An Introduction to Electrodynamics provides an excellent foundation for those undertaking a course on electrodynamics, providing an in-depth yet accessible treatment of topics covered in most undergraduate courses, but goes one step further to introduce advanced topics in applied physics, such as fusions plasmas, stellar magnetism and planetary dynamos.
Some of the central ideas behind electromagnetic waves, such as three-dimensional wave propagation and retarded potentials, are first explored in the introductory background chapters and explained in the much simpler context of acoustic waves. The inclusion of two chapters on magnetohydrodynamics provides the opportunity to illustrate the basic theory of electromagnetism with a wide variety of physical applications of current interest. Davidson places great emphasis on the pedagogical development of ideas throughout the text, and includes many detailed illustrations and well-chosen exercises to complement the material and encourage student development.
1: Vector Calculus 2: The Physical Signatures of Three Important Partial Differential Equations 3: A Bird's Eye View of Electromagnetism 4: The Foundations of Electrostatics 5: Solving for Electrostatic Fields, the Multipole Expansion and Electrostatic Energy 6: Dielectrics 7: Magnetostatics I: The Magnetic Field, Ampère's Law and the Biot-Savart Law 8: 8 Magnetostatics II: Dipoles, Force Distributions and Energy 9: Magnetic Fields in Matter 10: Faraday's Law of Electromagnetic Induction 11: Quasi-Static Magnetic Fields: Magnetic Energy and Inductance 12: Transient and AC Circuits 13: Static Versus Dynamic Fields: Maxwell's Equations 14: Confined Waves: Transmission Lines, Waveguides and Resonant Cavities 15: Maxwell's Equations in Free Space I: the Propagation of Waves 16: Maxwell's Equations in Free Space II: Radiation 17: Maxwell's Equations in Free Space III: the Fields of Moving Charges 18: Maxwell's Equations in Dielectric and Magnetic Materials 19: Plane Waves in Stationary Dielectrics and Conductors 20: Magnetoydrodynamics I: Governing Equations and Kinematic Theorems 21: Magnetohydrodynamics II: Fusion Plasmas, Alfvén Waves, Planetary Dynamos and Stellar Magnetism 22: An Introduction to Special Relativity 23: Electromagnetism and Special Relativity
Peter Davidson is currently Professor of Fluid Mechanics at the University of Cambridge. He has worked as a research engineer in industry in both the UK and USA and was awarded the Institute of Materials prize in 1996 for best paper in non-ferrous metallurgy. He has authored over 100 publications in the fields of magnetohydrodynamics and turbulence.
- Winner of Winner of the 2020 Prose Award for Excellence in Textbook/Physical Sciences & Mathematics by the Association of American Publishers.
