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Introduction to Electrodynamics
This work offers accesible coverage of the fundamentals of electrodynamics, enhanced with with discussion points, examples and exercises.
576 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
December 19, 2008
This book is the paragon of fine textbook writing. Griffith discusses experiment, history, and theory alongside one another. Every great equation is preceded by a discussion of the physics behind it and when you do reach that beautiful equation, you understand every piece. Intuitive pictures and explanations accompany any abstract proof. Doing the exercises is like unwrapping a present; each leading the student to discover some new and interesting facet of the material most recently presented. There are frequent attempts to unify concepts and keep the big picture in mind. This is the kind of textbook that a self-motivated learner (read: student who doesn't go to lecture) dreams of.
I'm just starting his Quantum Mechanics book and long for the day after when I can crack open that Elementary Particles book.
Dr. David Griffiths, I salute you sir.
I'm just starting his Quantum Mechanics book and long for the day after when I can crack open that Elementary Particles book.
Dr. David Griffiths, I salute you sir.
December 24, 2020
Finished the second round of reading as part of my work as teaching assistant for a fourth-year electrodynamics course. I did not have much time to really grind through the details myself, but I finally managed to refresh and read to some extent the entire book this time.
Griffifths' text has one major strong point: its casual but detailed explanation on the physics at hand. This is extremely crucial for undergraduate level physics where many learners are either (1) not going to be physicists, or (2) less acquainted with the mathematical aspects of physics ("mostly physics" physicists). This book may not be enough for -advanced- electrodynamics (like Jackson's), but certainly more than enough for typical physicists who will not use advanced electrodynamics in their lives (like myself, who is on the quantum information side).
The footnotes that appear very often in the texts for subtleties and references are also greatly appreciated. The worked out examples are also very well-chosen, including the argument about why electrostatics and relativity necessarily implies magnetism (magnetostatics). I also learnt a great deal about electrodynamics in a medium, which this book did pretty well.
Overall, I think unless your work requires extensive electrodynamics, this book is probably the only you -ever- need to learn electrodynamics. You probably don't even need any lecture notes from anywhere else, except perhaps for the relativistic situations (where for some reason I find the chapter slightly less well-written than the other 11 chapter).
Griffifths' text has one major strong point: its casual but detailed explanation on the physics at hand. This is extremely crucial for undergraduate level physics where many learners are either (1) not going to be physicists, or (2) less acquainted with the mathematical aspects of physics ("mostly physics" physicists). This book may not be enough for -advanced- electrodynamics (like Jackson's), but certainly more than enough for typical physicists who will not use advanced electrodynamics in their lives (like myself, who is on the quantum information side).
The footnotes that appear very often in the texts for subtleties and references are also greatly appreciated. The worked out examples are also very well-chosen, including the argument about why electrostatics and relativity necessarily implies magnetism (magnetostatics). I also learnt a great deal about electrodynamics in a medium, which this book did pretty well.
Overall, I think unless your work requires extensive electrodynamics, this book is probably the only you -ever- need to learn electrodynamics. You probably don't even need any lecture notes from anywhere else, except perhaps for the relativistic situations (where for some reason I find the chapter slightly less well-written than the other 11 chapter).
May 30, 2022
some of the most educational exercises i've ever seen. a clear, concise, and complete writeup of classical emag. excellent.
March 30, 2008
Every book should be this book.
I am taking a class involving this book again, and have been reacquainted with how awesome it is. It is in fact almost unnecessary to take a class to learn the material if you have this book and enough motivation.
Some people are somewhat put off by the informal, conversational writing style, the way it forces you to work through problems rather than handing everything to you, and it's somewhat non-standard notation. I must say, if the writing style is more difficult for you to engage with than the average physics/math text, you are probably a robot. Of course, having worked with the author, I have the added bonus of hearing his voice saying the words in this book when I read it, which certainly adds something. As for notation, i-hat, j-hat and k-hat are dumb and add needless letter clutter. David's notation is better, except that the r-prime for location of charge and the r-prime for r variable under the integral sign can be confused when you're just quickly looking something up.
If I could change anything about this book, I'd put the solutions to the problems in the back. When so much material is left to the reader to work out for him/herself, it would be more confidence inspiring to have an easy way to check answers.
I am taking a class involving this book again, and have been reacquainted with how awesome it is. It is in fact almost unnecessary to take a class to learn the material if you have this book and enough motivation.
