Customer Reviews

Electromagnetic Fields

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you wanna master Jackson's classic bible, this is absolutely a prerequisite!!.
Most people love Griffith, but this is more than it.
Some people complain about this book which is too mathematical, but math is the language of E&M. Without strict, precise math, you gonna get nothing from E&M.
This book, I bet, will solidify your all needed mathematical background to conquer Jackson's Classical Electrodynamics.
Specially, the concept on conductor is explained very well with very nice examples in Ch.6 and dielectrics in ch.10 is well treated.
Useful and powerful solved examples are available on the right place.
The only not well treated topic is a radiation part, but Griffith will compensate for this.
Again, I'll strongly recommend this book for anyone who will continue graduate study in physics, whatever he will major.

I believe there are basically two breeds in the world of EM textbooks. One is obviously J.D. Jackson and the other E.M. Purcell. If Griffiths follows Purcell's approach, I'd say Wangsness is in the style of Jackson (of course no direct comparison is possible, Jackson does not really discuss statics anyway).

Wangness is very much _detailed_ and provides ample examples, many of them kindly worked out. I am not sure if this book provides strong background in vector calculus, though. I always had troubles getting some geometrical intuitions. I guess I have learned more from Purcell in this respect.

Of course, there are many other great books such as Lorrain/Corson, Feynman volume 2 and such. Should be nice to look at those as well.

This book is indeed very modular, if you have any previous EM training and the required mathematical skills you won't have any difficulty using this as a practical, working reference. As a consequence of the modularity, there is some repetition of the information but it's a small price to pay for the completeness of the individual modules.

One of my favorite features of the writing is the clear references to previous results making it easy to review the references (and completely eliminates any need to search the index). I far prefer this to the usual method to make only vague references to previously developed concepts and is one reason why I find this is a good reference work.

Overall, the level is more advanced than Cook though better written. Some of the development of the material is rather novel (e.g., Amperes Law) and considerably more approachable than corresponding works by Smythe (ugh), Peck, or Stratton. I recommend Feynmans lectures in addition to this book. I find the two complement each other quite nicely.

One-stop shopping for the diligent reader. Begins with a great lesson in vector calculus, then moves through E&M. Doesn't gloss over the mathematical details, and yet is remarkably self-contained. The reader doesn't need a pile of books on the side to figure out the math steps. Every equation has a pointer to its predecessors so that you can trace back to the very beginning if you wish.

OK, OK... so Griffiths is a very good text. I believe this book is better, having read both. Overall, 'EM Fields' is very well written, providing a strong background in vector calculus to bolster the topics that follow. I agree with the other reviewer who writes that explanations are based on mathematical rather than physical arguments. However, I find this style easier to understand. I do not believe that this formalism detracts from an overall grasp of the material, provided that physical intuition is used as well.

Wangsness can seem daunting at first glance, however after using this book as a text for my first formal E&M class, it is my opinion that the mathematical rigor presented was perfectely matched with the logical development of electromagnetism. So many physics/math books are either falling off a log easy or too ridiculously abstract as to be used for any practical learning. I found the text by Wangsness to be exceptionally well developed, offering just the right blend of rigor and application. Accordingly, the problems at the end of each chapter reflect this development. Most other books I have seen on the subject offer very few workable problems and even fewer answers. This book is loaded with exercises at the end of each chapter that range from simply tedious to very difficult, which again, exemplifies the author's ability to fully develop a real understanding of E&M.

... one might note that this book is developed in such a waythat makes it quite modular. At first Wangsness develops an examplecompletely, often leading to daunting equations. This is wonderful. However if you want to pick and choose a few key assumptions, and developed a more specific case, you can do that with Wagness' help, as well.

Some of the problems are tedious, and void of instruction. Oftentimes, one has to result to digging through the chapter just to find the correct equation, leaving you with no physical intuition of what is really happening. If a professor drew up their own problems to accompany this text, you'd definitely have a winner. END

This text has its good points: Its calculations are all done in careful, explicit detail, and it contains a lot of physics which you won't find elsewhere. (In particular, its discussion of wave propagation in media is quite good.) However, the book has a few problems: Its discussion of radiation is rather weak (compared with Griffiths, for instance). And it is not very well written: Wangsness' derivations tend to rely more upon mathematical manipulations than physical principles. Readers who would prefer a solid discussion of the _physics_ of electromagnetic fields should (depending on their math backgrounds) consult either Jackson or Griffiths.

I use this book for a second year at university, and I can say it is the best EM book I have ever found. It is clear, complete and full of interesting problems. Some people complain about mathematics, but I think EM cannot be fully understood without all the mathematical formalism. I recommend to have a course on vector calculus before reading this book.
I cannot tell any con, just be carefull with equation (10-18), which is not the general expression (compare with (4-10) and (21-42)).
After mastering this book, I would recommend Melvin Schwartz's or Landau to get into Electrodynamics.

Mathematical formalism is very good , physical notions are developed logically . Because the notion of causality ( behind the lines ) is conneted to graduate course and mathematical approach is connected to quantum mechanics, one can get powerful tools that makes us serious students. I really have got a lot of intuition about the behavior of Nature!! However, in order to be an advanced student who knows the whole development of Electromagnetism Never lose a second during reading this book ! Read only after studying Vector analysis thoroughly I also recommand the book -> written by J. Maxwell (Dover published)