Classical Electrodynamics Third Edition [Hardcover]

John David Jackson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 047130932X | ISBN-13: 978-0471309321 | Publication Date: August 10, 1998 | Edition: 3

A revision of the defining book covering the physics and classical mathematics necessary to understand electromagnetic fields in materials and at surfaces and interfaces. The third edition has been revised to address the changes in emphasis and applications that have occurred in the past twenty years.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A revision of the defining book covering the physics and classical mathematics necessary to understand electromagnetic fields in materials and at surfaces and interfaces. The third edition has been revised to address the changes in emphasis and applications that have occurred in the past twenty years.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 808 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 3 edition (August 10, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047130932X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471309321
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 1.4 x 10.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Solid-State Physics
  • #8 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Electromagnetism > Electricity

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

152 of 165 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jackson: Can't Live With It, Can't Live Without It!!!, June 28, 2003

By 

Gregory Bravo (Buffalo, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Classical Electrodynamics Third Edition (Hardcover)

(...but I wish I could!!!)

The title of my review just about sums my opinion on this "classic" grad electrodynamics text. The book kind of [stinks] as a textbook, but there is nothing even remotely close to it in scope out there.

So like a previous reviewer said: "Jackson's here to stay; GET USED TO IT!!"

...P>For those who still want my opinion on the specifics of this book (I promise, they won't help you-- you still have to get through Jackson!) I offer the following brief comments, some of which you may have heard before, some which may be new:

(1) The problems are hard. Damn hard. Someone else already said that, and I agree. What I WILL add, however, is that some of the problems are also simply STUPID and a waste of time, offering or enhancing physical understanding very little if at all. (Don't get me wrong-- there are some problems which, while hard, are also pretty darn cool. Unfortunately, there are too many of the other kind, too.) The type of problems I am talking about are of the following ilk: "Prove the following six-term vector identity;" "Re-derive equation #72 for a transverse magnetic field'" "Prove equation #27." Quite simply: WHO CARES!?!

(2) While the volume is pretty encyclopedic, it is often hard to follow. Jackson often simply states things in the text without explaining where they come from, how they are derived, or why they are important,--- for example, as I read the text, I began to hate the two words "we see," which are used is cases like (paraphrasing now) "Therefore, we see the following relationship holds"---when it was not at all clear to me where the heck this relationship was coming from! I often felt stupid because, in fact, I often did NOT "see" at all!!! In those cases, I began to just say to myself "well, if Jackson says so," and then moved on. Whether I am stupid or not is open for debate, surely, but nevertheless I would have liked a little more pedagogical assistance--- which, in my mind, does not seem too unreasonable a thing to expect in a *gasp!* TEXTBOOK, of all things!! (We aren't taking about a paper in a peer-reviewed journal now, are we?? We are talking about a textbook for people who don't know, but are trying to learn, E&M.)

(3) This is a comment on the Third Edition (ie. "the Blue One") versus the Second Edition (ie. "the Red One"). In the Red One, Jackson uses Gaussian units throughout, which seemed to work well for me when I first started using the book on my own several years ago. Then, when I recently took a grad course on E&M the professor used the Blue One-- wherein Jackson switches between Gaussian and SI units, depending on which chapter you are in. He explains his rationale-- which makes sense on the surface (you really need to know both units as a working physicist)-- but in practice all this did was make learning 20 times more difficult! First you get used to the way the Gaussian system works, then suddenly all the constants and definitions change and you are in SI units in the third chapter, then you are back in Gaussian units, having to remember that certain things and definitions change and certain stay the same, all the while trying to incorporate new concepts into this body of knowledge, then you're back in SI and so on. It is simply the biggest blunder that he could have made in expanding to the new edition. While there are new problems and so on in the Blue One, when I actually wanted to learn something I gave up on the Blue One and pulled out my handy Red One.

And finally...

(4) A (very minor) point: The actual SIZE and FEEL of the Red book itself is much better than the newer Blue One. The Red One feels sleek and self-contained and fits well in your hand and your backpack. The Blue One, on the other hand, is thicker, wider, bulkier and more unwieldy, and borders on the "Is there some way I can leave the book in school rather than dragging it home?" category. In short, the Blue One feels like a burden, while the Red One feels sleek and cool. Using the Red One makes you feel like you're doing something cool, slick and important, while using the Blue One makes you feel like you are burdened with the weight of physics (I'm sure all of us have felt both at some time or another-- but if you're gonna publish a textbook, go with the first!)

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I hope it was helpful.

...

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jackson's book is here to stay . Get used to it., February 22, 2003

By 

Neal J. King (Munich, Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Classical Electrodynamics Third Edition (Hardcover)

For the last few decades, J.D. Jackson's book has been the standard textbook for graduate-level physics courses in electricity & magnetism. I don't think this is going to change: it presents and develops useful tools and it covers the topics needed (plus more).

It's not perfect. In particular:
- It CANNOT be used for an introduction. It assumes a very good understanding of the physics of E&M, as presented in an undergraduate course.
- It is NOT intended for self-study. It was developed in the context of a lecture course, and this is what it supports.
- The theoretical treatment does leave irritating holes in some presentations.
- For some topics, the approach is not the most elegant.
- The problems are hard. The problems are damn hard.

Nonetheless, it covers an enormous amount of material in a way that can be referred to later (post-course), including mathematical tools and explicit formulas. This is quite useful, once you have suffered through it.

If you want to LEARN ABOUT E&M, you can study other books, many of which have been mentioned by other reviews. But if you really need to be GROUNDED in E&M, you will probably have to study this book: you probably won't be given a choice by your professor. This doesn't mean you can't find other sources to supplement the presentation. It's probably a good idea, anyway, not to think you're going to be able to find everything in one book.

54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's not QUITE that bad..., December 11, 1999

By 

"jackaroe" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Classical Electrodynamics Third Edition (Hardcover)

Yes, it is very mathematically demanding. Yes, some of the discussions (particularly towards the ends of chapters) are thoroughly inpenetrable. And yes, each chapter features a few problems of the type "Show that (horrendous expression)=(even worse expression)=(multi-line, triple sum of modified Bessel functions expression)." But with a serious effort you'll make it through the first 3/4 of every chapter and >half the problems; the remaining parts are usually specialized topics anyway. The hardest part of studying this text is simply the large amount of time you need to invest; it doesn't read like Griffiths' book. And what did you expect, E&M to be easy?

To those of you who truly hate this book (and judging by the reviews, there's a fair number of you), you might try the following substitutes/supplements: 1) Landau's Classical Theory of Fields: covers E&M in vacuo, with special relativity present from the beginning. Worked problems, E&M section is ~200 pages. 2) Mathews and Walker, Mathematical Methods- useful for special functions (Jackson's Chap. 3 presentation is somewhat brief). 3) Landau's Electrodynamics of Continuous Media- covers E&M in matter. I haven't used this one (yet), but people seem to love it. Again, worked problems. (Of course, find them in the library first!)