5 comments about Boundary-Layer Theory.

1. This is the best and the most classical fluid mechanics book that i have read. Read it through carefully and you will get much from it. Reading it from time to time can give you many new knowledge every time.



2. this is a classic book. however, the new 8th edition is not translated very well. i have an older english version (6th edition, 1968) that is translated much better. even where the content is the same between the two editions, the "updated" translation is worse that in the original version.



3. This is the classic book on the subject to be ever written and retains its class by incorporating some of the recent developments in the boundary layer theory.
   
   A great collection for anyone in the field of turbulence, aerodynamics ...



4. Although I have only the first edition, I still find it to be of immense value, and hands-down superior to any other book on the subject (save the newer edition perhaps). It seamlessly weaves together theory, mathematics, and experimental observation, into a very readable and (surprisingly) interesting text. Because it explains the fundamentals so well, Schlichting's book is one of those rare engineering classics that will continue to be of value for a very long time to come.



5. Good value - well worth the money. I also like the updated sections available in the Springer edition.

5 comments about Solid State Physics.

1. The 20th century saw the birth of quantum mechanics, and its connection with physics, chemistry and engineering to form the discipline collectively known as solid state science. Dealing with the properties of solids at the atomic-scale, the advances in this field have made the entire Digital Age possible. As such, the literature, both educational and scientific, in this field has grown exponentially over the past 50 years. One of the best books in this field is Solid State Physics by Ashcroft and Mermin. This extremely thorough book covers the field from basic crystallography and bonding models up through magnetic, optical, and superconducting properties. The book includes lots of derivations, sample problems, and all the important equations. Also, the book covers both experimental techniques used in solid state science, and the growing field of computer simulations, especially those using density functional theory. All in all a great book to read for those working in or planning to work in this field.



2. For undergrads or grads who are majoring in solid state physics, there are often two common choices of texts. This one and one of Kittel's books. There are differences. Ashcroft & Mermin tends to have better diagrams, of reciprocal space and Fermi levels, for example. And overall, the topics are discussed at a slightly more advanced level.
   
   The biggest problem with Ashcroft and Mermin is that it surely is time for a new edition. Notably to include high temperature superconductors. Plus the quantum Hall effect. And maybe giant magnetoresistance. The latter is responsible for much of the advances in disk drive capacities in the 90s, for example.
   
   Another problem is the sheer cost of this book. $155 list price?! Sounds like gouging.



3. This is a very well-written book, but it is OVER THIRTY YEARS OLD. The selection of topics was excellent for the time, but it is now a different time. If you are not yet brain-dead, i.e. not content with teaching only what you learned as a grad student, try something more current, such as Chaikin and Lubensky.



4. Unfortunately this is the only solid fundamental Solid State physics book available. The problems at the ends of chapters have very little to do with the reading and there is no solution manual available. As a source for reading the book works very well, as concepts are explained throughly. However I do not recommend using this book as a source for homework since the problems are more concerned with mindless algebra rather than physical concepts. A lot of "make this expression look like this" type problems.



5. The Ashcroft text is superior to other Solid State texts because of its readbility. It is not over-written like some texts, and its presentation of fundamentals is appropriate for a graduate course in solid state physics. It is not fair to under-rate the book simply because it is "old". Despite having several decades to write a better book, few authors have.
   
   There are advanced chapters toward the end of the book that lay the foundations for superconductivity and vibrations in solids, among other things. Like most physics books, the direct application of the physics to real world tools is an afterthought, as it took me 5 years of experience to finally realize that Ashcroft's treatment of phonons in later chapters could be used to describe the piezoelectric efficiency of acoustic sensors. Perhaps this is because the book is dated, or perhaps it is because many physics texts fail to make the link between consumer technologies and fundamental breakthroughs in understanding, as if it is beneath the moral integrity of physics to worry about the engineering that follows. The work in superconductivity is advanced for a typical solid state course and might be better for a special topics series, as it was when I was a graduate student.
   
