Modern Electrodynamics

An engaging writing style and a strong focus on the physics make this comprehensive, graduate-level textbook unique among existing classical electromagnetism textbooks. Charged particles in vacuum and the electrodynamics of continuous media are given equal attention in discussions of electrostatics, magnetostatics, quasistatics, conservation laws, wave propagation, radiation, scattering, special relativity and field theory. Extensive use of qualitative arguments similar to those used by working physicists makes Modern Electrodynamics a must-have for every student of this subject. In 24 chapters, the textbook covers many more topics than can be presented in a typical two-semester course, making it easy for instructors to tailor courses to their specific needs. Close to 120 worked examples and 80 applications boxes help the reader build physical intuition and develop technical skill. Nearly 600 end-of-chapter homework problems encourage students to engage actively with the material. A solutions manual is available for instructors at www.cambridge.org/Zangwill.

1. Mathematical preliminaries; 2. The Maxwell equations; 3. Electrostatics; 4. Electric multipoles; 5. Conducting matter; 6. Dielectric matter; 7. Laplace's Equation; 8. Poisson's Equation; 9. Steady current; 10. Magnetostatics; 11. Magnetic multipoles; 12. Magnetic force and energy; 13. Magnetic matter; 14. Dynamic and quasistatic fields; 15. General electromagnetic fields; 16. Waves in vacuum; 17. Waves in simple matter; 18. Waves in dispersive matter; 19. Guided and confined waves; 20. Retardation and radiation; 21. Scattering and diffraction; 22. Special relativity; 23. Fields from moving charges; 24. Lagrangian and Hamiltonian methods; Appendixes; Index.

An engaging writing style and a strong focus on the physics make this comprehensive, graduate-level textbook unique among existing classical electromagnetism textbooks. It features close to 120 worked examples, 80 applications boxes and nearly 600 end-of-chapter homework problems, with a solutions manual available to instructors at www.cambridge.org/Zangwill.

Andrew Zangwill is a Professor of Physics at Georgia Institute of Technology, with research interests in theoretical condensed matter physics. He is the author of the popular textbook Physics at Surfaces (Cambridge University Press, 1988) and has taught classical electromagnetism at the graduate and undergraduate levels for twenty years.