Waves, Particles and Fields

"""Formal initiation into 20th-century physics occurs when one begins a systematic study of relativity and quantum mechanics. There are any number of standard texts and lecture notes on these two foundations of today’s physics. Unlike the classic texts of Leonard Schiff, David Bohm, David Griffiths, and Albert Messiah, this volume offers a sturdy steppingstone to the grand edifice: it is well organized and clearly presented, with only brief introductory notes to the topics. Fischer-Cripps (formerly, Univ. of Technology, Sydney) presents the student with all the required mathematics in a succinct way. A brief discussion of vector space would have been a worthwhile addition. Those who have not previously seen scalars, vectors, and complex numbers need to do some serious work before venturing into this text, which only reviews these concepts. Readers with some acquaintance with the basics will learn the concepts, structure, and bases of the physics that is essential for an understanding of quantum field theory, leading to Feynman diagrams. This book can serve as an excellent text not only for students who plan to specialize eventually in high-powered theoretical physics, but also for those whose goal may be to work in nuclear physics, astrophysics, solid-state physics, and the like. All college libraries should own this work. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Students enrolled in two-year technical programs."" —V. V. Raman, emeritus, Rochester Institute of Technology in CHOICE, September 2020"