Re: another math question

[Arnulfo Castellanos Moreno <acastell@FISICA.USON.MX>]

I have been teaching Electromagnetism for several years,
dealing with gradient, divergence and curl, just when
I need it for the theory. A relation with real fluids and
with field lines, as you watch them in the laboratory, is
very useful.

I use cartesian coordinates. To deal with spheres,
cilinders and poinlike charges, I talk about symmetric
arguments to avoid any hard calculation.

My group is like a third semester of undergraduate
level. Students from: i) mathematics, ii) physics, iii) chemical
engineers, iv) geology, and others, are there. I have had
good results with the first three, but all the others do
not like to force their brain.

Arnulfo Castellanos-Moreno.



----- Original Message -----
From: "Justin Parke" <FIZIX29@AOL.COM>
To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2002 8:43 AM
Subject: another math question


> I am teaching a calculus III course at our local community college this
summer and I have a question about topics to include.  I do not belong to a
math educators list but I figure you all will be just as helpful :) and will
post it here.
> I am wondering if, when I introduce vector operators like the gradient,
divergence, and curl, I should go beyond just rectangular coordinates and
include cylindrical and spherical as well.  We do discuss these coordinate
systems in terms of equations of surfaces etc but none of the textbooks
emply them in vector analysis and I don't understand why.  From a physics
standpoint (like in electrostatics) performing these operations in spherical
coordinates is sometimes preferred over rectangular.
> But if none of the calculus tectbooks do this then perhaps I am
overlooking a good reason why it ought not be done.
> Thoughts?
>
> Justin Parke