Electrodynamics

Foundations of Applied Electrodynamics takes a fresh look at the essential concepts and methods of electrodynamics as a whole, uniting the most relevant contemporary topics under a common mathematical framework. It contains clear explanations of high-level concepts as well as the mutual relationships between the essential ideas of electromagnetic theory. Starting with the fundamentals of electrodynamics, it methodically covers a wide spectrum of research and applications that stem from electromagnetic phenomena, before concluding with more advanced topics such as quantum mechanics.

This book addresses the theoretical foundations and the main physical consequences of electromagnetic interaction, generally considered to be one of the four fundamental interactions in nature, in a mathematically rigorous yet straightforward way. The major focus is on the unifying features shared by classical electrodynamics and all other fundamental relativistic classical field theories.

Foundations of Applied Electrodynamics takes a fresh look at the essential concepts and methods of electrodynamics as a whole, uniting the most relevant contemporary topics under a common mathematical framework. It contains clear explanations of high-level concepts as well as the mutual relationships between the essential ideas of electromagnetic theory.

Advanced Electromagnetic Theory

The NATO Advanced Study Institute on Quantum Electrodynamics of Strong Fields was held at Lahnstein on the Rhine from 15-26 June, 1981. The school was devoted to the advances, theoretical and exper­ imental, in the physics of strong fields made during the past decade. The topic of the first week was almost exclusively quantum electrodynamics, with discussions of symmetry breaking in the ground state, of the physics of heavy ion collisions and of precision tests of perturbative quantum electrodynamics. This was followed in the second week by the presentation of a broad range of other areas where strong fields occur, reaching from nuclear physics over quantum chromodynamics to gravitation theory and astrophysics. We were fortunate to be able to call on a body of lecturers who not only have made considerable personal contributions to these advances but who are also noted for their lecturing skills. Their dedication for their subject was readily transmitted to the stu­ dents resulting in a very successful school. This enthusiasm is also reflected in their contributions to these Proceedings which, as I believe, will in time become a standard source of reference for future work on the physics of strong fields and will help to spread the benefits of the school to a larger audience than those who were able to attend. I regret that the Soviet colleagues Ya. B. Zeldovich and V. S. Popov were unable to participate.