Classical Electrodynamics (book)

Classical Electrodynamics
Second edition front dust jacket
AuthorJohn David Jackson
LanguageEnglish
SubjectElectromagnetism
GenreNon-fiction
PublisherJohn Wiley & Sons
Publication date
1962, 1975, 1999
Publication placeUnited States
Pagesxxi + 808 + 4
ISBN0-471-30932-X
OCLC925677836

Classical Electrodynamics is a textbook written by theoretical particle and nuclear physicist John David Jackson. The book originated as lecture notes that Jackson prepared for teaching graduate-level electromagnetism first at McGill University and then at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.[1] Intended for graduate students, and often known as Jackson for short,[2] it has been a standard reference on its subject since its first publication in 1962.[3][4][5]

The book is notorious for the difficulty of its problems, and its tendency to treat non-obvious conclusions as self-evident.[4][6] A 2006 survey by the American Physical Society (APS) revealed that 76 out of the 80 U.S. physics departments surveyed require all first-year graduate students to complete a course using the third edition of this book.[6][7]

  1. ^ Jackson, J. D. (1999). "Snapshots of a Physicist's Life". Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science. 49: 1–33. Bibcode:1999ARNPS..49....1J. doi:10.1146/annurev.nucl.49.1.1.
  2. ^ Saslow, Wayne M. (January 1, 1999). "BOOK REVIEW: Classical Electrodynamics, by John David Jackson". Foundations of Physics. 29 (1): 133–135. Bibcode:1999FoPh...29..133S. doi:10.1023/a:1018821305089. ISSN 0015-9018. S2CID 116645556.
  3. ^ Mehra, Jagdish (February 18, 2000). "Classical Electrodynamics". American Journal of Physics. 68 (3): 296–298. Bibcode:2000AmJPh..68..296S. doi:10.1119/1.19413. ISSN 0002-9505. Some biographical details about Jackson in Mehra's review are inconsistent with Jackson's autobiography. See the article Jackson (1999).
  4. ^ a b Russ, James S. (June 22, 2015). "Modern Electrodynamics". American Journal of Physics. 83 (7): 660–661. Bibcode:2015AmJPh..83..660R. doi:10.1119/1.4913414. ISSN 0002-9505.
  5. ^ Chapman, Sandra C. (January 10, 2002). "Core Electrodynamics". American Journal of Physics. 70 (2): 191. Bibcode:2002AmJPh..70..191C. doi:10.1119/1.1432976. ISSN 0002-9505.
  6. ^ a b Zangwill, Andrew (2013). "A New Textbook for Graduate Classical Electrodynamics" (PDF). American Physical Society. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  7. ^ Task Force on Graduate Education in Physics (June 2006). Graduate Education in Physics. Report of the Joint AAPT-APS Task Force. Revised (PDF). College Park, MD.: American Association of Physics Teachers. OCLC 1062939013.