How can I learn special functions and differential equation

[Karmerlo]

Legendre Functions, Spherical Harmonic Functions, Bessel Functions, Neumann Functions, Airy Functions, Confluent Hypergeometric Functions, Laguerre Functions, Hermitte Functions...

I find this learning is so tedious, traumatic, and miserable. I find it so difficult to manage.
But I have to manage it, since there are wide applications in physics (Electrodynamics,Quantum Mechanics, when working on various sorts of ordinary/partial differential equation, when working on moment expansion) of such "good stuffs".

Do anyone have some very good reference (easy to find in campus lib.) can help me learn this?

Or any good suggestions to do this?
Thanks.

 

[JJacquelin]

Hi !
I suggest two very valuable books :

M.Abramowitz, I.A.Stegun, "Handbook of Mathematical Functions", Dover Publications, N.-Y., 1972

J.Spanier, K.B.Oldham, "An Atlas of Functions", Hemisphere Pubishing Corporation, Springer-Verlag, 1987. (There is a more recent edition)

For French readers, a compendium about the use of special functions :
"Safari au pays des fonctions spéciales"
http://www.scribd.com/JJacquelin/documents
A bibliography is provided page 11 and a summary of the most usefull special functions pp.12-17