Milestone map
Milestone map
4 milestones
Maxwell's equations, forces, plane waves and media
about 3 weeks (about 12 hrs/week)
Work through 6.013 lectures 1–10 (foundations, forces and motors, waves in media and at boundaries) and the matching text chapters. Then solve 6.013 problem sets 2–5 and Quiz 1. Self-check: MIT 6.013 quizzes and final with solutions. Free tools only.
Proof required
Link the public repo with 6.013 problem sets 2–5 and Quiz 1 written up (a typeset PDF, LaTeX source or notebook), and show the self-check: which answers matched and how you fixed the ones that did not.
What gets checked
- Boundary conditions are stated before each interface problem.
- Wave impedance, phase velocity and skin depth carry units.
- Quiz 1 is marked against its solution, with the score stated.
Common mistakes
- Answers copied from a solution with no working.
- Missing units, or a sign or factor-of-2π slip left unexplained.
Powstik Guide
A public write-up of 6.013 problem sets 2–5 and Quiz 1, with the self-check shown.
Steps
- Study the linked course material.
- Solve the problems on your own first.
- Check them against the self-check and rework the misses.
- Typeset the write-up (LaTeX or a notebook) in a public repo.
- Ask someone who knows the subject to check it.
Template
README ECE 4: Electromagnetics, unit 1: Maxwell's equations, forces, plane waves and media Problems: Self-check result (matched / reworked): What I got wrong first and why:
What gets sent back
- No working shown.
- The self-check result is missing.
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Boundary conditions are stated before each interface problem.
- Wave impedance, phase velocity and skin depth carry units.
- Quiz 1 is marked against its solution, with the score stated.
- Is the engineering right, not just the final number?
You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.
Transmission lines, guided waves and resonators
about 3 weeks (about 12 hrs/week)
Work through 6.013 lectures 11–16 (TEM lines, transients, the Smith chart, resonators, waveguides) and the text chapters on transmission lines. Then take Quiz 2. Then solve 6.013 problem sets 6–7 and Quiz 2. Self-check: MIT 6.013 quizzes and final with solutions. Free tools only.
Proof required
Link the public repo with 6.013 problem sets 6–7 and Quiz 2 written up (a typeset PDF, LaTeX source or notebook), and show the self-check: which answers matched and how you fixed the ones that did not.
What gets checked
- Reflection coefficients and standing-wave ratios are worked from the load.
- Each matching network is checked on a Smith chart or in code.
- Quiz 2 is marked against its solution, with the score stated.
Common mistakes
- Answers copied from a solution with no working.
- Missing units, or a sign or factor-of-2π slip left unexplained.
Powstik Guide
A public write-up of 6.013 problem sets 6–7 and Quiz 2, with the self-check shown.
Steps
- Study the linked course material.
- Solve the problems on your own first.
- Check them against the self-check and rework the misses.
- Typeset the write-up (LaTeX or a notebook) in a public repo.
- Ask someone who knows the subject to check it.
Template
README ECE 4: Electromagnetics, unit 2: Transmission lines, guided waves and resonators Problems: Self-check result (matched / reworked): What I got wrong first and why:
What gets sent back
- No working shown.
- The self-check result is missing.
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Reflection coefficients and standing-wave ratios are worked from the load.
- Each matching network is checked on a Smith chart or in code.
- Quiz 2 is marked against its solution, with the score stated.
- Is the engineering right, not just the final number?
You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.
Radiation and antennas
about 3 weeks (about 12 hrs/week)
Work through 6.013 lectures 17–20 and text chapters 10–11. Then take the final. Then solve 6.013 problem sets 9 and 11 and the final. Self-check: MIT 6.013 quizzes and final with solutions. Free tools only.
Proof required
Link the public repo with 6.013 problem sets 9 and 11 and the final written up (a typeset PDF, LaTeX source or notebook), and show the self-check: which answers matched and how you fixed the ones that did not.
What gets checked
- Antenna gain and radiation resistance are derived, not looked up.
- Power and energy balances close.
- The final is marked against its solution, with the score stated.
Common mistakes
- Answers copied from a solution with no working.
- Missing units, or a sign or factor-of-2π slip left unexplained.
Powstik Guide
A public write-up of 6.013 problem sets 9 and 11 and the final, with the self-check shown.
Steps
- Study the linked course material.
- Solve the problems on your own first.
- Check them against the self-check and rework the misses.
- Typeset the write-up (LaTeX or a notebook) in a public repo.
- Ask someone who knows the subject to check it.
Template
README ECE 4: Electromagnetics, unit 3: Radiation and antennas Problems: Self-check result (matched / reworked): What I got wrong first and why:
What gets sent back
- No working shown.
- The self-check result is missing.
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Antenna gain and radiation resistance are derived, not looked up.
- Power and energy balances close.
- The final is marked against its solution, with the score stated.
- Is the engineering right, not just the final number?
You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.
Simulate a pulse on a mismatched transmission line
about 3 weeks (about 12 hrs/week)
Make a 1-D finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation of a voltage pulse on a transmission line ending in a mismatched load. Write the FDTD update equations for voltage and current in Python or Octave, with a source matched to the line. Launch a Gaussian pulse and predict each reflection coefficient and arrival time by hand. Compare them with the simulation in a predicted-vs-simulated table for an open, a short and a resistor load.
Proof required
Link the public repo with the code or design files, the one command that reruns it, and the predicted-vs-simulated table, and a README that says how to rerun it and what limits the result.
What gets checked
- The Courant number v·Δt/Δz is stated and is at most 1, and the pulse spans at least 20 cells.
- Simulated reflection coefficients match (R_L − Z0)/(R_L + Z0) within 5%, and arrival times 2ℓ/v within 2%.
- The code runs from the repo and reproduces every plot.
Common mistakes
- A result that nobody else can rerun from the repo.
- A table with no explanation of the gaps.
Powstik Guide
A 1-D finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation of a voltage pulse on a transmission line ending in a mismatched load, in a public repo.
Steps
- Write down what you expect before you start.
- Write the FDTD update equations for voltage and current in Python or Octave, with a source matched to the line. Launch a Gaussian pulse and predict each reflection coefficient and arrival time by hand. Compare them with the simulation in a predicted-vs-simulated table for an open, a short and a resistor load.
- Fill the predicted-vs-measured table.
- Explain every gap with a cause someone can check.
- Write the README and ask someone who knows the subject to rerun it.
Template
README ECE 4: Electromagnetics — Simulate a pulse on a mismatched transmission line What I expected: How to rerun it: Predicted vs measured: Why they differ:
What gets sent back
- It does not run from the repo.
- No predicted-vs-measured table.
Resources
Foundationstart here
What a verifier looks for
- The Courant number v·Δt/Δz is stated and is at most 1, and the pulse spans at least 20 cells.
- Simulated reflection coefficients match (R_L − Z0)/(R_L + Z0) within 5%, and arrival times 2ℓ/v within 2%.
- The code runs from the repo and reproduces every plot.
- Rerun it from the repo: does it run, and do the numbers match the table?
You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.
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