Maxwell on the Electromagnetic Field: A Guided Study (Masterworks of Discovery)

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 440 pages
• Published by: Rutgers University Press February 1997
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 081352363X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0813523637
• Book Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Weighs: 1.6 pounds

Reader Reviews
I bought this book to understand electromagnetic theory from ground up - to follow the inventor's thought pattern instead of pushing equations from textbook in to my memory. But I guess this book isn't enough. The good things about this book is that it gives really good historical account of electromagnetism experiments which is essential before peeping in to Maxwell's work. But major part of this book gets wasted in Maxwell's first two papers which are really not important or necessary at all. It's purely waste of time for uninformed readers to read these obscure papers that really doesn't derive anything important. The whole electrodynamics, Maxwell's famous equations and derivation of speed of light - all that stuff comes in his 3rd paper. Maxwell had originally derived twenty equations (8 if you use Vector form) instead of popular 4 textbook versions. This whole derivation part - the single reason why I picked up this book - is missing altogether. Author just gives final form of derivation like any other text book would do. The pain is that you would have spent weeks to get at this part trying to figure out content of those two first papers and finally left learning nothing new. I also get the constant feel that book is more geared towards historians of Maxwell instead of a person who wants to know his work. Anyway good part of this book is that it provides original text of paper + interpretation notes + discussion notes. The bad part is that original text is often omitted at number of places, interpretive notes of missing for many of the confusing parts of first two papers and the whole part of Maxwell's original derivation is missing in discussion notes. Because the heart (derivation of equations) is missing, you would need to by Vol 2 (not Vol 1) of "A Treatise on electricity and magnetism" ALONG with this book and remember to skip those two first papers. The reason I wrote "along with" is because you will still need this book to read about the original electromagnetic experiments and a modern point of view.