Product Description

Gauss’s law for electric fields, Gauss’s law for magnetic fields, Faraday’s law, and the Ampere-Maxwell law are four of the most influential equations in science. In this guide for students, each equation is the subject of an entire chapter, with detailed, plain-language explanations of the physical meaning of each symbol in the equation, for both the integral and differential forms. The final chapter shows how Maxwell’s equations may be combined to produce the wave equation, the basis for the electromagnetic theory of light. This book is a wonderful resource for undergraduate and graduate courses in electromagnetism and electromagnetics. A website hosted by the author at www.cambridge.org/9780521701471 contains interactive solutions to every problem in the text as well as audio podcasts to walk students through each chapter.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12806 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Review
'Professor Fleisch is a great scientific communicator.' electronicdesign.com

'… good examples and problems are given so the student can practice the skills being taught.' IEEE Microwave Magazine

About the Author
Daniel Fleisch is Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at Wittenberg University, Ohio. His research interests include radar cross-section measurement, radar system analysis, and ground-penetrating radar. He is a member of the American Physical Society (APS), the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), and the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE).

Customer Reviews

Aha
Nearly 25 years have gone by since I acquired my venerable Archbishop of a Physics degree. How many lecture hours did I sit through watching professors scribble their mathematics in coloured chalks, `only' to learn how to manipulate theorems in order to find an answer? Did I get what Maxwell's equations were actually about? Alas no, not then. I do now.

My modest advice is to read and re-read this book, slowly. It isn't a traditional text book, more an explanatory pamphlet and all the more effective for it. It may feel slightly pedantic at times, a repeated format for each section, but there's method in the style. Fleisch wants you to get it too, and he waits for you to be up there with him. The book doesn't replace more traditional texts on electromagnetism, but it goes a long way to underpinning them. Undergraduate level vector analysis and calculus will help do the example calculations, but are by no means essential to grasp the physics behind the solutions.

I suspect I am not alone in confusing calculation with understanding. At the time I never really grasped the physics or the mathematics, and so was not great at either. This book remedies both omissions by explaining each clearly. Better late than never I guess; wonder if they'd let me have another crack at the electromagnetism paper.......

Why bother with it after so long? Curiosity maybe. If only we could whisper in our younger selves' ears; the language... the mirth... So it goes.

An Excellent Beginners Guide to Maxwell's equations
I teach physics and was interested in a way in which the Maxwell equations could be broken down so they can be understood most easily. A lot of the time students struggle with conceptualising this subject and the maths can seem a little abstract or unnecessary. The two most common texts for undergraduates on the subject are Classical Electrodynamics by John David Jackson and Classical Electromagnetism by Jerrold Franklin. Although both these books are excellent and are leading textbooks in the subject there is a requirement of high mathematical knowledge and ability to conceptualise abstract concepts. This Book plays a major part in helping you get those skills while at the same time teaching with good effect Gauss's laws, Faradays law and the Maxwell equations. Every part of every equation is broken down and explained conceptually and mathematically teaching you about areas such as closed integrals and dot and cross products. This book is an invaluable part of any physics student's armoury when attempting to understand classical electro magnetism. The only reason why I have not given this book 5 stars is because the book is quite short at 134 pages and could have gone a lot further with the excellent logical and methodical route that it takes.

Pete B
I bought this book primarily out of interest and with a view of getting a better understanding of this difficult subject - generally surrounding the concepts and the mathematics involved. The author breaks down each of maxwell's equation, explaining each part and then giving examples to back up the theory. This is not for beginners but would help undergraduate students in Physics or Electrical/Electronic Engineering. It does a great job!