Mathematical Methods For Physicists

Book Description

This best-selling title provides in one handy volume the essential mathematical tools and techniques used to solve problems in physics. It is a vital addition to the bookshelf of any serious student of physics or research professional in the field. The authors have put considerable effort into revamping this new edition.

* Updates the leading graduate-level text in mathematical physics
* Provides comprehensive coverage of the mathematics necessary for advanced study in physics and engineering
* Focuses on problem-solving skills and offers a vast array of exercises
* Clearly illustrates and proves mathematical relations

New in the Sixth Edition:
* Updated content throughout, based on users' feedback
* More advanced sections, including differential forms and the elegant forms of Maxwell's equations
* A new chapter on probability and statistics
* More elementary sections have been deleted

Customer Reviews:

excelent deal.......2007-09-30

I appreciate the quick delivery of the book! I received it on the first day of the estimated time interval. I enjoy shopping at amazon.com!

Why Is This Textbook So Widely Used?.......2006-11-14

I am a graduate physics student with a strong mathematical background. This is the textbook used for our 2 semester course in mathematical methods for physics. The book is massive, both in content and physical weight. The cover is attractive and the printing seems to be fairly high quality. Now comes the difficult part of the review: finding other positive comments. First of all, I have only used a few chapters of the book thus far, so my comments pertain only to those. Some difficulties I have found... There are no answers to any exercises making the book fairly useless for self-study. The material is very uneven, as if each section was written by a different author (graduate student?). The explanations and examples are mediocre at best (contrast with the Mary Boas book). There are MANY typos - what ever happened to proof reading? The class INSTRUCTOR doesn't like the book, but is forced to use it by the department, and has regularly emailed the authors with corrections and recommendations. None of the students in the class like the book. You may be forced to use this book, but I would recommend other books as supplements (e.g., the book by Mary Boas and several in the Schaum Outline Series).

Consider it for what it is.......2006-10-11

This is a 1000 page supplement to other textbooks or courses, and works best when combined with an instructor that knows the material in depth. Personally, this book was a required text for an intro to theoretical physics class that I took a few years ago, and combined with the instructor's lectures that were partially supplemented by other authors (Boas), I learned quite a bit.

Now I am in graduate school and I am still coming back to this book as a solid reference for bessel (and other special) functions, complex variables, etc. This book has many problems, a lot of them have solutions, and most of the time you can determine for yourself if you have the correct answer. I would say a great strength of this book is the difficulty of the problems. Sure, it will take some time to work through them to a solid solution, but in doing the problems in Arfken and Weber I've found I had more depth in understanding after finding solutions. Other textbooks will have loads of problems all with very little differences. You have to actually think to solve the problems contained within this book, which will sharpen your mind for quickly solving problems that you otherwise might not attempt. At least that has been my experience.

Not if you want to learn math, use only as reference.......2006-09-27

I used this book as a textbook for a Math class. Okay, I'm not a mathematician so it was suppoused to be a side course. Since I'm not precisely fluent in most of these topics I expected to learn at least the basic stuff. But, as I tried to use the book as a basis for my studies, I found only concepts and demostrations, and no clear examples about anything! I think the authors must think that putting examples in a book like this may be considered offensive by some of their most lectured readers!

I recommend this book only if you are fluent in mathematics, if you already know about the topics and just want a reference book, or if you want to put your "genious" to the test trying to find out what's going on without any kind of aid.

Basic and Essential.......2006-08-05

This book is not so difficult and easy to understand, but it contains basic and essential mathematical knowledge and technique. If one learns eagerly this book, one can get important and useful knowledge to learn science or engineering. Let's become specialist of science or engineering.

Average customer rating:

makes your head buzz...
Provides a very interesting point of view
A powerful mathematical language for physics and engineering
Compared to what ?
Articulate Path to the Future

Geometric Algebra for Physicists
Chris Doran , and Anthony Lasenby
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0521480221

Book Description

As leading experts in geometric algebra, Chris Doran and Anthony Lasenby have led many new developments in the field over the last ten years. This book provides an introduction to the subject, covering applications such as black hole physics and quantum computing. Suitable as a textbook for graduate courses on the physical applications of geometric algebra, the volume is also a valuable reference for researchers working in the fields of relativity and quantum theory.

