Manuel Quesada-Pérez and José Alberto Maroto-Centeno
University of Jaén, Department of Physics, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Linares, Linares, Jaén, Spain

Series: Physics Research and Technology
BISAC: SCI022000

Maxwell’s equations and the discovery of electromagnetic waves changed the world. Can you imagine how our everyday life would be without telephone, radio, television, mobile phones and internet? It is thanks to Maxwell’s equations that we understand what electromagnetic waves are and how they are generated, propagated and detected. These equations can even change our perception of nature when they are really understood, but their power and elegance is completely appreciated when they are expressed in differential form. Moreover, this form is extremely useful dealing with some issues, such as the propagation of electromagnetic waves.
This book can be very useful for undergraduates that must face the differential form of Maxwell’s equations and its application to electromagnetic waves for the first time because:

– Maxwell’s equations and the propagation of free and guided waves are introduced with mathematical rigor but without requiring previous knowledge on advanced vector calculus or theory of functions of complex variable. Only elementary notions of calculus, vectors, geometry and trigonometry are required.

– The definition and notation of vector operators (divergence and curl) are explained in easy mathematical terms.

– An assortment of examples and solved problems illustrates how Maxwell’s equations work in differential form and electromagnetic waves propagate in free space and confined media.

– Several examples of waveguides are analyzed with the help of an intuitive picture and without solving coupled partial differential equations to elucidate the peculiarities of guided propagation. Advanced mathematical treatments can sometimes hide the physical understanding of phenomena.

In short, this book will help students to bridge the gap between elementary and advances treatments on Maxwell’s equation and electromagnetic waves. Thus, it can be a good training for electromagnetism courses. (Imprint: Novinka )