Classical Field Theory : Electromagnetism and Gravitation

Rating:
Summary: Classical field theory reviewed by a master.
Review: Francis Low is an outstanding theoretical physicist who also happens to have an interest in education. He wrote marvellous lectures on quantum scattering, where the misteries of the so-called Sommerfeld radiation condition were clarified (and derived!) by using wave-packets. His name in science was made mainly by the epoch-making paper, with Gell-Mann, which introduced the now ubiquitous renormalization group. It is noble of him to dedicate some of his time to write his vision of electrodynamics and gravitation, as examples of classical field theory. This is an advanced book, meant to deepen and unify concepts. But Francis Low would'nt stop at that. You'll find fresh views almost at every page, mainly on the electrodynamics part, his turf. Some criticism has been made, by Robert Wald, for instance, about his treatment of gravitation, which is more or less alla Feynman, or alla Schwinger: geometry is discovered. It is not the starting point, like in Einstein. This is also welcome: it puts your mind to work along different tracks. All in all, a great reading.

Rating:
Summary: easy
Review: This subject is just too simple!