NeXT Workstation Laboratory for Undergraduate Electromagnetics

我们建议建立下一个工作站实验室，以补充所有电气工程专业所需的两个学期初级水平的电磁学课程。最初，实验室将是课程的一个可选部分，可能有一些家庭作业需要使用实验室。然而，我们的目标是最终将实验室以更实质性的角色整合到课程作业中。为了实现我们的目标，我们已经开始开发一个交互式软件包。开发的程序被统称为EM笔记本。为了制作笔记本，使用了一种名为Mathematica的强大软件语言。Mathematica有一个特性，可以用来分层地构建文本、方程和图形。因此，EM笔记本包含EM现象的动画序列，例如波在波导中传播，并且用户可以交互地改变参数，例如频率，随着运动图像的变化而变化。

We propose to create a next workstation laboratory to complement the two-semester, junior level sequence in electromagnetics required to all electrical engineering majors. Initially, the laboratory would be an optional part of the courses, with perhaps a few homework assignments requiring use of the laboratory. However, the goal would be to eventually integrate the laboratory into the coursework in a more substantive role. To accomplish our objective we have already begun developing an interactive software package. The programs developed are collective know as EM Notebooks. To create the Noteboooks, a powerful software language called Mathematica is used. Mathematica has a feature that can be used to hierarchically structure text, equations, and graphics. Thus, the EM Notebooks contain animated sequences of EM phenomena such as waves propagating in a waveguide, and the user can interactively change parameter, such as frequency, with the moving picture altering in response.