Interactive simulation as a virtual tool in electromagnetics for online education

Abstract

Vision plays an important role in improving comprehension and perception of electromagnetic fields. One reason electromagnetic fields is considered by students to be a difficult course is because electromagnetic fields, being vector functions of space and time, unlike mechanics, which deals with concrete objects, are conceptually abstract and hard to visualize. Invisibility is a considerable obstacle on the way to understanding physical phenomena. To overcome this obstacle, we present in this paper some interactive simulations mainly developed for educational purposes in electromagnetics in order to facilitate the understanding of field theory and vector analysis. This interactive simulations can be used as a virtual laboratory where students can explore the solutions on their own efforts and in every detail, hence, deepening their understanding of the subject matter.