Classical Electricity and Magnetism by Edward Purcell

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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

  • Total voters
    33
  • #31
No it is not hardcore in the sense of high level math. Indeed it doesn't go beyond calc 3. When I said hardcore I meant that the problems can get very hard (especially in the 3rd edition) and that it uses special relativity to derive much of electrodynamics; also keep in mind that this text is usually used in honors freshman classes on EM so when I use the word 'hardcore' I mean relative to that.
 
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  • #32
Alright, thank you. If the problems are a level higher than Kleppner's in difficulty, I may enjoy having a go at them.

As for Kleppner though, I read the book after completing a course in mechanics, so I didn't read it knowing nothing at all. But from what I did read of the text, I will say it is worth it for the more studious person that would like more rigor than the base and rather glossy explanation of other texts.
 
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  • #33
Wait, keep in mind that Kleppner is a mechanics text and Purcell is an EM text. But yes personally I found the problems in Purcell to be harder than the ones in Kleppner, disregarding the fact that they are different subjects.
 
  • #34
WannabeNewton said:
They're both brilliant books. Kleppner is quite doable if you keep at it but Purcell is hardcore. You should make sure you're prepared beforehand. For example the 3rd edition of Purcell assumes you've seen a comprehensive introduction to SR (special relativity) beforehand.

Thanks for the input. I think I'm going to keep my eye out for a good deal on the Kleppner book. I won't actually be starting university physics until spring, so I've got a little while.

Could you recommend a book that would be a good intro to SR? I'll have an entire summer between physics 1 and 2, and using that summer to self study some SR sounds like a good idea. I checked out the Helliwell book that Fras recommended, and it looks like a good book. I'm seeing great reviews in several places, and a lot of people saying that it's great for self study. Sounds like it doesn't use very high level math either, which will be good, considering I'll only have up to Calc II by that time.
 
  • #35
atyy said:
=D With today's price tag, I had half a mind to add "after I strike gold".

Edit: Hmm, seems to be not terrible actually at USD 45. I somehow remembered it as USD 300!

My copy (1973 Ed) purchased new in 1974 still has $12.95 price in pencil inside. What's the annual inflation for a 20 year doubling time? 3.5% ? Did I do that right?
 
  • #36
  • #37
dustbin said:
FYI there is an international edition for Kleppner. I found it for less than $10 at a used book store.

@QuantumCurt: MIT ocw has a course on SR that can be taken after a freshman physics course. Here is the syllabus (with books):

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-033-relativity-fall-2006/syllabus/

Cool! Thanks for the link!

Does the MIT OCW include pdf's of the textbooks in the download packages, or do you have to buy the books separate? I've never used it before. I've looked around on the site before though.
 
  • #39
WannabeNewton said:
You might try Taylor and Wheeler: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0716723271/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Everything written by Wheeler is a gem; he was the king of GR and SR pedagogy.

I was actually just looking at that, along with the Taylor and Wheeler "Exploring Black Holes:Introduction to General Relativity." https://www.amazon.com/dp/020138423X/?tag=pfamazon01-20

I think next summer I'm going to utilize that MIT Open Course Ware course. Exploring Black Holes is one of the texts for it, along with Resnicks Intro to Special Relativity, and French's Special Relativity.

That course doesn't have any video lectures though unfortunately. In either case, I can't wait to start studying Relativity. I'm reading Kip Thornes "Black Holes and Timewarps" right now, and it's piquing my interest even more.
 
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  • #40
Yeah relativity is cool stuff, or so I've heard :wink:
 
  • #41
WannabeNewton said:
Yeah relativity is cool stuff, or so I've heard :wink:

Yeah, I've gathered that you have a marginal, passing interest in it. :-p
 
  • #42
If your main goal is to use Purcell however, I wouldn't worry *too much* about SR. You basically just have to know kinematics and dynamics in SR and that's it; the EM would be more important to focus on.
 
  • #43
WannabeNewton said:
If your main goal is to use Purcell however, I wouldn't worry *too much* about SR. You basically just have to know kinematics and dynamics in SR and that's it; the EM would be more important to focus on.

Gotcha. I'd be using the Purcell book while taking University Physics II(which is E&M), using the Tipler book. I just want to get a general survey of SR first, so that I won't have to learn it as I'm going along.
 
  • #44
QuantumCurt said:
Cool! Thanks for the link!

Does the MIT OCW include pdf's of the textbooks in the download packages, or do you have to buy the books separate? I've never used it before. I've looked around on the site before though.

They do not include the texts (unless the text is free as I believe some of Strang's books are for his math courses). I accidentally included the Kleppner comment above by accident (I forgot which thread I was responding to), but there is also an international edition for Purcell that can be had for $10-$20:

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=purcell&sts=t&tn=magnetism
 
  • #45
dustbin said:
They do not include the texts (unless the text is free as I believe some of Strang's books are for his math courses). I accidentally included the Kleppner comment above by accident (I forgot which thread I was responding to), but there is also an international edition for Purcell that can be had for $10-$20:

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=purcell&sts=t&tn=magnetism

I actually noticed that just a little bit ago. I hadn't even really noticed that you replied to my comment on the other thread in here...then I looked at it this morning and got confused for a second...lol

Thanks for the info. It looks like some of the MIT OCW's include pdf's of the texts, but most of them don't. I'll just have to keep my eyes out for some good used prices. I might have to grab it from the link you posted.
 
  • #46
See if you can get a cheap version of the 3rd edition if you're set on buying Purcell. The 3rd edition is far superior, especially for self-study.
 
  • #47
Yeah I was confused about my post too!
 
  • #48
WannabeNewton said:
See if you can get a cheap version of the 3rd edition if you're set on buying Purcell. The 3rd edition is far superior, especially for self-study.

That's the one I was looking at. From what I've gathered, the previous editions used cgs units, and the third edition switched them all over to SI units. That sounds a LOT more appealing, as my other physics books are going use SI units almost exclusively.

dustbin said:
Yeah I was confused about my post too!

Wait, I think it was my fault. It looks like I quoted WannabeNewton from the Kleppner thread over here on page 2 somehow. I'm so lost right now...lol
 
  • #49
Yes but the main advantage is that the 3rd edition has a lot more exercises and detailed solutions at the back for about half of them.
 
  • #50
WannabeNewton said:
Yes but the main advantage is that the 3rd edition has a lot more exercises and detailed solutions at the back for about half of them.

Well that is definitely a huge plus. I like exercises.
 
  • #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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