Textbook in PDF format
The first edition of this book was written as a text for a course designed to give the student some competence in the techniques of classical mathematical physics and some confidence in his ability to read technical papers in that field. The second edition has been amplified to better serve this end without any very wide deviation from the fundamental method of approach. Chapters on mathematical methods alternate with those in which the methods are applied to physical problems, and everywhere the emphasis is on the drawing of quantitative conclusions from carefully stated laws. The amplification has consisted largely of the inclusion of numerous illustrative examples completely or partly developed in the text, the addition of drawings to clarify the text, and some minor rearrangements of material to provide what seems after use a more coherent order of presentation. A few sections dealing with matters not actually essential to the context have been omitted.
The chapters on electricity and magnetism have been considerably expanded and revised in the effort, to present a precise formulation of this conceptually difficult subject. Emphasis has been laid on the similarities of, and the differences between, the vectors D and E and between B and H. The point of view presented is believed to be especially helpful in understanding the electrical properties of matter.
Some minor changes have been made in the problems presented for solution by the student. Some of these have been worked out and included in the text, and new ones have been added. These continue to be the backbone of the course. Mathematical physics, obviously, is an art whose mastery can be attained only by extensive practice