   Ashcroft will serve as a good primer for most solid state topics, and it is well augmented with Kittel. A lesser book by Ibach and Luth, while it has just a few positive qualities, will fail a student unless they have Ashcroft on hand. Between Ashcroft and Kittel, a student would have a strong reference library.
   
   As a side note, while it seems to be par for the course for most solid state texts, little is done to address the findamentals of crystalline structure that have led to the growth and evolution of the field of materials science. One of Ashcroft's introductory chapters summarizes a fundamental MSE text (such as Callister) very well by describing different crystalline structures and calculating packing fractions. However, it requires a leap of understanding to see that solid state physics is not just about semiconductors, but it is also about strength of materials and the fundamentals of transmission electron microscopy, among other things. Ashcroft is not to blame for this oversight - perhaps publishers would rather separate these topics for diversification and an overall increase in sales.
   
   In short, if you are an instructor considering a text for you upcoming course, I strongly recommend Ashcroft. The physics hasn't changed since the book was introduced, though the applications have.

5 comments about Light-Emitting Diodes.

1. Schubert (RPI) has written an excellent book on LEDs that manages to explain and derive simple quantitative models for many phenomena of current interest. He tackles issues such as resonant cavity LEDs, reliability/surface recombination issues, current spreading theory, etc. Many monographs are a compendium of results in the field with hundreds of references to papers, which are briefly discussed, and are written by several authors. In contrast, Schubert, while giving copious references, is the sole author, leading to a coherent presentation well suited to learning. There are plentiful and good figures and drawings, as well as many exercises and solutions integrated into the text. There are no back of chapter problems, but this is not really a text for lower level undergraduates.



2. It is a great book for pople interested in the LED device. It is disappointing in people interested in the processing to make the device. I hope Prof. Schubert will add that dimension in his next book on this topic.



3. In its Second Edition - this book is much improved and far more up-to-date, with plenty of practical advice as well theory/design. But still no discussion of band-structure in any detail - which I feel is a weakness of this text. Some valuable material on Nitrides is now included. Overall - this is now arguably the best LED book in the market-place at this time.



4. I just bought one of these through Amazon and it turned out to be the 1st (2003) edition instead of the 2nd (2006). The Amazon ordering system doesn't seem to distinguish between them so make sure you get the right one. There are substantial differences!



5. Good book for some one studying the physics of LED. Not really suitable for the average engineer working with LED applications. Well referenced chapters good for study and LED research.

5 comments about Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity.

1. 
   I had a course based on that book and I've read chapters 1-6 (out of 9 chapters total) plus all the appendices. Also, I've solved some of the problems.
   
   Please keep in mind my review is from a beginner point of veiw. Readers more experienced in GR may feel different but that book is supposedly written for beginners right?
   
   The math chapters 2 and 3 are worth reading because they will teach you tensor analysis on manifolds in much clearer way than other books. The book makes a clear distinction between assumptions, choices (like working with a metric compatible connection), or derived facts. It is nice that the book makes a difference between a Christoffel connection and a generic connection. The appendices are worth reading too cause they will give you a feeling for some new to you math necessary for GR like pullbacks, Lie Derivatives, hypersurfaces etc.
   
   Chapter 4 is worth reading too cause it makes clear that Einstein's equations are just the simplest guess out of many other possibilities. Also it shows how we generalize physical laws from special relativity to GR making it clear our choices are the simplest ones but not the only ones possible.
   
   The chapters after that discuss applications of GR like black holes, gravitational radiation, cosmology etc. Of these, I've read only the black holes chapters 5 and 6 and I wasn't able to understand 100% what was goin on. The problem was that the book uses concepts that you still don't quite understand if you are a beginner like 'spacelike singularity' or 'conformal diagrams'. That is informative but the book doesn't provide the necessary level of detail and examples for beginners so you could really master such concepts and use them in your practise.
   
