for five
years. It's the intro text I wish had been available when I took
physics in college. Maybe then I could have actually truly learned
something.

Cheers,
Joe Heafner

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