Macroscopic field - seeking a thorough exposition

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the quest for a thorough and rigorous exposition of the macroscopic electromagnetic (EM) field derived from its microscopic counterpart. Participants express dissatisfaction with existing resources, particularly Jackson's treatment of the subject, and seek recommendations for more comprehensive literature.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses disappointment with Jackson's derivation of the macroscopic field and seeks a more rigorous exposition.
  • Another participant mentions a German resource that may contain relevant information but doubts its thoroughness.
  • Several titles are suggested, including "Macroscopic Electromagnetism" by Robinson and "Electrodynamics of Continuous Media" by Landau, among others, with some participants noting their focus on continuous media rather than standard EM.
  • A participant indicates that they have already read Landau and found it lacking in the desired content.
  • Wald's book is recommended for its nice derivation in Chapter 3.
  • Concerns are raised about potential contradictions between the works of de Groot and Robinson, with one participant expressing a need to read further to form an opinion.
  • One participant requests a link to de Groot's book, indicating difficulty in obtaining it.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that existing resources do not meet their needs for a thorough exposition of the macroscopic field. However, multiple competing views on the suitability of suggested texts remain, and the discussion does not reach a consensus on the best resource.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty about the thoroughness of the suggested texts and their relevance to the specific topic of macroscopic fields derived from microscopic ones. There are also unresolved questions regarding the compatibility of different authors' approaches.

coquelicot
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TL;DR
I'm seeking a thorough exposition of the definition of the macroscopic EM field
Of the classical books about EM, I found that Jackson's is the only one that touches with some rigour the subject of deriving the macroscopic field from the microscopic one.
Unfortunately, I am quite disappointed by the derivation of Jackson.
In the reference he gives, he says that a couple of authors have spent their lives about this subject, but I was unable to find their book.

Do you know a rigorous and thorough exposition of this matter? I am not looking for a vague "diagrammatic" persuasion, but something closer to the state of the art on this subject.
 
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coquelicot said:
TL;DR Summary: I'm seeking a thorough exposition of the definition of the macroscopic EM field

Of the classical books about EM, I found that Jackson's is the only one that touches with some rigour the subject of deriving the macroscopic field from the microscopic one.
Unfortunately, I am quite disappointed by the derivation of Jackson.
In the reference he gives, he says that a couple of authors have spent their lives about this subject, but I was unable to find their book.

Do you know a rigorous and thorough exposition of this matter? I am not looking for a vague "diagrammatic" persuasion, but something closer to the state of the art on this subject.
Maybe this, but it's in German:
https://static.uni-graz.at/fileadmi.../mitter_heinrich/Dokumente/Elektrodynamik.pdf

From p. 126 and 163
 
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Yes, German is a problem for me, but I had a look at the formulae; that seems rather descriptive. I am in doubt this is a thorough exposition of the matter.
 
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These might be of interest
Macroscopic Electromagnetism by Robinson
Electrodynamics of Continuous Media by Landau
A Development of the Equations of Electromagnetism in Material Continua by Tiersten
Electrodynamics of Continua by Eringen and Maugin
Electrodynamics of Moving Media by Penfield and Haus
The Maxwell Equations by de Groot
 
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All of these deal about the topic? or are they just books on EM?
 
None of these are “standard” EM books. They are all focused on continuous media.
I would guess that de Groot and Robinson would be of most interest to you. I believe that there are additional de Groot references that I do not have handy.
 
OK thx. I've already read Landau, and no, it does not contain the deal.
 
I would check out Ch. 3 of Wald's book on electromagnetism. He gives a very nice derivation.
 
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Here's the preface from de Groot
Screenshot 2023-03-12 at 11.42.12 AM.png
 
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  • #10
Here's the preface from Robinson
Screenshot 2023-03-12 at 11.43.46 AM.pngScreenshot 2023-03-12 at 11.44.02 AM.pngScreenshot 2023-03-12 at 11.44.21 AM.pngScreenshot 2023-03-12 at 11.44.37 AM.png
 
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  • #11
Nice ! Robinson seems to be my man, as he writes exactly what I thought in his preface. Groot may be in contradiction with Robinson, that is, he may derive things in the classical erroneous way. But I don't know I have to read to have an opinion.
 
  • #12
De Groot book seems difficult to obtain, do you have a link? :-)
 
  • #13
Sorry. That was a scan from my hard copy.
 

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