Some people are somewhat put off by the informal, conversational writing style, the way it forces you to work through problems rather than handing everything to you, and it's somewhat non-standard notation. I must say, if the writing style is more difficult for you to engage with than the average physics/math text, you are probably a robot. Of course, having worked with the author, I have the added bonus of hearing his voice saying the words in this book when I read it, which certainly adds something. As for notation, i-hat, j-hat and k-hat are dumb and add needless letter clutter. David's notation is better, except that the r-prime for location of charge and the r-prime for r variable under the integral sign can be confused when you're just quickly looking something up.
If I could change anything about this book, I'd put the solutions to the problems in the back. When so much material is left to the reader to work out for him/herself, it would be more confidence inspiring to have an easy way to check answers.
January 1, 2012
This book is an introduction on electricity and magnetism covering:
Electrostatics
Electric Fields
Magnetostatics
Magnetic Fields
Radiation
Relativistic Electrodynamics
The style of the book is very concise. In my opinion the majority of the examples are a bit abstract. Still the explanations are clear and the main points are indicated in such a way that you cannot miss them. For instance, in the story about Faraday’s law, the sentence
“A changing magnetic field induces an electric field.”
is printed in bold with a box around it and lots of whitespace. To be honest, I first tried winging it, only reading handouts and lecture notes. This was a big mistake. Having this book in my possession was a huge improvement.
Electrostatics
Electric Fields
Magnetostatics
Magnetic Fields
Radiation
Relativistic Electrodynamics
The style of the book is very concise. In my opinion the majority of the examples are a bit abstract. Still the explanations are clear and the main points are indicated in such a way that you cannot miss them. For instance, in the story about Faraday’s law, the sentence
“A changing magnetic field induces an electric field.”
is printed in bold with a box around it and lots of whitespace. To be honest, I first tried winging it, only reading handouts and lecture notes. This was a big mistake. Having this book in my possession was a huge improvement.
November 29, 2014
It was so good, I read it twice! (I also walked out of the exam with an A, yay me!)
November 26, 2023
The best introductory book about electromagnetism. For more advanced material you'll need Jackson, but Griffiths smooths the way tremendously.
March 19, 2024
Top tier book for surviving your undergraduate electromagnetism physics course. Griffiths is the 🐐! You want electricity between two potential lovers in a book? No one explains the electric potential between two metal balls the way Griffiths does. But maybe you want a thrilling story with violence and crime? Well Griffiths will tell you exactly how to violate the laws of electrodynamics!! It’s all there folks, the only book you’ll ever need.
Still giving it 4 stars because of the amount of fucking study this book put me through
Still giving it 4 stars because of the amount of fucking study this book put me through
May 21, 2015
good book , I enjoyed my course with this book
August 26, 2023
Perhaps one of the few physics book that i would say: DO NOT SELL THIS
June 26, 2016
Seriously one of the best stories ever told.
Griffiths connects almost everything you learn in Freshman physics. The story starts with how have we learned simple electric and magnetic fields behave experimentally, and what are equations that model that? Coulomb's law, Biot-Savart law. Electric fields of stationary charges and magnetic fields of steady currents. Then chapter 7 is the climax. Maxwell's equations. E&M distilled to its essence.
My favorite is chapter 9. All the wave/optics equations that seem so arbitrary in Freshman physics? Guess what. You can derive them all from Maxwell's equations. So awesome.
Other highlights:
- Dipole moment potential derivation using only the definition of electric potential, geometry (law of cosines helps, but that's easy to derive), and binomial expansion approximation for square roots.
- Basically all of the derivations
Griffiths connects almost everything you learn in Freshman physics. The story starts with how have we learned simple electric and magnetic fields behave experimentally, and what are equations that model that? Coulomb's law, Biot-Savart law. Electric fields of stationary charges and magnetic fields of steady currents. Then chapter 7 is the climax. Maxwell's equations. E&M distilled to its essence.
My favorite is chapter 9. All the wave/optics equations that seem so arbitrary in Freshman physics? Guess what. You can derive them all from Maxwell's equations. So awesome.
Other highlights:
- Dipole moment potential derivation using only the definition of electric potential, geometry (law of cosines helps, but that's easy to derive), and binomial expansion approximation for square roots.
