Can Books on Complex Variables Benefit Electrical Engineering Students?

[Miike012]

As an electrical engineering student can learning about complex variables be beneficial to me? If so can someone recommend an introductory book that I can read on my own? Also I have very little experience working with complex variables.

 

[lurflurf]

Learning can be complex variables be very beneficial to you. Many things are beneficial to learn unfortunately we have so little time to learn them. When choosing a book experience working with complex variables is unimportant compared to experience with mathematics in general. My favorite introductory book is Complex Analysis by Serge Lang, besides being a good book in general it is written with students with minimal background in mind and the goal of greatly increasing their knowledge. That said if want something lighter you might start with an engineering math book (most of which have an introduction to complex variables), something like Complex Variables and Applications by James Brown and Ruel Churchill or Applied Complex Variables John W. Dettman. I also highly recommend Visual Complex Analysis by Tristan Needham for getting a conceptual understanding.

 

[Miike012]

Learning can be complex variables be very beneficial to you. Many things are beneficial to learn unfortunately we have so little time to learn them. When choosing a book experience working with complex variables is unimportant compared to experience with mathematics in general. My favorite introductory book is Complex Analysis by Serge Lang, besides being a good book in general it is written with students with minimal background in mind and the goal of greatly increasing their knowledge. That said if want something lighter you might start with an engineering math book (most of which have an introduction to complex variables), something like Complex Variables and Applications by James Brown and Ruel Churchill or Applied Complex Variables John W. Dettman. I also highly recommend Visual Complex Analysis by Tristan Needham for getting a conceptual understanding.

Thank you for the recommendations. I found all the books on pdf except for Applied Complex Variables John W. Dettman. I am currently reading a book on differential equations, linear algebra, and I'll choose from one of the books you recommended. Are there any other math fields that you can think of that will be beneficial?

 

[CJ2116]

If you're looking for inexpensive books to study from, try Schaum's Outline of Complex Variables (2nd edition) and Complex Variables: Harmonic and Analytic Functions by Francis J. Flanigan.

I found these both way better than the Brown and Churchill book!

 

[lurflurf]

^Did you find Flanigan hard? As I recall it is between Churchill and Ahlfors which I only recommend as a punishment. I am lukewarm on Brown and Churchill, but it is pretty good, famous, easier than Lang, and much better than Snaff and Snider. I have the first edition of Schaum's Outline of Complex Variables, I don't know how much is changed. It is more of a supplement, but it has some good things.

I am not in electrical engineering. I hear a lot of math can be useful there. Are you only interested in math commonly used in electrical engineering? Many electrical engineers (unless they are learning for fun) only learn the basics of each topic or what they know will be useful for their specialty area. Some mathematics commonly used includes

Calculus
Linear Algebra
Discrete Mathematics
Graph Theory
Group Theory
Information Theory
Numerical Analysis
Ordinary Differential Equations
Probability
Statistics
Complex Variables
Digital Signal Processing
Partial Differential Equations
Fourier Analysis
Integral Transforms
Green's Functions
Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos
Cryptography
Optimization
Control theory
Manifolds and Differential Geometry

One amusing book I read a part of recently that I assume would be of interest to electrical engineers is Dyadic Green Functions in Electromagnetic Theory by Chen-To Tai.

 

[Fredrik]

Saff & Snider is very nice and easy to read, but annoyingly expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0139078746/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[Miike012]

Saff & Snider is very nice and easy to read, but annoyingly expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0139078746/?tag=pfamazon01-20

I have a pdf of that book.

 

[jk]

I have a pdf of that book.

There are a lot of illegal copies of books floating around. I would make sure you have a legal copy

 

[Miike012]

There are a lot of illegal copies of books floating around. I would make sure you have a legal copy

I got mine from scribd.com

 

[jasonRF]

Saff & Snider is very nice and easy to read, but annoyingly expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0139078746/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Fredrik, if you think the older editions are equivalent, used copies can be found for little money:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0133274616/?tag=pfamazon01-20

I have looked through the first edition and it seemed to be a great book, but I haven't worked through it in detail. Looks much better than the required book (Priestley) for the class I took!

jason

 

[jk]

I got mine from scribd.com

Probably not legal. Why not get it from a library ?

