Classical Electricity and Magnetism by Edward Purcell

AI Thread Summary
Purcell's "Electricity and Magnetism" is a comprehensive textbook that introduces electromagnetism with a strong emphasis on relativity, making it suitable for physics majors with prior calculus knowledge. The book covers essential topics such as electrostatics, electric fields, and Maxwell's equations, but its use of cgs units has been criticized, especially as the new third edition transitions to SI units. While the text is praised for its depth and insight, it may be too challenging for students without a solid background in vector calculus and physics. Comparisons with Griffiths suggest that both texts are similar in content, but Purcell is noted for its unique approach to electromagnetism. The third edition includes more problems and solutions, enhancing its utility for students.

For those who have used this book

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  • #51
I would consider the switch from Gaussian units, which are much more natural for electromagnetism, to SI units a (slight) minus. The SI is a desease in theoretical electromagnetism. I was shocked to see that even Jackson switched to SI units in the 4th German edition (I guess also in the newest English edition) only to switch back to the Gaussian units when it comes to the real beef, i.e., the relativistic formulation. Of course the use of any kind of units is as valid as any other, but the SI makes E&M unnecessarily a bit more complicated than the use of Gaussian units. The best units, in my opinion, are Heaviside-Lorentz units, which are rationalized Gaussian units. They are used in high-energy physics (relativistic QFT/QED). That's the ones I use always. If necessary, one can easily switch to SI units at the end of the calculation ;-).
 

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