Customer Reviews:

makes your head buzz..........2007-08-04

I'm reading this book somewhat in parallel with Hestenes' New Foundations for Classical Mechanics. Both are fantastic books (Hestenes' predates this one), and in some parts they are complementary, while of course they overlap in the foundations and many special topics. What is so fascinating about Geometric Algebra and Calculus? I think it's mainly the recognition that many seemingly complicated theorems of mathematical physics really become much clearer - in a sense of getting a guts feeling about the geometry. The method opens a way to look at the same thing from totally different angles: If one can't imagine something based on geometric arguments, one can take the presented formalism and translate it back into geometry, and suddenly things become clear.
Is the book (or that by Hestenes) basic and easy to understand or are they difficult? Certainly they require some work by the reader. To follow the entire book, one really can't do without learning to master the formalism of geometric algebra, which is simple, yet sometimes bizarre. I suspect though that it is only bizarre to the one who "knows it all" already: The student or scientist who has grown familiar with vector spaces, matrix notation and wiggling around with tensor notation, needs to go through the same exercises as the bloody beginner to whom even the idea of a vector may not be clear. In fact, the beginner could be at a real advantage to not being poisoned by vector calculus. For example, take the very basic notation for a geometric product of two multi-vectors: ab = a.b + a^b (the sum of inner and outer product). What's so confusing about it? Nothing, really, after one really understands what "+" here means. But it happens often enough that one only thinks about this product in terms of the right hand side of the equation, because those are totally familiar for anyone who took basic linear algebra, and then ends up making simple things complicated again. I must say that it was like loosing shadows from the eyes to see how the formulations in this book and Hestenes' work explain so well why it is that the quantum mechanical psi function needs to be complex, or better yet what really the i means in physics, and how the entire set of Maxwell equations (all 4 of them) are one simple continuity equation. That's the kind of thing that makes your head buzz. I'm not done with these books, but I have a clear feeling that in the end I will have an entry point to understand QM and parts of general relativity not just formally (especially QM) but really develop a guts feeling for it.
One thing that I'm still a bit missing in any of the books related to geometric algebra is classical continuum mechanics. This may be so because many of the authors are immersed in fields related to cosmology. In this book, one can find a tiny little bit also about elasticity (linear and nonlinear). However, I keep wondering what it would be like to reformulate the entire underlying theory of continuum mechanics (about deforming solids, elastic or viscoelastic or plastic, about fluid flow, about polarized materials, biological active materials, etc). Could something new be learned? I bet it could!

Provides a very interesting point of view.......2007-02-22

Provides a very interesting point of view, absolutely necessary for grasping the bolts and plumbing of modern physics.

The material covered was not present in other texts that I had a look at so this book serves as a good corner stone to build advanced undergraduate and graduate courses on.

A powerful mathematical language for physics and engineering.......2004-08-01

This is a well-written book on a very interesting and important subject: geometric algebra (GA) is a powerful and elegant mathematical language -- based on the works of Hamilton, Grassmann and Clifford -- that is especially well-suited for spacetime physics and several fields of engineering.

The authors adopt David Hestenes' viewpoint of a graded GA as a unified mathematical language that is coordinate-free, thereby stressing the fundamental role of geometric invariants in physics.

In fact, the elementary vector analysis -- which pervades almost all undergraduate (and even) graduate approaches to electrodynamics -- finds its roots in the misguided Gibbsian approach: Gibbs advocated abandoning Hamilton's quaternions and just work with scalar and cross products of vectors. However, the cross product has a major flaw: it only exists in three (or seven) dimensions -- if we require that (i) it should have just two factors, (ii) to be orthogonal to the factors, and (iii) to have length equal to the corresponding parallelogram.

Electrodynamics and relativistic physics, particularly, are elegantly presented through GA and otherwise cumbersome calculations may be circumvented in a simple and insightful way.

Mainstream physics and engineering cannot overlook GA anymore.

Compared to what ?.......2004-01-30

This is truly a great book for any one who is interested in not just physics, but physical reality. Although the ideas expressed therein have a long history and are by no means as uniquely those of its authors as were Albert Einstein's in his day, I believe that they will have comparable lasting value. Moreover the synthesis presented in this book, which builds pre-eminently on the work of Hestenes, is absolutely superb. Interested readers need not take my word for these claims, but are invited to prove it to themselves.

Although the above should be a sufficient review, my experience nevertheless indicates that it is a good idea to warn potentially enthusiastic readers against several common semantic misconceptions, lest they jump to conclusions which prevent them from ever taking that vital first step. Thus let it be clearly understood that Geometric Algebra is NOT:
(1) A replacement for linear/matrix/tensor algebra (on the contrary, it is a very nice complement to these formalisms).
(2) Identical, or even very close, to Emil Artin's earlier excellent book on bilinear forms with the title "Geometric Algebra".
(3) Another name for the enormous field "algebraic geometry" (it is indeed appropriate that the word stemming from "geometry" comes first in "geometric algebra").
(4) Just another reformulation of complex / quaternion / octonian analysis; for it connects all these purely algebraic objects, and many generalizations thereof, to Felix Klein's Erlangen Programme and Sophus Lie's theory of continuous groups.
(5) The ultimate theory of everything (although it probably will eventually be found to have something to do with it).

Geometric algebra IS a practical and natural (canonical) tool for formulating physical and mathematical problems in homogeneous spaces in a fully covariant fashion. But more importantly, you do not need to understand all those words in order to benefit from it, and this book is an excellent place for physicists of all stripes to start.

