TEXT BOOKS

 

This course does not follow any one textbook, but a fairly complete set of lecture notes will be handed out during lectures. In addition to the lecture notes, it will be necessary to refer to several textbooks to clarify concepts and study examples. The following textbooks, listed in order of increasing difficulty, are on reserve in the Physics and Astronomy Library.

1) The recommended text is "Physics" Vol 2, H.C. Ohanian, (Norton). This is a well written descriptive text with plenty of illustrations. It is designed to cover the material at the level of P122. It does not use the vector differential calculus approach which will be used at the end of the term in P142.

2)"Berkeley Physics Course", Vol. 2 by Purcell (McGraw-Hill). This is a relatively easy but superbly written book. It also includes some interesting problems. Unfortunately, it uses the c.g.s. system of units. However, I do not think the different system will cause you too much confusion. This text includes an appendix on systems of units.

3) "Fundamentals of Electricity and Magnetism" Arthur Kip (McGraw-Hill). This old textbook is rather dry with few pictures; but it presents the material at the correct mathematical level and includes vector differential calculus.

4) "The Feynman Lectures on Physics", Vol. 2 by Feynman, Leighton, Sands, Addison and Wesley. This is a series of excellent and stimulating lectures given to Cal. Tech. sophomores by Nobel laureate Richard Feynman. These lectures are aimed to stimulate and challenge the top 10% of the class and as such are only recommended for students who have had a prior course in electromagnetism and who find they would profit from the challenge. This book does not include examples and it uses vector differential calculus.

5) "Electromagnetic Field-Waves", (2nd edition), Lorrain-Corson, (Freeman). Well written, advanced text, more appropriate to a second E-M course. However, the mathematical proofs and examples are clearly described and may be of occasional use.

6) "Introduction to Electrodynamics" (3rd edition) David Griffiths (Prentice Hall). A popular and well written advanced text, more appropriate to a second E-M course.

Either of the last two texts may be of use when studying vector differential calculus and its application to electromagnetism, Griffiths is the preferable option.