   There are problems after each chapter but not the necessary beginners problems that increase your conceptual understanding of the theory. Instead, some of the problems are just tedious algebra of type 'find the curvature for some general form of the metric' for which specialists in the field use symbolic programs like Mathematica. Solving these by hand proves that you can take derivatives and you are a mazochist but not that you understand GR. Other problems are really relevant to your education but are not dirrectly connected to the discussion in the text. Because of that you have to solve them from scratch and it will take you ages ...
   
   If you are a beginner like me, you should read the math chapters and all appendices of Carroll's book plus chapter 4. Then you should read a real book for beginners with a lot of examples how to apply GR in real calculations and how to understand it. For that I recommend James Hartle's "Gravity: An Introduction to Einstein's General Relativity" and Bernard Schutz's "A first course in General Relativity". After that hopefully you will understand the rest of Carroll's book better. My experience was that often I had to read Hartle's book in order to understand and solve a problem in Carroll's book.



2. My comments come with a few caveats.
   
   1. This is my fourth GR book.
   2. I'm not hardcore into physics. I'm not a physic grad and I'm reading GR for fun. I have a decent graduate math background but I've been corrupted with 10+ years in working in various roles software engineering, electronics engineering and marketing.
   3. I assume that since you're considering buying this book, you're goal is to get at the "real" GR, not the watered down discover channel version.
   
   With these caveats in mind, here are my comments.
   
   First, on a scale of 1-5, I rank Carroll at level 3 in terms of math/physics maturity and thoroughness. Here is my full ranking of authors from my limited reading: 1. schutz 2. hartle 3. penrose 3. carroll 4. wald 5. physics journal articles
   
   Second, using the rankings above, I recommend Carroll as the second port of entry. If you're comfortable with multivariable calculus, start with schutz (#1). You'll get warm fuzzies doing the toy exercises. But Schutz is tensor/math-lite. If you've had advanced calculus and geometry already, jump in with carroll (#3). But you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone else as polite to the reader. He won't prepare you for 80 percent of what's published. If you're ready to throw off the training wheels and jump dive into mainstream GR go with Wald (#4).
   
   Note that Hartle (#2) is a good "tweener" book with feel-good exercises and some of the full-on GR equations at the end. I bet most instructors teaching a first year grad course would go with Hartle along with a dose of supplementary material.
   
   Third, don't expect Carroll to be your last GR book purchase if you want to reach the promised land (see caveat #4). Living and breathing GR is found in physics journals and for that you'll need Wald or another advanced GR book.



3. Kudos to Carroll.
   
   This book is an excellent INTRODUCTION to SR and GR for the graduate physics student as well as the graduate mathematics students.
   
   Pure mathematics often loses sight of the ideas which motivated it and physics often loses the mathematical foundations from which it is built.
   
   This book offers some level of mathematical formalism to the physics student while exposing the ideas motivating the mathematical concepts.
   
   I particularly like how he builds up the mathematical machinery of GR by introducing sets then topology on this set giving a topological space. Now he adds in the ideas of a manifold which make this topological space look like Rn locally with the patches sewn together smoothly. The manifold comes equipped with tangent space, cotangent spaces and their product spaces giving tensor spaces. These are defined nicely with reference to component formalism as well as the multilinear algebra approach as maps from products spaces to the reals, etc. He delves into forms and tantalized the reader with deRham cohomology although doesnt go into it. He shows how these can be differentiated ( exterior derivative ) and integrated.
   
   Now the metric is introduced giving a geometry. To this is added a connection which is independent of the metric and leads to notions of parallel transport and differentiation of tensors ( covariant derivative ). One sees that in a special case one can derive a unique connection from the metric ( Levi-Cevita ) which is used in GR.
   
   Fibre bundles, Lie derivatives, pullbacks etc are introduced as needed.
   
   He then presents some introductory GR material by applying the mathematics.



