Why Study Electromagnetics: The First Unit in an Undergraduate Electromagnetics Course

Maxwell’s equations, formulated circa 1870, represent a fundamental unification of electric and magnetic fields predicting electromagnetic wave phenomena which Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman has called the most outstanding achievement of 19th-century science. Now, engineers and scientists worldwide use computers ranging from simple desktop machines to massively parallel arrays of processors to obtain solutions of these equations. As we begin the 21st century, it may seem a little odd to devote so much effort to study solutions of the 19th century’s best equations. Thus we ask the question: “Of what relevance is the study of electromagnetics to our modern society?”