The field oscillator approach to classical electrodynamics

The field oscillator approach offers a more transparent view of many features of classical electromagnetic radiation. It also offers a powerful technique for determining the energy radiated from a given combination of conductors, dielectrics, and currents. In this approach, the vector potential is expanded in a complete set of fields which depend only on position and are consistent with the conductors and dielectrics present. The expansion coefficients depend only on time and describe the field oscillators. When the currents are added, one finds that the coefficients obey the equation of the driven harmonic oscillator. This paper is a tutorial presentation of the background of the field oscillator approach along with several examples of its application. (C) 2000 American Association of Physics Teachers.