4. I am currently on the 4th chapter of Carroll's "Spacetime and Geometry" and thus far I am amazed at how clear it is. Sure there is a lot of math in it however that also is very clearly explained. In fact, I think that Carroll explains the differential geometry material better than any mathematician has in any book on the subject. If you want to learn general relativity, there is no getting around the math; sooner or later you'll have to learn it. I'd suggest, especially if you are self-studying the subject, to rather pick up this book and go through it than pick up a more "elementary" text and a book on Riemannian geometry to look at later.
   
   (Although I do also highly recommend Kay's (Schaum outline) "Tensor Calculus" for self study. The prima donnas don't like Kay's book because it "doesn't have enough theory." I suppose if a freshman calculus book does not have the Lebesgue integral defined in ti they'll complain about that too.)
   
   Because, you can always skip through certain sections if the math is too heavy and go back through it later. And like I wrote earlier, you won't find a better introduction to the mathematical material than here.
   
   Carroll should be given the Nobel prize for this book. If not in Physics, then in literature. I'd give this textbook 10 stars if I could.



5. This is an advanced text, but all the same it is not particularly rigorous or dense, so it is in principle accessible to the beginner. With an easy authority, Carroll leads us on a wandering journey through the mystical lands of general relativity. This is very different from, and compliments nicely, the clarity and directness of Wald. As a student of GR, I use Wald for the bottom line on any subject, and Carroll for the random physical or computational insights that I invariably find in any section of the book. Carroll's prose is like music to the ear and I always enjoy myself when I decide to open up this book.
   
   Be warned that there are lots of mistakes in this first edition--you might want to wait for the second one.
   
   Also, his chapter on cosmology is better than any I've seen.

4 comments about Introduction to Superconductivity: Second Edition (Dover Books on Physics).

1. This book provides an excellent comprehensive review of most of the aspects relevant to superconductivity. A strong basis in physics is required to follow it all the way. Otherwise, it is possible to read most of the chapters separately without loosing continuity, so the more complex ones can be put aside if the reader is not interested in deep physics. Many references to relevant authors are given all along the text. It should be a reference available to all the people seriously involved in superconductivity. The only bad point is that it uses CGS unit rather than SI units.



2. The theory of superconductors is an amazingly complicated and rich field, and it can be very daunting to begin studying without a large background in physics. This book does an excellent job telling you the details enough to understand what is going on without giving you so much that it becomes a daunting task to read the book.
   
   Having only read through the first three chapters so far, I give that caveat before continuing.
   
   The first chapter, the author says upfront, is difficult to follow, as it gives a quick outline of every future chapter in the book. I would recommend skimming the first chapter, and then after reading each chapter go back and see if you got the key points illustrated in the first chapter.
   
   The second chapter, a treatment of the London equations, does an excellent job deriving the London equations in the first section, then providing a great deal of application of the equations, as well as outlining the limits of that model of superconductors.
   
   Chapter 3 is where the book gets down to business, as Tinkham gives an introduction to BCS theory. This treatment uses plausibility arguements to justify many of the conclusions or assumptions, but also provides some guidance to the mathematical rigor you might use to really prove the assertions you make. The chapter does not leave you feeling very confused at all, and the section can be read almost straight through.
   
   Although I have not read any further into the book, I can only imagine that it is more of the same. I would strongly recommend this book to anybody interested in learning something about superconductors before trying something more rigorous, such as Schrieffer's classic text on the work.



3. I really enjoy reading this book. Thanks for the wonderful service of Amazon



4. This classic book on superconductivity is excellent for an experienced reader who has already some background in superconductivity. However, for a student trying to learn superconductivity, it says too many things in too brief which may be difficult to follow. While teaching a course I would prefer to follow a book like Superconductivity by Ketterson and Song and refer to this book for selected (special) topics.

5 comments about Introduction to Solid State Physics.