- Basically all of the derivations
May 31, 2017
نسبت به کتاب های الکترومغناطیس دیگر ، زبان روان تری دارد و بهتر توضیح داده است ، گرچه اشتباه هم در کتاب پیدا میشود
Read
March 5, 2021Oof
November 12, 2021
Meh, I prefer Sadiku's element of electromagnetismm over this book
June 22, 2022
Very helpful.
August 11, 2023
solid book, great intro
February 4, 2024
অল্প কিছু অংশ পড়েছিলাম।পরীক্ষার জন্য। এতটুকুই বলতে চাই, পড়তে বসার পর কান্না করা ছাড়া আর কিছুই করার থাকবেনা। তবে সন্দেহ নেই যে ইলেক্ট্রোডাইনামিক্টাসের উপর এটা একটা ভাল বই।
December 23, 2021
Griffiths' three outstanding undergraduate physics texts are the poster children for well written, clearly laid out, expertly organized physics text books. Very few physics texts that I've used have accomplished what his have.
His particle physics, electrodynamics, and quantum mechanics books were critical in my early and middle education and development in these subjects. This book, the electrodynamics text, was my first exposure to Griffiths. The book expects very little prior experience with electrodynamics, and builds a comprehensive curriculum almost from scratch. Unlike other notable electrodynamics text books, particularly David Jackson's underwhelming but somewhat useful reference-book-disguised-as-a-textbook, this book gives you everything you need to solve its problem set. And it provides an extensive and interesting problem set that spans a wide range of difficulty.
Because they're undergraduate texts, Griffiths' books don't go as in depth as some other books on similar subjects, but given their breadth their depth is surprising. Even more importantly, the clarity and cogency with which his books are written makes them far more useful than other books geared toward the same level.
When I was in graduate school my Ph.D. advisor said Griffiths' books sucked, and he let me borrow an old EM book he said was superior. I used this book for a little while in my grad level EM class, and found it underwhelming and convoluted and ultimately kind of useless. Even though Jackson's Classical Electrodynamics was the official text for that course, I found Griffiths' book to still be much more useful and instructive. This has proved true of his other books as well.
His particle physics, electrodynamics, and quantum mechanics books were critical in my early and middle education and development in these subjects. This book, the electrodynamics text, was my first exposure to Griffiths. The book expects very little prior experience with electrodynamics, and builds a comprehensive curriculum almost from scratch. Unlike other notable electrodynamics text books, particularly David Jackson's underwhelming but somewhat useful reference-book-disguised-as-a-textbook, this book gives you everything you need to solve its problem set. And it provides an extensive and interesting problem set that spans a wide range of difficulty.
Because they're undergraduate texts, Griffiths' books don't go as in depth as some other books on similar subjects, but given their breadth their depth is surprising. Even more importantly, the clarity and cogency with which his books are written makes them far more useful than other books geared toward the same level.
When I was in graduate school my Ph.D. advisor said Griffiths' books sucked, and he let me borrow an old EM book he said was superior. I used this book for a little while in my grad level EM class, and found it underwhelming and convoluted and ultimately kind of useless. Even though Jackson's Classical Electrodynamics was the official text for that course, I found Griffiths' book to still be much more useful and instructive. This has proved true of his other books as well.
November 18, 2013
If you want to a good mathematical approach to learning Electricity and Magnetism, Griffiths is your man. He treats the subject with just the right level of rigor, where you understand why the equations and principles are the way they are, but not at the point where you are swamped with burdensome grad school math. The order in which he presents the topics is perfect; each new topic builds on the previous topics. My undergraduate physics program had no better textbook than this one, and I recommend it fully to anyone who wishes an upper division undergrad understanding of E&M.
May 14, 2019
I don't understand how you physics majors do it in college, I was preforming one of the exercises trying to determine the electric field through integration of Coulombs law. I had to to two u-substitutions, partial fractions, and integration by parts all on the same integral. And this is all within the first 70 pages of the book! I get the feeling I'm going to really enjoy this book or die of old age integrating.
July 30, 2020
As with English literature, physics literature has works of classics (pun unintended) and I strongly believe this belongs in that category. This is an excellent introduction to classical electromagnetism and the first physics textbook that I enjoyed reading. I learnt more from this book than the textbooks we used in year one. Although I have only read the first seven chapters so far, I hope to come back to other chapters later on.
