Classical Eletrodynamics, Jackson

[Andreol263]

I've started reading the book on the title, but exists so fuzz here about this book and it's scared me a bit, I'm in the middle of chapter 2 right now, and nothing difficult appeared to me in this moment, what are the requeriments to read this book smothly until the end?

 

[KiggenPig]

I've been told the mathematics in Jackson is sadistic.

 

[jtbell]

Have you started doing the end-of-chapter exercises yet?

 

[Andreol263]

No..

 

[KiggenPig]

If you're not doing any exercises you're not going to build any real understanding of the material.

 

[Andreol263]

It's because i haven't finished the chapter 2 yet, but i will do the exercises, chapter 1 it's only the derivation of basic concepts of eletrostatics, there's nothing new in that, i have studied Griffith book...

 

[gleem]

Problems involving even old concepts can provide opportunities to improve your understanding. Also just because you think you can "see" your way to a solution does mean that you can solve the problem for some problems are wrought with conceptual traps and complexities that will thwart your efforts. At this stage in the development of a subject the problem sets should not be simply a mere repetition of the concepts of the text. Use the athletes routine of "warming up" before you do the heavy lifting.

 

[vanhees71]

Jackson's book is very good and quite comprehensive. For my taste, I'd start much earlier with a fully relativistic treatment and I'd recommend the 2nd edition, because it's written fully in the good old CGS units (unfortunately in the Gaussian and not in modern rationalized Heaviside-Lorentz units, but it's better than SI in any case, because SI units destroy the elegance and inner logic of the theory unnecessarily).

The problems are tough, but solving tough problems adds a lot to your understanding of the subject. Only don't get discouraged too soon. As I said, the problems are tough!

 

[Andreol263]

Yeah, i agree, but sometimes the book can go quite abstract in explanation, with huge logic jumbs between the equations,but nothing impossible at the moment and the subjects in the book appears to be quite cool too, with some introduction to QED and Solid State.