Use of Interactive Computer Graphics in EM Fields Courses

This paper discusses experience in the use interactive computer graphics in a first electric and magnetic fields course, taught at the junior level in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Michigan. Interactive computer graphics in this discussion means that in the teaching-learning process, both instructor and students set up, display, and study solutions of electric and/or magnetic field problems, using graphics terminals such as the COMPUTEK 400/20 and the TEKTRONIX T4002.1.2 Interactive computer graphics can be a real asset in helping both instructor and students with the teaching-learning process. It allows the instructor to present to the class solutions for a wide range of field problems in the form of curves and drawings which are easy to understand. Most of these presentations would be too tedious to do in any other way. The student can then experiment further with these field phenomena, trying a variety of different situations as dictated by his curiosity or as directed by the instructor. Thus, interactive computer graphics allows the class to probe more deeply into a broader range of field phenomena, yet stay within the usual constraints of time and expertise available in a junior level class.