December 31, 2023
5 🌟🌟🌟
isso aqui é a elite
isso aqui é a elite
July 6, 2021
In almost any scientific field, asking a series of well-constructed questions diverging towards the fundamentals of that domain would commonly lead to a state of perplexity. At one point, even the simplest of questions turn out to be unanswerable. Children usually ask questions of the kind, and that is why some of the most frightening and illuminating conversations are those we have with them, for they are beings who still possess a natural curiosity and sense of inquiry.
In the field of RF engineering, I found it to be rather complex to answer questions regarding the fundamentals. If one were to rightfully consider the development of Maxwell's equations to be the pivot upon which this field stands, then asking a series of 'why' questions escalates intensively. 'Why do charges behave as such?', 'Why do EM waves travel like this?', and so on... (as a side note, it is interesting to observe that at one point, sequences of questions in all sciences converge back to the same inquiry) In the practical field of RF engineering, the student would be more focused on the applications of such topics, and the theory would be essential only in the beginning. However, expanding one's theoretical knowledge and adequately enhancing the fundamentals is of great practical benefit; with that, one could envision and not only practice.
I ventured on reading this book to answer some of the 'why' questions I had in mind; although some of them were answered, I believe that the more primitive ones are yet to be discovered. Nonetheless, I consider this to have been an excellent and illuminating read, and it should be the student's first encounter with the world of electromagnetics -which is the domain that defined a significant portion of our past and which highlights the advancement of our future-.
It took me 6 months to thoroughly read it, take notes, and solve some problems; so the 12 chapters of the book should be coverable over two semesters. I particularly enjoyed the last chapter that discussed electrodynamics from a relativistic perspective, which is something that never crossed my mind before. In that realm, the holistic nature of electromagnetics evinces itself in the most beautiful of manners, and I am once more bewildered by the beauty of this domain. Within it lies the perfect balance of nature.
In the field of RF engineering, I found it to be rather complex to answer questions regarding the fundamentals. If one were to rightfully consider the development of Maxwell's equations to be the pivot upon which this field stands, then asking a series of 'why' questions escalates intensively. 'Why do charges behave as such?', 'Why do EM waves travel like this?', and so on... (as a side note, it is interesting to observe that at one point, sequences of questions in all sciences converge back to the same inquiry) In the practical field of RF engineering, the student would be more focused on the applications of such topics, and the theory would be essential only in the beginning. However, expanding one's theoretical knowledge and adequately enhancing the fundamentals is of great practical benefit; with that, one could envision and not only practice.
I ventured on reading this book to answer some of the 'why' questions I had in mind; although some of them were answered, I believe that the more primitive ones are yet to be discovered. Nonetheless, I consider this to have been an excellent and illuminating read, and it should be the student's first encounter with the world of electromagnetics -which is the domain that defined a significant portion of our past and which highlights the advancement of our future-.
It took me 6 months to thoroughly read it, take notes, and solve some problems; so the 12 chapters of the book should be coverable over two semesters. I particularly enjoyed the last chapter that discussed electrodynamics from a relativistic perspective, which is something that never crossed my mind before. In that realm, the holistic nature of electromagnetics evinces itself in the most beautiful of manners, and I am once more bewildered by the beauty of this domain. Within it lies the perfect balance of nature.
May 12, 2023
12 May 2023
3 stars!
Okay, so technically, I didn't finish it, but I'm counting it lol.
My E&M class is officially done, and I can definitively say that I passed with an A! However, I can't exactly count that in my review, can I? Even if I could, I'm opting out of doing so.
I didn't particularly enjoy reading it, so thus, the 3 stars.
That's it. That's the review lol.
3 stars!
~~~~~
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Happy Reading! :)
3 stars!
Okay, so technically, I didn't finish it, but I'm counting it lol.
My E&M class is officially done, and I can definitively say that I passed with an A! However, I can't exactly count that in my review, can I? Even if I could, I'm opting out of doing so.
I didn't particularly enjoy reading it, so thus, the 3 stars.
That's it. That's the review lol.
3 stars!
~~~~~
Want more bookish stuff?
・ Comment below to discuss this book more. I'd love to hear what you think!
・ Send me a message to discuss anything — bookish and nonbookish!
・ Join Book Nerds Unite to chat with fellow book nerds!
・ Like this review, and follow me for more reviews.
・ Subscribe to my blog, Adventures with Asia Minor! https://www.adventureswithasiaminor.com/
・ Follow my bookstagram, @asia.booknerd117!
