An Introduction to Classical Electromagnetic Radiation [Paperback]

Glenn S. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 13, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0521586984 | ISBN-13: 978-0521586986

A fundamental and thorough description of classical electromagnetic radiation, this book is a balance of physical and mathematical explanation and includes over 300 illustrations. Starting from Maxwell's equations, the author demonstrates how fundamental concepts are applied in a wide variety of examples from areas such as classical optics, antenna analysis, and electromagnetic scattering. An interweaving of theoretical and experimental results gives insight into the physical and historical foundations of the subject. The book gives equal footing to the radiation of pulses and the more conventional time harmonic signals. With more than 140 problems, it can be used as a textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in electrical engineering and physics, and will also be of interest to scientists and engineers working in applied electromagnetics. A solutions manual is available for instructors.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...Smith's book is a most welcome addition on the subject of electromagnetic radiation and will certainly be of interest to any graduate or advanced undergraduate student for many years to come. I enjoyed it and hope to find it in the library of any institution where the teaching of electromagnetic radiation is taken seriously." Christian Brosseau, Optics and Photonics News

"...the book is well written and the arguments clearly presented. It is self contained and provides a good entree to the subject for nonexperts...A broad variety of physical applications provide concrete illustrations of the abstract methods developed in each chapter." Christian Brosseau, Optics and Photonics News

Book Description

This book provides a thorough description of classical electromagnetic radiation, starting from Maxwell's equations, and moving on to show how fundamental concepts are applied in a wide variety of examples. Throughout, the author interweaves theoretical and experimental results to help give insight into the physical and historical foundations of the subject. Mathematical and physical explanations are enhanced by a wealth of illustrations (over 300), and there are more than 140 problems.

Product Details

• Paperback: 673 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (August 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521586984
• ISBN-13: 978-0521586986
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #874,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Graduate-level text, covers unusual topics..., March 4, 2008

By 

Steven J. Wojtczuk (Lexington, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Introduction to Classical Electromagnetic Radiation (Paperback)

This text is strikes a nice balance between being detailed and still remaining reasonably easy to follow. I like this text a lot because it covers less common topics and derives things. For example, it talks about Gaussian pulses exciting an antenna as well as the standard time-harmonic sinusiodal case. I am not really an antenna guy, but I have to say I found it interesting/amusing that I never even thought about anything other than a sine wave exciting an antenna until I saw this book, because that was all I had seen previously in books. I originally looked at this book while trying to find a discussion for scattering from a circular aperture that is small compared to the wavelength (think of a shielded enclosure with small holes like in your microwave oven). Smith has a complete derivation and gives the the correct transmission coefficient. Jackson's Classical Electrodynamics (a fine book) tackles this, but uses simplified assumptions for the field in the mouth of the aperture, and does not quite get the correct answer because of the questionable assumptions, as Jackson himself points out. I have found only one electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) book (by Christopoulos) that even bothers to list a formula (much less derive it) for what I think is an important topic (shielding by a metal screen with holes) in EMC. This is one of those books that you will still be glad to have 20 years from now because there is almost nothing in it that will become outdated in 20 years - it explains a great many important fundamental topics very well.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Introduction to Classical Electromagnetic Radiation, February 21, 2001

By 

Cassidy (CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Introduction to Classical Electromagnetic Radiation (Paperback)

This is a good engineering reference, with a slight physics twist. Much of the material is engineering related, but there are some topics (such as Cherenkov radiation - more suitable as a physics discussion) that is well covered. Overall, a good reference text.