1. This book has been compared so much with A&M that I have a suggestion - read both together! There are some parts in Kittel where a better treatment can be found in A&M, such as the treatment on Bravais lattice. And A&M goes into greater detail into some topics such as the Drude and Sommerfeld theory of metals. But I feel that there are many areas where Kittel is superior simply because the notation is simpler and the treatment more concise. See, for instance, the material on the empty lattice approximation and energy bands. Kittel is also more updated, and the 8th edition includes a chapter on nanostructures written by Paul McEuen.
   
   Kittel is not a perfect book, but neither is A&M. The two, however, seem to complement each other. There are many instances when I come across something I do not understand, and I find it explained better in the other book. So if you have the time (and money!), read both!



2. Hey guys, so my friend and I are trying to work through a problem set in our solid state physics course at UC Berkeley and as you might imagine, because Kittel was one of our professors, the department likes to use his books. We love ourselves. Unfortunately for us undergrads (and all of you) we are forced to use his book. Now our problem sets reeeally shouldn't be too much of a problem. For instance, we were asked to solve something for x-ray diffraction and though we had a little bit of an understanding a la Kittel, we found that that little tidbit of knowledge could not in fact be used with confronted with data or a simple experimental setup. There are simply no examples. We have not read Ashcroft or the other books suggested, but after I write this review, we will certainly be out there to purchase another book.
   
   I just wanted to say that I'm sorry we harbored the professor that wrote ths book. I'm sure he's not a bad guy. I know it's hard to write coherently, but seriously this is ridiculous.



3. This book is in good condition! It also came in good time (a little less than a week). I am a satisfied customer.



4. This is a pathetic textbook. The writing in it is awful, and sadly contributes to the stereotype that scientists do not know how to write. It is foolish to always give conclusions before derivations. It gives no motivation whatsoever for approaching certain questions nor the methods in which they are approached. It moves in a very inconsistent manner, developing topics very much at random, most annoyingly fading in and out of discussion of electronic models (Drude, Sommerfeld, Boch, weak periodic, etc). These models are at the core of the development of the field, and Kittel just kind of weaves in and out of random topics without bothering to explain why to describe things in such a manner (no discussion of why phonons are a good way to discuss system, no discussion of why we should obsess over k-space to describe every problem). Ashcroft and Mermin, by comparison, is a fantastic textbook which I highly recommend.



5. Generations of solid state physics students, including myself, have been brought up using this text by Kittel. I have also taught from this text numerous times. Poor, poor students! The text "contains" all the requisite material, but its explanations are murky and it it slips major concepts by without making them clear. I have resolved never again to make my students suffer with this text. Ashcroft & Mermin is wonderful book, but too advance as an introductory text. Bube's little book, Electrons in Solids, is a delight but too expensive for students and a little bit too elementary. Despite their limitations, I'm going to use the combination of those from now on.

5 comments about Physics Demystified : A Self-Teaching Guide (Demystified).

1. I have already studied physics, so I was able to follow this, but there is not a chance of understanding this without the previous knowledge. This is the kind of teaching strategy that is mostly memorizing and rote learning. You can "learn" what the book says, but you won't have a clue what it means. If you are only interested in spouting off physics facts to sound impressive, this book will do just fine. If you want to even begin to understand physics, you'll need to find a book that goes into the how and why of every phenomenon, rather than just stating that the phenomena exist.



2. The back of this book says simple enough for beginners, but IT IS NOT! I think if you have been over physics before this book "could" be helpful, but not for someone seeing this stuff for the first time. The refresher part only states some facts about pre-physics material, but doesn't explain why it is stated. The tests after each chapter ask about material outside the book that is not even covered. I will be taking this book back for a refund and getting the "for dummies" version.



3. 
   Presented here in seriatim, are basic introductions to a number of isolated and completely unrelated topics in physics. Compared to the "REA Problem Solver on Physics;" the old standby, the "Schaum Outline Series on Physics;" or indeed my favorite on these topics "The Transnational College of LEX series," the DeMYSTiFieD Series is comfortably pulling up the rear.
   
