What to do after Kleppner and Purcell?

[Radarithm]

What would be a good mechanics book after K&K that includes Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics? Also, would Griffiths' Electrodynamics be suitable after Purcell? What about Griffiths' Quantum Mechanics (ignoring the math pre-reqs)?

 

[micromass]

What would be a good mechanics book after K&K that includes Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics? Also, would Griffiths' Electrodynamics be suitable after Purcell? What about Griffiths' Quantum Mechanics (ignoring the math pre-reqs)?

For mechanics, I think Taylor is pretty nice: https://www.amazon.com/dp/189138922X/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Griffith's Electrodynamics is a very good book. Some call it one of the best physics textbooks ever written, so yes: do that after Purcell.

I'm not really a fan of Griffith's QM, but others seem to like it a lot.

 

[Xiuh]

As micromass said, you can't go wrong with Griffiths.
Taylor is a nice book, but it barely covers Hamiltonian mechanics. Other great books are
Gregory https://www.amazon.com/dp/0521534097/?tag=pfamazon01-20
Greiner https://www.amazon.com/dp/3642034330/?tag=pfamazon01-20
Calkin - Lagrangian and Hamiltonian Mechanics

 

[WannabeNewton]

What would be a good mechanics book after K&K that includes Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics?

Calkin, Taylor, Greiner, Thornton and Marion are but a few (although I hate Thornton and Marion with a passion).

Also, would Griffiths' Electrodynamics be suitable after Purcell?

If you can, try your best to do them concurrently. This is the most efficient way to use Griffiths if you have Purcell. That way you can move on to more advanced EM texts (e.g. Jackson) without wasting extra time because Griffiths is only a hair's width more advanced than Purcell in terms of material covered.

What about Griffiths' Quantum Mechanics (ignoring the math pre-reqs)?

What about it? It's a brilliant QM book but you should focus on mastering analytical mechanics and EM first.

 

[Radarithm]

Based on what I've read, I'm going to get Taylor, Gregory, and Griffiths E&M, QM can wait. Thanks for the help!

 

[Radarithm]

By the way, how do the problems in Griffiths compare (in difficulty) with those in Purcell? I'd be lucky to solve 3 2 star problems in Purcell (2nd Ed. When Morin added more problems). It reminds me of his intro to CM book, which really drove me crazy. In a good way.

Edit: I asked this because WannabeNewton said its a tad harder when it comes to material (which I'm fine with) but that doesn't necessarily mean harder questions (or does it?).

 

[WannabeNewton]

By the way, how do the problems in Griffiths compare (in difficulty) with those in Purcell?

Griffiths problems are on the whole easier but not by much, at least for me personally.

 

[ZombieFeynman]

Principles of Electrodynamics by Melvin Schwarz is a good book that is not nearly as difficult as Jackson but much more mathematically sophisticated than either Griffiths or Purcell. Personally, I think Jackson is only OK. Zangwill is a much better graduate level E&M book than anything (including Jackson) on the market. Jackson is mainly concerned with showing you that he knows a lot of math. Zangwill is concerned with giving you insight into Electrodynamics and developing your intuition through examples, applications, and excellent pedagogy.