Learn Maxwell's Equations Intuitively & In-Depth with Book Suggestions

[iVenky]

Basically I couldn't understand Maxwell's equations during my college days mainly because I didn't understand divergence and curl during that time.
I need some good book on Electromagnetic Fields (such as Gauss Laws and so on) and also I want to learn about Maxwell's equations. I want to understand them intuitively and in depth.
So please mention me the name of the book with the author.

Thanks in advance.

 

[phyzguy]

I strongly recommend "The Feynman Lectures on Physics". Volume 2 deals with EM. and explains the needed vector calculus (divergence, curl,Gauss' law, etc.) in detail. There are even free pdfs online, although I'm not sure they are legal.

 

[yungman]

Introduction to Electrodynamics by David Griffiths. Work through the problems, you'll understand Curl and Div. I have so many EM books, none of the engineering EM books do that well in presenting the Maxwell's equations. You need physics book like this to understand. I know because I studied two of the engineering EM books and still don't feel comfortable until I studied Griffiths and it's like the light bulb got turn on.

 

[roshan2004]

A Student's Guide to Maxwell's Equations by Dan Fleisch is a must read if you do want to learn Maxwell's equations in brief and a non formal way. If you are a beginner, then I am sceptical for using Griffiths, however if you do have some initial knowldge about it then it's great book to learn Maxweel's equations.

 

[vindarmagnus]

I recommend Electromagnetic Fields by Wangsness (wiley) (the hardback version). It's popular among PhD students at my division, but be ready to invest a few weeks.

If you have trouble with div and curl, check this page out:
http://betterexplained.com/articles/divergence/
http://betterexplained.com/articles/vector-calculus-understanding-circulation-and-curl/

/ M

 

[DragonPetter]

A Student's Guide to Maxwell's Equations by Dan Fleisch is a must read if you do want to learn Maxwell's equations in brief and a non formal way. If you are a beginner, then I am sceptical for using Griffiths, however if you do have some initial knowldge about it then it's great book to learn Maxweel's equations.

I second that, its a great book to start with. It is better organized to get the big picture than say Resnick/Halliday introductory physics. I read it in a few hours and it clarified the equations a lot.