   After having read seven of the series, so far, all of the signs are that the material in them seems to have been "culled" from the bottom of better summary and introductory sources.
   
   But giving credit where some is surely due, at least this volume has some very good and useful graphics and diagrams that tend to bring home the most basic points of some of the key elements of physics.
   
   That of course is all to the good. However, in trying to make the substance "overly" accessible, the author has reached so low as to bleach out everything but the most elementary of the basic concepts and ideas.
   
   As Einstein is reputed to have said about theorizing: "We should make it simple, but no simpler than necessary." Here, Physics has been made much simpler than necessary. So much so that one loses any sense of wholeness to the subject matter itself.
   
   What's the point of studying physics if you can't ever hope to understand its more advanced concepts like Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, etc.? This volume starts so low, that even when it ends it is still well off the low end of the charts. This is especially unforgivable in an era where there is so much excitement in the field of physics. Too much time is spent providing background on elementary mathematics, which is never shown to be useful later on anyway.
   
   There are easy ways to introduce difficult materials, just as there are difficult ways to avoid introducing them. The DeMYSTiFieD Series seems to have chosen the latter approach.
   
   If as is the case in most of the DeMYSTiFieD Series, the subjects are only intended to be the most basic and elementary of introductions, the authors should say so up front.
   
   Again, I am thoroughly disappointed, but two stars for the graphics.



4. This is a good text for someone like myself who has been away from physics for a while. Things are explained quite well using algebra and trig. There is no calculus that I could identify.
   
   I found that using this book along with the "Physics Tutor" DVD was a good way for me to recall stuff long forgotten and some things that I never understood to begin with. All in all a good introductory text and guide book but this is no substitute for a "real" college level physics textbook like "Physics: Principles with Applications" by Giancoli.



5. If you want to "teach" physics to a parrot
   this is the book to use. There is no insight,
   no derivations, no guiding principles. To make
   matters worse the so-called problems often consist
   of nothing but shuffling powers of ten to convert
   from one measurement system to another - making the
   work about the units and not about the physics.
   Utterly deplorable.

5 comments about Understanding Firearm Ballistics.

1. I found this book very informative and readable. Has the maths formulae in simplified forms; leaves out the insignificant factors. Debunks many of the popular myths about projectile behaviour. A great reference to be returned to again and again.



2. It's not a page-turner. If you don't have serious interest in ballistics, read something else. It's not a how-to manual on marksmanship and it doesn't tell you interesting CSI stuff.
   
   If you've read this far, this book is highly informative. It goes through a lot of detail on exactly what happens when you pull the trigger of a loaded firearm. It covers history, dispels urban legends and explains things in normal language.
   
   Explanations aren't math laden. On the contrary, the author seems to be extremely afraid of math and attempts to project that upon the reader. The explanations are highly qualitative and almost not at all quantitative. The humor is corny, but it's not meant to be fun and games.



3. I recently bought this book. It is a very interesting work, because it gives explanations that are easy to understand.
   
   The only limitations are that the book uses the Imperial system with pounds and feet rather than grams and meters, so people like me, who use the Metric System, may find it hard to understand some parts of the book.
   
   There are also many calibers like 9mm and 7.62 x 39 that are not given in the charts.
   
   However, the book is interesting. I think it is a good choice of reading for a beginner in Firearm Ballistics.
   
   P.A. Beaulieu
   Québec, Canada
   
   
   *************************************
   
   Pour les lecteurs francophones,
   
   Ce livre est très intéressant et donne beaucoup d'informations sur les armes, mais le fait que le système impérial est utilisé au lieu du système métrique peut vous causer des problèmes pour les mesures et les formules.
   
   Aussi, certains calibres comme le 9mm et le 7,62 x 39 ne sont pas présents dans les explications.
   
   Toutefois, ce livre me semble être un excellent choix pour les débutants dans l'étude de la ballistique des armes à feu.
   