Happy Reading! :)
April 26, 2023
At first I found this book to be far too dense, but that was all due to how my single semester of Vector Calculus didn't cover the most important theorems and techniques used in this book mathematically. Once I dedicated myself to getting more comfortable with the mathematics, I've come to the conclusion that this book is one of the most effective teaching tools I've ever come across in the field of undergraduate physics. If one dedicates themselves to doing as many problems as they can from this text they are destined to become a fantastic physics student.
Griffith's writing style comes across as a bit pompous at first, but once you get comfortable with him you begin to see how much humor he has and how his wording is not only the most clear it can be but also the most effective. Astonishing.
Griffith's writing style comes across as a bit pompous at first, but once you get comfortable with him you begin to see how much humor he has and how his wording is not only the most clear it can be but also the most effective. Astonishing.
May 17, 2021
There were ups and downs, but hey it’s a book about vectors... where else are they pointing? I laughed, I cried— just kidding, it was outstanding!
Likely the best physics textbook I’ve read in my major, Griffiths was able to unfold the complexity of Div, Grad, Curl (and all that) to encompass and unite the deepest concepts of electrodynamics in succinct sections and clearly understood diagrams. The calculus and derivations were beautiful, culminating in an introduction to optics, and briefly, relativity.
Examples and practice problems include additional derivations but add to the overall understanding of vector calculus and do not detract from forming the intuition necessary for this course.
Likely the best physics textbook I’ve read in my major, Griffiths was able to unfold the complexity of Div, Grad, Curl (and all that) to encompass and unite the deepest concepts of electrodynamics in succinct sections and clearly understood diagrams. The calculus and derivations were beautiful, culminating in an introduction to optics, and briefly, relativity.
Examples and practice problems include additional derivations but add to the overall understanding of vector calculus and do not detract from forming the intuition necessary for this course.
September 30, 2023
"Introduction to Electrodynamics" by David J. Griffiths is an exceptional textbook that places a strong emphasis on understanding over rote memorization.
It has unwavering commitment to nurturing a deep comprehension of the subject matter. Unlike many traditional textbooks, which often encourage students to engage in rote memorization and "plug and chug" techniques.
Griffiths' clear and engaging writing style demystifies complex concepts, making it an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to delve deep into the world of electromagnetism. The book strikes a perfect balance between mathematical rigor and physical intuition, making it a must-read for both students and physics enthusiasts. It's a true gem that inspires a genuine appreciation for the subject.
It has unwavering commitment to nurturing a deep comprehension of the subject matter. Unlike many traditional textbooks, which often encourage students to engage in rote memorization and "plug and chug" techniques.
Griffiths' clear and engaging writing style demystifies complex concepts, making it an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to delve deep into the world of electromagnetism. The book strikes a perfect balance between mathematical rigor and physical intuition, making it a must-read for both students and physics enthusiasts. It's a true gem that inspires a genuine appreciation for the subject.
December 31, 2018
The book is intuitive. Written in a way that helps you understand the material instead of making you feel like an imbecile. Lots of examples and the problems are peppered throughout the text instead of lumped up at the end. While reading the book, I felt like I attended his classes. He emphasizes what is not usually emphasized in other books. The author even jokes at some pages which is really nice while reading!
There are a lot of examples and problems in the book. I've read most of the examples, but I solved only a few problems that seem to be interesting. Maybe some of you don't need any pencil and paper to read the book although I desperately needed them.
January 17, 2024
An easy to follow path through E&M. However, Griffiths glosses over mathematical nuance that would be beneficial to cover and delve into as would be in other texts. In my opinion, this informal glossing over does not prepare the student to engage with the subject at higher levels, in more formal texts. "Fourier's Trick" is a good example of Griffiths' glossing over of a useful mathematical nuance that is harmful to the student. "Fourier's Trick" does not exist and is Griffiths' term for properties of orthogonality that would be better described as such, as opposed to a made up term only applicable in Griffiths textbooks.
November 16, 2020
A classic, sure. The text is basically unimpeachable, but it falls short of providing a comprehensive education on its own, or even with a professor's own supplemental material. This shouldn't be too surprising - or even chalked up as a fault on Griffiths' part - considering the breadth of the content being discussed. But, many students like me will require at least another textbook and a competent professor to get much out of this one, once we move into more analytical territories like solutions to Maxwell's and Laplace's Equations.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews