Didactic Presentation of Wave Propagation Phenomena by Means of Computer Animations

1 Drago Hercog, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Tržaška 25, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, [email protected] Abstract  Physical phenomenon of wave propagation is intrinsically difficult to understand. The animation of analytical results can greatly improve student's understanding of them. This paper presents our experience in preparation and presentation of electromagnetic wave propagation animations for educational purposes. The choice of graphical presentation is first discussed. Then the waveforms to be used are enumerated. For didactic reasons, the presentation of wave phenomena in time domain rather than in frequency domain is advocated. The important guidelines to be followed when preparing animations are also discussed, including the requirement for clarity of contents and analytical presentation. We then describe how to simply and quickly create animations by means of Mathcad tool. Several characteristic examples, together with their educational goals, are presented. Animations have been used to support lectures of electromagnetic wave propagation for undergraduate students. The response of students was very positive and encouraging. They declared that animation presentations had much improved their understanding of the subject.