Reading Smythe's book on static and dynamic electricity

Main Question or Discussion Point

reading Smythe's book on "static and dynamic electricity"

Hi,

I am reading Smythe's book on "static and dynamic electricity" (1st edition, 1939) and I'm having trouble deriving some of the formulas. I wonder if someone already corrected that. For instance,

1.10 - Gauss's electric flux theorem. The expression for the normal flux component has a superfluous K : $$dN = E_n \cdot dS$$
1.101 - I can't seem to obtain the expression for N, unless if $$sin^2(\alpha) = 2 \cdot (1 - cos(\alpha))$$ (actually : $$1- cos(2\alpha) = 2 \cdot sin^2(\alpha)$$).

thanks,

Nakis

Answers and Replies

Related Classical Physics News on Phys.org
Meir Achuz
Science Advisor
Homework Helper
Gold Member
I suggest you try a newer high level EM book with clearer derivations than Smythe.
No trig is needed to derive Gauss's law.

Gokul43201
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
Check your library for Griffiths.

MalleusScientiarum
I personally like the Schwartz Principles of Electrodynamics. His arguements are very physical, and he more or less teaches you the basics of special relativity at a very natural point in the book; the middle, not as an afterthought.

Meir Achuz
Science Advisor
Homework Helper
Gold Member
Griffiths is lower level than Smythe. Schwartz has a great book, but starting with SR doesn't help electrostatics. There is a new book "Classical Electromagnetism"
by Franklin (Addison-Wesley) that is close to Smythe's (or Jackson's) level with less complication.