Basic Theoretical Physics: A Concise Overview P12. This concise treatment embraces, in four parts, all the main aspects of theoretical physics (I . Mechanics and Basic Relativity, II. Electrodynamics and Aspects of Optics, III. Non-relativistic Quantum Mechanics, IV. Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics). It summarizes the material that every graduate student, physicist working in industry, or physics teacher should master during his or her degree course. It thus serves both as an excellent revision and preparation tool, and as a convenient reference source, covering the whole of theoretical physics. It may also be successfully employed to deepen its readers’ insight and. | 16 Introduction and Mathematical Preliminaries to Part II The theory of electrodynamics provides the foundations for most of our present-day way of life . electricity radio and television computers radar mobile phone etc. Maxwell s theory lies at the heart of these technologies and his equations at the heart of the theory. Exercises relating to this part of the book originally in German but now with English translations can be found on the internet 2 . Several introductory textbooks on theoretical electrodynamics and aspects of optics can be recommended in particular Theoretical Electrodynamics by Thorsten Fliessbach taken from a comprehensive series of textbooks on theoretical physics . However this author like many others exclusively uses the Gaussian or cgs system of units see below . Another book of lasting value is the text by Bleaney and Bleaney 10 using mksA units and containing an appendix on how to convert from one system to the other. Of similar value is also the 3rd edition of the book by Jackson 11 . Different Systems of Units in Electromagnetism In our treatment of electrodynamics we shall adopt the international system SI throughout. SI units are essentially the same as in the older mksA system in that length is measured in metres mass in kilograms time in seconds and electric current in amperes. However other systems of units in particular the centimetre-gram-second cgs or Gaussian system are also in common use. Of course an mks system without the A would be essentially the same as the cgs system since 1 m 100 cm and 1 kg 1000 g. In SI the fourth base quantity the unit of current ampere A is now defined via the force between two wires carrying a current. The unit of charge coulomb C is a derived quantity related to the ampere by the identity 1 C 1 . The coulomb was originally defined via the amount of charge collected in 1 s by an electrode of a certain electrolyte system. For theoretical purposes it might have been more appropriate to .
