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.

This book presents an overview of Classical Electrodynamics. Its second edition includes new chapters that pick up where the material from the first edition left off. The image method introduced in the first edition is expanded to series of images, using simple examples like a point charge or a charged wire between two grounded plates, as well as more relevant examples such as two charged conducting spheres and the force between them. The topic of complex functions is broadened with the introduction of conformal mapping. One new chapter introduces the method of separation of variables, including in Cartesian coordinates (box with sides at fixed voltages), in spherical coordinates (dielectric and conducting sphere, potential of a charged ring), in cylindrical coordinates (conducting wedge, cylinder in uniform field). It also presents the potentials and the fields for a point charge in motion, radiation by a point charge and by a dipole, radiation reaction. Two other chapters present updated lessons on the mass of the photon and search for monopoles. Examples and/or solvable problems are provided throughout.

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.

The third edition of the defining text for the graduate-level course in Electricity and Magnetism has finally arrived! It has been 37 years since the first edition and 24 since the second. The new edition addresses the changes in emphasis and applications that have occurred in the field, without any significant increase in length.

Tremendous technological developments and rapid progress in theory have opened a new area of modern physics called high-field electrodynamics: the systematic study of the interaction of relativistic electrons or positrons with ultrahigh-intensity, coherent electromagnetic radiation. This advanced undergraduate/graduate-level text provides a