   P.A. Beaulieu
   Québec, Canada



4. This book is presented very well and easy to understand. Whether the drawings are hand drawn or not they are easy to read and illustrate the idea of the topic very well. Every firearm enthusiast should have this book in their collection.



5. A very good book! I have several ballistics related books available to me and have found that this is one of the best I have read on the subject to date. The chapters are generally structured to allow the reader to develop their understanding of the topic from the basic to the more advanced concepts with the aid of some very good diagrams. A great study and quick reference guide for the 'student' of ballistics.

5 comments about Classical Electrodynamics Third Edition.

1. This book is an excellent assembly of theoretical classical mechanics. I am an undergrad physics student and I do admit that most of the time it is difficult to understand the basic concepts of electrodynamics, something Griffiths does much better. However if there is any need to go deeper into the mathematical rigor of the theory, look no further. This book is right up there with all of the Landau's collection. A true masterpiece. If you just need a textbook though Griffiths is a much better choice, but both of them are well worth your money.



2. Excellent masterpiece of the subject. Surely not a "Electrodynamics for dummies" book, but a good reference for graduated students and experts. The exercises are quite hard, but... that's physics!



3. According to some other reviews this text makes an excellent reference for professionals. However, they've already taken the tests, and been through the classes. In short they already have their Phd. If you know the majority of readers of your book are coming to you to improve their understanding or learn entirely new material, why would you make difficult stuff even harder by intentionally omitting derivation steps in every section of every chapter. With the deadlines and time constraints associated with student life it's almost impossible to get through all the difficult derivations in the reading before even getting to the sometimes insane problems in a reasonable time. Either try to make the reading as clear as possible, and the problems challenging, or reduce the difficulty of the problems and have the reading challenging like it is now, but don't challenge the usually involuntary student readers with both difficulties. I may change my opinion later, but for now I feel that the level of difficulty and style of this text is based largely on the cruelty of the author.



4. I, like many others, used this book for graduate E&M. The text is easy to follow, however, for those who haven't seen the mathematical derivation techniques for quite some time, it is best to pause and take a moment reviewing how one equation becomes the succeeding equation. Jackson often, but not always, quotes what technique was involved so it shouldn't be too hard to look up vector identities and techniques involving standard functions (orthonormal, Green, etc.) in any advanced calculus text. For those who love the challenge of solving a variety of problems, this is your book. Jackson exercises your mind in such a way that you should find yourself pulling everything and anything you can remember (as far back as those unpleasant undergraduate days) applicable to the problem at hand and piece the puzzle together until you arrive at "a" solution. During my graduate studies, we used F. Melia's "Electrodynamics" alongside Jackson. However, it was extremely cumbersome working with something in Gaussian units and MKSA at the same time between the two books, but there was a good reason to use both. Melia's book was first written to accomodate Jackson's 2nd and other E&M books written in Gaussian units, so I'm sure that the 2nd edition Jackson would work very well with Melia's book. Melia most respectfully spells out the conceptual ideas (physics) for you and Jackson will nail you with the mathematical techniques involved, especially in his problem sets. Overall, I rate this a 4/5 stars simply because the 3rd edition used MKSA units, where I think Gaussian is much more elegant. Jackson explains why he decided to do this in the preface to the 3rd edition and it's all fair game. Use this book to brush up on your mathematical techniques. To be honest, Griffith's "Introduction to Electrodynamics" would be an excellent text to use before you even decide to read Jackson's or Melia's. If you can master Griffith's book first, then it would make your life better when you adventure into Jackson's 3rd.



5. This book is tough and the problems can be a 'nightmare', but it is a great book. I am a graduate student in physics and I just love how it goes into so many aspects of Electrodynamics and in detail.

1 comments about The Physics of Solar Cells (Properties of Semiconductor Materials) (Properties of Semiconductor Materials).

1. Though it is of softcover instead of hardcover edition, but totally new and mailed quite quickly.