A notoriously difficult Subject, covariant electrodynamics is nonetheless vital for understanding relativistic field theory. John M. Charap's classroom-tested introduction to the mathematical foundations of the topic presents the material in an approachable manner. Charap begins with a historical overview of electrodynamics and a discussion of the preliminary mathematics one needs in order to grasp the advanced and abstract concepts underlying the theory. He walks the reader through Maxwell's four equations, explaining how they were developed and demonstrating how they are applied. From there, Charap moves through the other components of electrodynamics, such as Lorentz transformations, tensors, and charged particle behavior. At each point, he carefully works through the mathematics, applies the concepts to simple physical systems, and provides historical context that makes clear the connections among the theories and the mathematicians responsible for developing them. A concluding chapter reviews the history of electrodynamics and points the way for independent testing of the theory. Thorough, evenly paced, and intuitive, this friendly introduction to high-level covariant electrodynamics is a handy and helpful addition to any physicist's toolkit.

A notoriously difficult subject, covariant electrodynamics is nonetheless vital for understanding relativistic field theory. John M. Charap’s classroom-tested introduction to the mathematical foundations of the topic presents the material in an approachable manner. Charap begins with a historical overview of electrodynamics and a discussion of the preliminary mathematics one needs in order to grasp the advanced and abstract concepts underlying the theory. He walks the reader through Maxwell’s four equations, explaining how they were developed and demonstrating how they are applied. From there, Charap moves through the other components of electrodynamics, such as Lorentz transformations, tensors, and charged particle behavior. At each point, he carefully works through the mathematics, applies the concepts to simple physical systems, and provides historical context that makes clear the connections among the theories and the mathematicians responsible for developing them. A concluding chapter reviews the history of electrodynamics and points the way for independent testing of the theory. Thorough, evenly paced, and intuitive, this friendly introduction to high-level covariant electrodynamics is a handy and helpful addition to any physicist’s toolkit.

A textbook for 2nd and 3rd year undergraduate students using the fundamental principle of covariance as a basis for studying classical mechanics, electrodynamics, the special theory of relativity, and the general theory of relativity, before moving on to more advanced topics of field theory, differential forms, and modified theories of gravity.

An engaging writing style and a strong focus on the physics make this graduate-level textbook a must-have for electromagnetism students.

A Modern Introduction to Classical Electrodynamics is suitable for undergraduate students with some background knowledge of the subject and for graduate students, while more advanced topics make it a useful resource for PhD students and researchers. The book places much emphasis on the formal structure of the theory; beginning with Maxwell's equations in the vacuum, it emphasises the central role of gauge invariance and Special Relativity. After introductory chapters which include rederivations of elementary results of electrostatics and magnetostatics, and the multipole expansion, Special Relativity is introduced, and most of the subsequent derivations are performed using covariant formalism and gauge potentials, allowing for greater conceptual and technical clarity compared to more traditional treatments. The second part of the book covers electrodynamics in material media. This includes Maxwell's equations in material media, frequency dependent response of materials and Kramers-Kronig relations, electromagnetic waves in materials, and scattering of electromagnetic radiation. Finally, the text also includes advanced topics, such as the field-theoretical treatment of classical electrodynamics as a modern treatment of radiation reaction. These parts are meant for the advanced reader and are clearly marked, and can be skipped without loss of continuity.

This book is an excellent text for undergraduates majoring in physics and engineering. The style pedagogical with clear and concise illustration followed by practise problems at the end of each chapter.

High-level, explicit treatment of the principle of general covariance as applied to electromagnetics examines the natural invariance of the Maxwell equations, general properties of the medium, nonuniformity, anisotropy and general coordinates in three-space, reciprocity and nonreciprocity, and matter-free space with a gravitational field. 1962 edition.

This book introduces the reader to modern covariant electrodynamics by means of solved problems and exercises relating to the motion of charged particles and the generation, propagation, and confinement of radiation. The exercises are intended as a tool to bridge the gap between analytic theories and physical phenomena and will assist the young researcher in developing her/his understanding of the real world. The choice of representative examples has been carefully made with a view to enabling the reader to progress easily from a single example toward more general classes of phenomena. At the start of each chapter the principal required mathematical tools are listed, providing an insight into the technical difficulties to be confronted in that chapter. Particular emphasis is placed on discussion of fundamental experiments and phenomena confirming special relativity, such as the Wilson-Wilson experiment and the Stewart-Tolman, Sagnac, Compton, and Mössbauer effects. Throughout, the book aims to highlight the practical applications of electrodynamics. It will be ideal for master and graduate students in both Physics and Engineering.