Name: Classical electrodynamics
ISBN: 9780471309321

Classical electrodynamics

Ein Klassiker im neuen Gewand! Diese Neuauflage behandelt in bekannter verständlicher und umfassender Weise alle Grundlagen und fortgeschrittenen Aspekte der klassischen und semiklassischen Elektrodynamik und wurde darüber hinaus um die Neuheiten der vergangenen zwanzig Jahre - Synchrotronstrahlung, Undulatoren, Wiggler,... - ergänzt. Ebenfalls besprochen werden die Grundgedanken numerischer Methoden der Elektrostatik und Magnetostatik, so daß der Leser die theoretische Basis einschlägiger Computerprogramme verstehen lernt. (01/99)

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quantum_stateApr 2026

Would suggest to take a look at Jackson’s book on classical electrodynamics to get some intuition.

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elashriAug 2023

> Classical Electrodynamics by Jackson (essential). This is the bible of classical electrodynamics, and everyone who works through either loves it or hates it (I loved it).

I agree that there is a division between who loves that book (like the author) and the majority of the graduate students who had nightmares (and sometimes still gets). I like this goodreads review of the book [1]

> A soul crushing technical manual written by a sadist that has served as the right of passage for physics PhDs since the dawn of time. Every single one of my professors studied this book, and every single one of them hates it with a passion. While I've no intention of becoming a professor, I still wonder, will my colleagues also inflict this torture on their students? Will the cycle be perpetuated ad infinitum? How many more aspiring physicists will we leave battered and bruised at the gates of insanity before switching to a textbook that seeks to make electrodynamics clear and intuitive rather than a mind-numbing trip through the seventh circle of hell?

[1] https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1266180525

* personal note: If this book is really the bible of classical mechanics, then I'm atheist.

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paulpauperAug 2023

the author's IQ is high enough that I don't think this opinion is applicable to anyone reading it

Classical Electrodynamics by Jackson (essential). This is the bible of classical electrodynamics, and everyone who works through either loves it or hates it (I loved it).

If you're smart enough that advanced college physics comes as easily as learning to talk, I guess this would be true. The author of this guide is such a huge outlier in every respect of life. I have seen and read many smart people and she's easily in Witten or Tao territory of just being otherworldly smart. I don't think she ever encountered anything being hard. Jackson for her is like a walk in park, which is otherwise regarded as a formidably hard text.

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hovdenSep 2022

Classical Electrodynamics By Jackson

Numerical Recipes By William H. Press et al

Quantum Theory of Materials By Kaxiras

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antogniniMar 2020

My personal recommendations for an undergraduate course in physics (based in large part off of my own undergrad curriculum):

Foundations:

1. Newtonian Mechanics by A.P. French (https://archive.org/details/NewtonianMechanics/mode/2up). This will give you a good foundation for what is to come.

2. Spacetime Physics by Taylor & Wheeler --- first edition if you can find it! It is much, much better than the second! Special relativity is conceptually strange, but mathematically pretty easy, so you can jump right into it after learning Newtonian mechanics. Have a little fun!

3. Electricity & Magnetism by Purcell. This book is a little unusual in that it derives magnetism from the laws of special relativity. This is the more natural approach than just asserting the laws of magnetism since magnetism is fundamentally a relativistic phenomenon.

4. Waves by Crawford. (https://archive.org/details/Waves_371/mode/2up) A bit hard to find in print, but a really excellent textbook. Waves are a fascinating topic because they come up in every area of physics, so a course focused around them has a huge number of applications.

5. Introduction to Quantum Mechanics by Griffiths. The best introduction to the topic you will find!

6. Thermal Physics by Kittel & Kroemer. I haven't actually found an introductory book on statistical physics that I'm crazy about, but this one isn't too bad.

That should last you some time. But once you're through with those and are looking for more, then here are some advanced topics:

7. Analytical Mechanics by Hand & Finch. This will teach you advanced Newtonian mechanics --- in particular Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics. There is a chapter on chaotic dynamics towards the end, too. Another option here is Classical Mechanics by Goldstein.

8. Introduction to Electrodynamics by Griffiths. More advanced E&M than Purcell. If you want to go further, then there's always Classical Electrodynamics by Jackson.

9. Principles of Quantum Mechanics by Shankar. This spends more time on the mathematical foundations of QM than Griffiths does and goes into the path integral formalism and touches on relativistic QM towards the end of the book.

10. A First Course in General Relativity by Schutz. There are arbitrarily advanced texts on GR, but I'd recommend starting off with something friendly like Schutz.

11. An Introduction to Elementary Particles by Griffiths. Not super advanced mathematically, but it's a good thing to read over to prepare you for more advanced QFT texts. The first chapter is especially good as a history of the development of particle physics.

12. Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell by Zee.

13. Modern Classical Physics by Thorne & Blandford. This is a tour de force. It's an enormous book but it really touches on everything that is left out by the above books. It covers optics, fluid dynamics, statistical physics, plasma physics, and more. (I'm currently reading through it and have only gotten through 6 chapters, but it's really an incredible textbook.)

14. Statistical Mechanics: Entropy, Order Parameters, and Complexity by Sethna. This is a really fun book, but almost all the material is in the problems.

Finally, and most importantly --- remember that physics is not a spectator sport! You must do problems. A lot of them --- and hard ones, too!

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godelskiMar 2020

I'll second Griffiths for E&M, Quantum, and Particle. I think everyone that has gone through a physics undergrad will swear by Griffiths. He is just such a delight.

But I'll suggest Marion and Thornton [0] for Classical. With Griffiths for E&M and Thornton for Classical you should be able to get a really good grasp on most of "physics". I'll also say that these series are upper division for undergrads. Given OP's background I think these would be fine starting points. If not, start with Halliday[1].

For grad level, the gold standard is Goldstein for Classical [2] and Jackson for Electrodynamics[3].

These types of books will give you a very strong base in physics and should enable you to branch out. Given your ML background you may be very interested in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics.

I'll also add an "out there" idea. Sign up for physics classes at your local community college if they offer labs. I say this as someone who went Physics -> CS and is doing HPC + ML. Labs really stress and force you to do analysis. Lower division labs won't ask too much, but if you go in with this intent I think you can get a lot out of it. I'm sure that if you did these lower div labs and talked to a professor at your local uni they would allow you to sit in on upper division labs (you would NEED to show that you are serious first, because these labs can be dangerous! Happy to help you learn doesn't mean happy to babysit and make sure you don't electrocute yourself or making sure you don't take a laser to the eye. TAing undergrad labs I saw enough people get electrocuted, including myself... more than once).

[0] https://smile.amazon.com/Classical-Dynamics-Particles-System...

[1] https://www.smile.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Physics-10th-David...

[2] https://smile.amazon.com/Classical-Mechanics-Goldstein-Poole...

[3] https://smile.amazon.com/Classical-Electrodynamics-Third-Dav...

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