Teaching electromagnetism in terms of potentials instead of fields

The advantages to the engineer of a radical change of approach to electromagnetism are outlined and discussed. Attention is directed away from the fields in empty spaces around the conductors to the source charges and currents inside them by redefining energy, momentum and power flow as properties of the charges. The potentials acquire a greater significance than the field vectors, giving a description which corresponds directly to the use of equivalent circuits. The Maxwell equations are removed from their central role and derived as auxiliary relationships, of interest primarily to specialists.