Customer Reviews

Electromagnetic Waves, Second Edition

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The author, an experienced teacher and researcher in microwaves, lasers and optics, delivers a valuable, clearly written and pleasant to read text that covers all aspects of electromagnetic theory relevant to researchers in the field. The background of the book are university courses taught by Prof. Someda in Italy, but the book is not just a collection of lectures. The author presents a coherent and balanced survey that is enriched with answers to frequently asked questions by students in the field. This has enlarged significantly the volume, and brings it closer to the needs and expectations of modern scientists looking for a solid theoretical treatment of electromagnetism. This treatment addresses common issues in current applications such as in telecommunications, photonics, radar and sensing. The book is well organised, with a structure and an extensive subject index that are helpful in finding the particular part covering the reader's need for information. The first three chapters provide the basic framework of the equations for e.m. fields, of the time-harmonic vector polarisation, discuss some key general theorems, like reciprocity and equivalence theorem, and cover the question of spatial symmetries in cases where the field determination can be simplified. Chapters 4 to 10 refer to the propagation of e.m. waves in regions that contain no sources. A detailed discussion of the homogeneous Helmholtz equation is given, as a means to unify the approaches, based on e.m. potentials, to treat both propagation and radiation problems. Plane waves in isotropic and anisotropic media, wave packets, waves on transmission lines, waveguides with conducting walls, and resonant cavities are the subjects of this part.

The last part, chapters 11 to 14, is devoted to the treatment of electromagnetism in the presence of field sources. Green's function methods are discussed in every detail. Antenna theory is outlined with the help of numerous examples. The topic of diffraction is discussed comprehensively and examples illustrate the theoretical approaches to Fresnel and Fraunhofer diffraction cases. The last chapter is intended as an introduction to radiation statistics and coherence theory, a bonus to those interested in situations in-between completely deterministic and completely random variables.

The book brings a fresh insight into electromagnetism. Talented university students will extract fast the most practical methods to answer their questions. Physicists on the front of research will find a text suitable to most of their needs that can be a successful tool to address problems in a rapidly evolving and demanding application environment. The examples are wisely chosen but wouldn't it have been better for the book to include also other examples that are closer to engineering problems in order to present practical bridges between theory and application?

Electromagnetic Waves is a valuable addition to the literature. The topics covered in the 600 pages offer more than the general subjects of interest to the modern researcher. They are treated in a clear and concise manner. The writing is enjoyable and demonstrates the author's long experience as a university professor and research team leader. It succeeds in motivating the reader to look further than in basic text books on electromagnetism because it presents the subject from a view that has common grounds in today's many applications of e.m. theory.

Maxwell's Equations are like the seven notes: they are always the same, but the music you can play with them changes very much depending on how you combine them. This seems the case also commenting the book of Prof. Carlo G. Someda "Electromagnetic waves".

The topics included in the book range from fundamental theorems to propagation in homogeneous isotropic or anisotropic materials, antenna theory, metallic or dielectric waveguides, diffraction and coherence.

Not many figures are present in the text, to illustrate the concepts or the consequences, and this may be a problem for younger readers, grown up with hypertexts and interactive videogames. However, readers can this way concentrate on a key feature, in my opinion, of the book: the attempt to evidence the differences, and the consequences, of the various models (electromagnetic theory, scalar approach, geometrical optics) used to describe physical phenomena. The generalized use of numerical models available nowadays implies, in fact, the risk of forgetting the simplifying hypothesis they assume, while critical use of these tools is necessary.

In conclusion, the music you can hear, reading this book, sounds good, at least to my ears, and I suggest you listen to it, if you are looking for a basic textbook on electromagnetic theory.

I studied the italian version of this book when i was undergraduate. This book is complete, and quite advanced. If you like electromagnetism this book is for you !!

This book is an excellent reference book for EM wave. It contains a lot of good information and rigorously describes many of the phenomenas that aren't covered in standard undergraduate books. I think it is a good graduate level textbook that is also well suited for researchers.

There are many good books on electromagnetics and one may wonder what another one could do differently or even better. The book of Someda gives the answer. It is the particular selection of the material being complete, clear and compact at the same time. It is a pleasure to browse through the book and to read a chapter now and then.

There are many good books on electromagnetics and one may wonder what another one would do differently or even better. The book of G. Someda gives the answer. It is the particular selection of the material being complete, clear and compact at the same time. It is a pleasure to browse though the book and to read a chapter now and then.