 

[stevenb]

Complex variables are critical for electrical engineering, not just beneficial.

I like "Complex Variables and the Laplace Transform for Engineers" by Wilbur R. LePage.

The Dover edition is not very expensive.

It's not an introductory book, but it will serve well in the long term and requires no more fundamentals than an electrical engineering student would have in the 3'rd year.

 

[Miike012]

Probably not legal. Why not get it from a library ?

I pay for the website

 

[smodak]

I pay for the website

Just to make it clear. Scribd charges for usage. The content is uploaded by normal people. If you got saff and snider from scribd it is definitely an illegal copy. In fact, I hardly see any ebook that is legal in scribd. You are paying but it is not going to the authors / publishers. It is not different from buying pirated DVDs and CDs.

 

[Miike012]

Can someone recommend a good book on vectors. I would like to have a better understanding of vectors because I'm assuming a good understanding on vectors could be very beneficial?

Thanks

 

[jasonRF]

a good understanding of vectors is essential for an electrical engineer (or any engineer, for that matter). What exactly is your background? I would think by the end of your freshman year of an electrical engineering program you would be fluent in vector algebra at the very least, and have seen it used in math and intro physics. You should know this stuff WAY before you worry about complex variables!

jason

 

[smodak]

Can someone recommend a good book on vectors. I would like to have a better understanding of vectors because I'm assuming a good understanding on vectors could be very beneficial?

Thanks

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071615458/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[Miike012]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071615458/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Are there any more "advanced" books on vectors? This book looks like my calculus 3 course. I was hoping to learn something new.

 

[verty]

Are there any more "advanced" books on vectors? This book looks like my calculus 3 course. I was hoping to learn something new.

It sounds like you are done with vectors. There are many options now.

One option is Kreysig - Differential Geometry, it looks pretty interesting. According to the preface, it investigates curves and surfaces in space and, in doing so, introduces and uses tensor calculus.

Another option if you have real analysis experience is Gelfand & Fomin - Calculus of Variations, should also be interesting.

If you want applied vector analysis, perhaps Shadowitz - The Electromagnetic Field would work.

I chose these topics because they seem to deal with areas where vector math is applied or because they are about analysis of vector functions.

 

[Miike012]

a good understanding of vectors is essential for an electrical engineer (or any engineer, for that matter). What exactly is your background? I would think by the end of your freshman year of an electrical engineering program you would be fluent in vector algebra at the very least, and have seen it used in math and intro physics. You should know this stuff WAY before you worry about complex variables!

jason

I've taken up to calc 3, differential equations, and linear algebra. I was introduced to vectors in my physics courses and calc 3.
Would I be wasting my time reading about vectors? Or should I invest my time in another math subject?

 

[Fredrik]

Do you have something specific in mind when you ask about "vectors". The basics about vector spaces is covered in courses on linear algebra. The really heavy stuff is covered in courses on functional analysis. (I'm pretty sure that's not what you're interested in). Vectors are also used in real analysis (multivariable calculus) and differential geometry.

 

[Miike012]

Do you have something specific in mind when you ask about "vectors". The basics about vector spaces is covered in courses on linear algebra. The really heavy stuff is covered in courses on functional analysis. (I'm pretty sure that's not what you're interested in). Vectors are also used in real analysis (multivariable calculus) and differential geometry.

Honestly I don't know enough about vectors to know how they are applied so that's why I can't be more specific about what I would like to learn when it comes to vectors. All I know is that vectors can be a powerful tool if I have a good understanding and know how to apply them.

 

[theoristo]

Principles of Mathematical Analysis, Third Edition by Walter Rudin
A First Course in Complex Analysis With Applications by Dennis Zill and Patrick Shanahan
Visual Complex Analysis by Tristan Needham