Mathematical Physics [Paperback]

Eugene Butkov (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201007274 | ISBN-13: 978-0201007275 | Publication Date: January 11, 1968 | Edition: 1st

This classic text focuses on pedagogy to enhance comprehension for students and make it more suitable for independent study.

Product Details

• Paperback: 735 pages
• Publisher: Addison Wesley; 1st edition (January 11, 1968)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201007274
• ISBN-13: 978-0201007275
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #816,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best for Green Functions, plus..., February 1, 2002

By 

"[e-mail]" (Walnut Creek, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mathematical Physics (Paperback)

Butkov gives the best explanation of Green functions I have ever read.

His treatments of vector spaces and tensors are also among the best I have encountered. The notation can be a little clunky, but you get used to it and he really gets a lot from it.

The examples given are insightful and if you study and understand them, most of the excercises are certainly doable. If you find yourself writing extreme amounts when doing an excercise, then you have missed the point (or a trick -- yes, there are a few, but there are not nearly as many in Jackson, nor are they as insidious as those in Jackson.) If you keep this in mind it will really help with self-study.

There are a few errors, especially in the excercises (worst of all in the hints and given answers). They are not too difficult to spot if you use some common sense and understand the corresponding text. (Don't worry, be happy!)

Once you comprehend Butkov, Jackson (Classical Elect.) is much easier to deal with (on many levels -- Green functions, special functions, vector spaces, et.al.)

Another text which Butkov makes much more accessible is Arfken & Weber.

Note (especially with regard to math texts): it is important to understand the difference between a tutorial/primer and a reference. Butkov is an excellent example of the former. Arfken & Weber is much better when used in the latter sense.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What I have read is good., November 15, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Mathematical Physics (Paperback)

I used this book to look for an explanation for what "Green's Functions" are, functions which are used in Electrodynamics and Quantum Mechanics. I found that the famous book by Jackson on Electrodynamics gives very little explanation or motivation about them. Butkov, however, gave a very good explanation, or hueristic description, for what they are, and gave an intuitive feel for them so they became more than just mathematical abstractions. Only then did Butkov go deeper into more mathematical nature of the "beast". It appears that he uses this same style throughout the book, and I would eventually like to go through the whole book. As it is, it is comforting to have the book available, knowing that it will be there to help me if I come across another difficult subject of mathematical physics that a teacher or assigned text doesn't explain very well. This would be a good book for the student of physics to keep around as a resource. I can't give it a 10 since I have only read part of it.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Vanilla Flavoured Maths., December 3, 2003

By 

William R. Franklin "Illuminatus" (Timonium, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mathematical Physics (Paperback)

This text offers a comprehensive, elementary and easily understandable introduction to the traditional topics of mathematics that are most readily applicable to the physical sciences. These include differential equations, vector spaces, green functions and Fourier analysis. The motivation is entirely physical which should appeal to the practicing engineer or beginning physicist.

The chief disadvantage lies in its high price, regrettably typical of most text books.

The mathematically sophisticated reader interested in more advanced topics useful in, say, particle physics or field theory, will be far better served by the wonderful work by Choquet-Bruhat and DeWitt-Morette enttled "Analyis, Manifolds and Physics" which remains a classic. Excellent treatments can also be found in "Mathematics for Physicists" by Dennery and Kryzwicki and "Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics" by Byron and Robert, both of which offer well written introductions to more advanced topics at irresistible prices.