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Field and Wave Electromagnetics (2nd Edition)

Field and Wave Electromagnetics (2nd Edition)

List Price: $117.00
Your Price: $117.00
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Book
Review: ... but are there solutions to the Problems (study guide)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent and unique development, but lacking in some areas
Review: Although this is my favorite exposition of fields and waves, Cheng sort of violates what he set out to do. This text is supposed to proceed more logically than others, yet it provides no basis for the basic postulates he introduces. He describes the postulates with one sentence, provides no motivation for them, and does not even describe any experimental basis for them. This is in stark contrast to other books. Also, he incorrectly treats the Lorentz condition from a logical point of view. The Lorentz condition is what helps link electromagnetic fields with electromagnetic waves travelling through space in the time-varying case. Cheng simply states the Lorentz condition because it simplifies another equation for potentials and says that we are at liberty to specify the equation because it contains the divergence of a variable whose curl is already specified earlier; and specifying both the divergence and curl of a vector field uniquely defines the field. This is abrupt, arbitrary reasoning with almost no motivation behind it. He should have at least stated where the Lorentz condition really comes from -- from the theory of relativity and its relation to electromagnetic fields. This would be a more lucid and correct way of linking electromagnetic fields to electromagnetic waves. Besides these shortcomings, this book is unique and excellent overall. For the serious student of electromagnetics, applied scientists, and engineers I recommend getting this book along with Essentials of Electromagnetics for Engineering by Wolf and Electromagnetic Fields and Waves by Lorrain and Corson; Lorrain and Corson's text correctly treats the Lorentz condition and derives it using the theory of relativity. These three texts, when first supplanted by a course in electromagnetism at a reasonable level, will leave one ready for any new encounters in this field, research or applied.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent and unique development, but lacking in some areas
Review: Although this is my favorite exposition of fields and waves, Cheng sort of violates what he set out to do. This text is supposed to proceed more logically than others, yet it provides no basis for the basic postulates he introduces. He describes the postulates with one sentence, provides no motivation for them, and does not even describe any experimental basis for them. This is in stark contrast to other books. Also, he incorrectly treats the Lorentz condition from a logical point of view. The Lorentz condition is what helps link electromagnetic fields with electromagnetic waves travelling through space in the time-varying case. Cheng simply states the Lorentz condition because it simplifies another equation for potentials and says that we are at liberty to specify the equation because it contains the divergence of a variable whose curl is already specified earlier; and specifying both the divergence and curl of a vector field uniquely defines the field. This is abrupt, arbitrary reasoning with almost no motivation behind it. He should have at least stated where the Lorentz condition really comes from -- from the theory of relativity and its relation to electromagnetic fields. This would be a more lucid and correct way of linking electromagnetic fields to electromagnetic waves. Besides these shortcomings, this book is unique and excellent overall. For the serious student of electromagnetics, applied scientists, and engineers I recommend getting this book along with Essentials of Electromagnetics for Engineering by Wolf and Electromagnetic Fields and Waves by Lorrain and Corson; Lorrain and Corson's text correctly treats the Lorentz condition and derives it using the theory of relativity. These three texts, when first supplanted by a course in electromagnetism at a reasonable level, will leave one ready for any new encounters in this field, research or applied.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Most Elegant Engineering Book I Have Seen
Review: Electromagnetism is a hard subject for many people, including myself. The best approach is to get a few good books on the subject rather than rely on one book. After doing a survey, I finally bought the following books suitable for my level: (i) Introductory Electromagnetics by Popovic and Popovic; (ii) Field and Wave Electromagnetics by Cheng; (iii) Electromagnetics with Applications by Kraus; (iv) Schaums Outline of Electromagnetics by Edminister. I give five stars to all these books. (There is another book which I will not review or identify, because it turned out to be unsatisfactory.)

I am reviewing these four books in one go because they are interrelated. Each of these book is strong in its own unique area.

Introductory Electromagnetics by Popovic and Popovic is the best of these book for gaining an intuitive understanding of the difficult subject of electromagnetism. Its clarity and elegance reminds me of Feynman's Lectures in Physics. Every chapter is a work of inspiration. The carefully chosen examples are designed to impart understanding of electromagnetic principles rather than calculation skills. The book is excellent for those who are new to the subject. It is also excellent for those who have already learned some electromagnetics, but who feel that their understanding is still shaky.

Field and Wave Electromagnetics by Cheng is the best of these books in terms of the mathematical development of electromagnetics. Although this approach may seem difficult at first glance, ironically the mathematical rigour makes the subject much easier to grasp. That is because mathematical precision goes a long way towards illuminating subtle principles of electromagnetism. As a result, this book, more so than any other book, has given me the confidence to handle the difficult subject of electromagnetism.

Electromagnetics With Application by Kraus is the least systematic of these books, with some of the discussions being disjoint and abrupt. It is, however, valuable for its interesting and practical examples. It is a must-have book for anyone who is serious about electromagnetism.

Schaums Outline of Electromagnetics, by Edminister, is an outstanding collection of problems and solutions, as well as summaries. It mirrors the excellence of Edminister's other Schaums Outline, namely, Electric Circuits.

In summary, these four books have different strengths, respectively the following: (i) intuitive development; (ii) systematic development; (iii) practical application; and (iv) problem solving. These books form an awesome quartet, covering all the bases, and will provide you with a good foundation for advanced studies. A useful supplement for these books is Schaums Mathematical Handbook of Formulas and Tables.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A classical text but good foundations in Math needed.
Review: I had this book as my text book in Purdue University. Frankly speaking, most people will have no clue what it is talking after reading it for the first time because this book describes electromagnetism more from a mathematical point of view. From the start it just throws hypothesis, derivations and formulae to the reader and there are few examples, therefore readers without adequate and solid background in maths(especially in vector calculus) will be quickly confused by this book and lose the big picture. This book serves nicely as a reference but if you are not that familiar in this field, I would recommend other books. One of them is 'electromagnetics' by Kraus which is not as mathematical rigorous as this book, but more readable.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: This is my textbook for EM
Review: I think this book in not a very good intro to EM for an undergraduate student. The presentation of theory is fine, but
this book lacks clear examples of how to set up problems. I learn best with this approach: "Tell me how, and I forget. Show me, and I remember." This text "tells" plenty, however it lacks on the "showing how".

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Short and Concise- An Engineer's Book!
Review: I used this book for an introductory couse on Electromagnetics. I like books which are concise and have a lot of pictures and solved problems because I am not interested in the details which are probably more important to a Physics Major. The sample problems are a must if you want to master Electromagnetics. I found this subject very difficult and also used Schaums Outline of Electromagnetics by Edminister for additional practice problems.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Graet!
Review: It is the most comprehensive book in this area I have seen yet,
specially for the undergraduate Electromagnetics course.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Field and Wave Electromagnetics
Review: My name is namseok Park. I'm just woundering if you have the solution(study guide) for "Field and Wave Electromagnetics (Addison-Wesley Series in Electrical Engineering)"

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Exellent EM book for engineers
Review: This book is appropirate for engineers rather than physicists. It contains many easy-to-understand examples and exercise problems with solution. Through out reading, you will easily get on what you had been intended to achieve. It will be a sort of corner stone to jump up to deal with more advanced subjects such like photonics or laser engineering. The only disadvantages i picked out is that the author is not so benign enough to explain detail process of what it goes behind, which, in some meaning, is more serious topic than what he had want to point out. Thanx for reading up. Hope god will with you, when you hold this book.


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