Advanced Classical Electromagnetism (Hardcover)

A modern approach to classical electromagnetism

Electromagnetism is one the pillars of modern physics. Robert Wald provides graduate students with a clear, concise, and mathematically precise introduction to the subject, covering all the core topics while bringing the teaching of electromagnetism up to date with our modern understanding of the subject. Electromagnetism is usually taught in a quasi-historical fashion, starting from concepts formulated in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but this tends to promote outdated ways of thinking about the theory. Wald begins with Maxwell's equations--the foundation of electromagnetism--together with the formulas for the energy density, momentum density, and stress tensor of the electromagnetic field. He then proceeds through all the major topics in classical electromagnetism, such as electrostatics, dielectrics, magnetostatics, electrodynamics and radiation, diffraction, and special relativity. The last two chapters discuss electromagnetism as a gauge theory and the notion of a point charge--topics not normally treated in electromagnetism texts.

• Completely rethinks how to teach electromagnetism to first-year graduate students
• Presents electromagnetism from a modern, mathematically precise perspective, formulating key conceptual ideas and results clearly and concisely
• Written by a world-class physicist and proven in the classroom
• Covers all the subjects found in standard electromagnetism textbooks as well as additional topics such as the derivation of the initial value formulation for Maxwell's equations
• Also ideal as a supplementary text or for self-study

《現代電磁學的新方法》

電磁學是現代物理學的基石之一。羅伯特·沃爾德為研究生提供了一個清晰、簡潔且數學精確的介紹，涵蓋了所有核心主題，同時將電磁學的教學與我們對這一主題的現代理解保持同步。電磁學通常以近乎歷史的方式教授，從十八世紀和十九世紀提出的概念開始，但這往往促使人們對這一理論的過時思維。沃爾德從麥克斯韋方程組（電磁學的基礎）開始，以及電磁場的能量密度、動量密度和應力張量的公式。然後，他逐一介紹了古典電磁學的所有主要主題，如靜電學、介電體、靜磁學、電動力學和輻射、繞射以及特殊相對論。最後兩章討論了電磁學作為規範理論和點電荷的概念，這些主題通常不在電磁學教材中涉及。

• 徹底重新思考如何向一年級研究生教授電磁學


• 從現代、數學精確的角度呈現電磁學，清晰而簡潔地阐述關鍵概念和結果


• 由世界一流的物理學家撰寫，並在教學中經過驗證


• 涵蓋了標準電磁學教材中的所有主題，以及其他主題，如麥克斯韋方程組的初始值形式的推導


• 也適合作為補充教材或自學使用

Robert M. Wald is the Charles H. Swift Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Physics and the Enrico Fermi Institute at the University of Chicago. His books include General Relativity, Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime and Black Hole Thermodynamics, and Space, Time, and Gravity: The Theory of the Big Bang and Black Holes.

Robert M. Wald是芝加哥大學物理學系和恩里科·費米研究所的查爾斯·H·斯威夫特傑出服務教授。他的著作包括《廣義相對論》、《曲率時空中的量子場論和黑洞熱力學》以及《空間、時間和重力：宇宙大爆炸和黑洞理論》。