What is Jackson electrodynamics: Definition and 21 Discussions

Classical Electrodynamics is a textbook about that subject written by theoretical particle and nuclear physicist John David Jackson. The book originated as lecture notes that Jackson prepared for teaching graduate-level electromagnetism first at McGill University and then at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Intended for graduate students, and often known as Jackson for short, it has been a standard reference on its subject since its first publication in 1962.The book is notorious for the difficulty of its problems, and its tendency to treat non-obvious conclusions as self-evident. A 2006 survey by the American Physical Society (APS) revealed that 76 out of the 80 U.S. physics departments surveyed require all first-year graduate students to complete a course using the third edition of this book.

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  1. N

    A Finding potential of a dipole outside of a sphere

    Hey guys! I am currently tackling the following problem: An electric dipole P is kept close to a conducting grounded sphere of radius A -assume a distance B between the center of the sphere and dipole. What is the potential of the dipole outside of the sphere when the orientation of the dipole...
  2. peguerosdc

    Understanding Green's second identity and the reciprocity theorem

    This is Jackson's 3rd edition 1.12 problem. So, for both ## \phi ## and ## \phi' ##, I started from Green's second identity: ## \int_V ( \phi \nabla^2 \phi' - \phi' \nabla^2 \phi )dV = \int_S ( \phi \frac {\partial \phi'} {\partial n} - \phi' \frac {\partial \phi} {\partial n} ) dS ## And...
  3. majormuss

    Finding the electrostatic potential of a square sheet.

    Homework Statement Consider a uniform surface charge density σ on a square of unit area. (a) Compute the electrostatic potential Φ along the line normal to the center of the square. My current attempt at a solution (image attached) is either incomplete or is simply wrong but I am unable to...
  4. Abdul Quader

    A Lecture notes/Supporting notes

    Looking for recommendatuons/suggestions. Is there any lecture note series or something like that that can help studying Jackson's Electrodynamics? Thanks in advance. For instance, Prof. S. Errede's UIUC Physics 435/436 Lecture Notes helps to study Griffith's Electrodynamics...
  5. P

    Courses Review Griffiths E/M before Jackson?

    Hello, I will be starting my junior year this August, I shall be having the dreaded advanced electromagnetism course that follows Jackson's book the coming semester. Unfortunately, I didn't work very hard during my freshman year e/m course (which uses Griffiths' book) and have a few gaps in my...
  6. BookWei

    Field strength tensor for a moving charged particle

    Hi, I am studying Chapter14 in Jackson. My attached file is about field strength tensor. My question is how can I obtain the radiation and the non-radiation terms in the field strength tensor for a moving charged particle. Many thanks.
  7. L

    Jackson's 6.4 - Uniformly magnetized conducting sphere

    Homework Statement A uniformly magnetized and conducting sphere of radius R and total magnetic moment m = 4\pi MR^3/3 rotates about its magnetization axis with angular speed \omega. In the steady state no current flows in the conductor. The motion is nonrelativistic; the sphere has no excess...
  8. I

    Suggestions for practice problems in E&M

    Hey all, I am working my way through a couple of emag books (Griffiths, Jackson, and Schwinger) and I was wondering if any of y'all have suggestions for problems that you thought were particularly physically insightful or useful. Cheers, IR
  9. I

    Solving Charge Distribution for Spheres with Different Material Properties

    Hey all, So the question in Jackson 1.4 is that I have 3 spheres that all have a total charge Q on them, but each sphere has different material properties. For instance, I have a conducting sphere, a sphere with a uniform charge distribution, and one with a charge distribution that has a...
  10. Peeter

    Magnetostatics force equation for continuous current density

    In Jackson, the following equations for the vector potential, magnetostatic force and torque are derived##\mathbf{m} = \frac{1}{{2}} \int \mathbf{x}' \times \mathbf{J}(\mathbf{x}') d^3 x'## ##\mathbf{A} = \frac{\mu_0}{4\pi} \frac{\mathbf{m} \times \mathbf{x}}{\left\lvert {\mathbf{x}}...
  11. qnach

    Jackson classical electrodynamics section 9-6

    I am not sure what does Jackson want to talk in section 9-6? Is that just a review of something discussed previously? Chapter 9 is talking about radiation, and later about multipole expansion.
  12. qnach

    A Why does Jackson consider small antennas on page 412?

    Jackson discussed two center-fed linear antenna: once at page 412 (section 9.2) the other at page 416 (section 9.4) I just cannot figure out what are the difference? I though they are different method of calculation but (9.56) is different from (9.28).
  13. A

    Classical Prerequisites for Jackson's Classical Electrodynamics

    Hello, I have already studied Griffith's book, Intro to Electrodynamics. However when I try Jackson's book, I find it a bit hard for me. My question is, what Maths and Physics texts (or specifically, chapters of texts) do you recommend, so that I would be best prepared for a graduate course in...
  14. B

    Jackson Electrodynamics syllabus

    Hi Everyone, I'm trying to go through Jackson this summer after having finished Griffith. However, it doesn't seem feasible to do all the problems in Jackson. So I'm wondering if any of you have a electrodynamics syllabus (with problems number on it) with Jackson's book and can give me the...
  15. M

    Help with Jackson Electrodynamics Notation

    Homework Statement I am having some difficulty with Jackson's notation. I am coming from an engineering (not physics) background. First of all, on Page 36 at the bottom of the page, Jackson uses the Dirac delta function d(x-x'). When he integrates his answer is the function at x...
  16. Q

    Jackson electrodynamics exercise

    Homework Statement An electron moves in a helix : \vec{r}(t)=v_{z}t \hat{z}+a e^{i\omega_{0}t}(\hat{x}-i\hat{y}), where a is the radius of the helix and v_{z} the relativistic z-component of the velocity. 1) Find the position vector of the electron in a system of reference that is moving...
  17. M

    Preparing for Jackson Electrodynamics

    I would like to know recommendations for the best way to prepare for Jackson's electrodynamics next Fall. I have taken Griffith's E&M as well as the usual undergraduate math (linear algebra, advanced calculus, complex variables, probability). I realize there have been some similar posts to this...
  18. A

    Jackson Electrodynamics problem 9.8a

    Homework Statement 9.8a) Show that a classical oscillating eletric dipole p with fields given by (9.18) radiates electromagnetic angular momentum to infinity at the rate \frac{d\mathbf{L}}{dt}=\frac{k^3}{12\pi\epsilon_0}\textrm{Im}[\mathbf{p^*\times p}] Hint: The electromagnetic angular...
  19. A

    Jackson Electrodynamics problem 6.5b

    Homework Statement A localized electric charge distribution produces an electrostatic field, {\bf E}=-\nabla \phi Into this field is placed a small localized time-independent current density J(x) which generates a magnetic field H. a) show that the momentum of these electromagnetic...
  20. L

    Jackson Electrodynamics Problem 2.3

    The problem and a solution can both be found here. In this problem there is a line charge and two conducting planes at the axis. You use the method of images to solve it. The first three parts are easy enough. The fourth asks what the electric field is far from the origin. I do not know...
  21. L

    What math background do I need before delving into Jackson Electrodynamics?

    I am interested in attempting to work through Jackson over the summer and I am wondering what mathematics backround is necessary before doing this. I have ken calc 1-3, DE, complex analysis (for engineers), and a probability and statistics course. Surprisingly, I have never taken a linear...
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