Articulate Path to the Future.......2003-07-19

The quality and importance of this book could hardly be overstated. Geometric algebra might casually be considered the "correct" generalization of linear algebra. By considering, for a start, directed line segments, the linear algebra courses presently taught in some high schools and all universities achieve miracles. Although viewed by a few of the slower students as merely unpleasant bookkeeping systems, linear algebra derives its power from allowing algebraic manipulation of sophisticated aggregate objects, namely vectors. The benefits are not just computational, but stem more importantly from a more powerful and more unified, although slightly more abstract point of view than a student had before studying. Geometric algebra is all that and much more. By extending consideration from directed line segments to the inclusion of direct plane segments, directed elements of three space, etc., an extremely flexible and elegant mathematical tool arises. It allows a deeper, quicker, and more concise treatment of essentially all of modern differential geometry. Its applications throughout physics are at once simplifications of ordinary matrix treatments and occasions to allow much greater insight.

Geometric algebra is a great theory, one of highest importance. It will, undoubtedly, find a dominant place in our mathematics curriculum at the highest speed allowed by our educational systems (the highest speed being actually quite slow). This book is an especially good place to begin study. It starts from the most elementary principles, and exposes the material with very thoughtful, clear presentation. The economy and elegance of the geometric algebra itself allows this one substantial but not enormous book to reveal great insights into many branches of study, from differential geometry and its applications to gravity theory to quantum mechanics and classical mechanics.

Book Description

A Physicists Guide to Mathematica(r) teaches students and professional physicists how to master Mathematica using examples and approaches that will appeal to them. The book illustrates the usefulness of Mathematica in learning, teaching, and carrying out research in physics. Part One gives a practical, physics-oriented, and self-contained introduction to the program. Part Two covers the application of Mathematica to mechanics, electricityand magnetism, and quantum physics.
Mathematica enables the user to solve a wide range of physics problems, from the most important to those that are just for fun, and provides an environment that allows the user to develop a greater intuitive understanding of physics. This book aids the reader in using Mathematica for numerical, symbolic, and graphical calculations, and also demonstrates the programs capability to animate two- and three-dimensional graphics. Tams treatment of the subject is greatly detailed, and makes this book an essential reference for anyone needing an introduction to Mathematicas application to physics.
This book teaches upper-division and graduate physics students as well as professional physicists how to master Mathematic(r), using examples and approaches that are motivating to them. It also shows that this computer algebra system can be a powerful and wonderful tool for learning, teaching, and doing physics. Part I gives a practical, physics-oriented, and self-contained introduction to Mathematica. Part II considers the application of Mathematica to mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and quantum physics.

* Requires no prior knowledge of Mathematica or computer programming
* Includes a disk containing all Mathematica input used in the text for practical application, which can be used by both Macintosh and Windows users

Customer Reviews:

excellent - must read for beginners.......2002-01-02

I read many Mathematica books, introductory and advanced - yet this one clearly stands out (even in this high quality field).

The title and the previous reviewer suggest that this is a book for physicists or physics students. This is quite unfortunate, as it may put off others from learning proper use of Mathematica from this book. True, the examples are from physics, but most of them are elementary physics, done by students of science, life sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering etc.

The reason why non-physicists should read that book is extremely clear exposure of three areas of Mathematica: a) introductory level use of mma as a simple calculator/grapher/equation solver; b) very good illustration on practical aspects of using mma to solve slightly larger problems - showing the right _methodology_ of mapping real world problems into mma so they can be solved neatly; c) very good introduction to programming in Mathematica on the introductory to intermediate level (with some hints of advanced)

I admit to having a strong bias towards this book - it is one of many introductory books I read and I regret it was not my first one. That would have saved me reading others - beginners, intermediate and advanced alike. [OK, I read them just to compare, anyway :-)]

Very good Mathematica introduction for physics students!.......2000-04-02

If you need to apply Mathematica to study real physical systems,then i think you can find a lot of useful material in this book.The book begins with the use of Mathematica as an advanced interactive calculator and graphic display ,then elucidates its use as a programming language and finally shows a series of Mathematica packages that deal with specific problems in different physical areas.The author mixes explanations and hints with one to one reproduction of the computer screen inputs and outputs.The exposition is very clear and student-friendly.On the whole a great text!

Symmetries, Lie Algebras and Representations: A Graduate Course for Physicists (Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics)

Average customer rating:

Mixed feelings

Symmetries, Lie Algebras and Representations: A Graduate Course for Physicists (Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics)
Jürgen Fuchs , and Christoph Schweigert
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521541190

Book Description

This is an introduction to Lie algebras and their applications in physics. The first three chapters show how Lie algebras arise naturally from symmetries of physical systems and illustrate through examples much of their general structure. Chapters 4 to 13 give a detailed introduction to Lie algebras and their representations, covering the Cartan-Weyl basis, simple and affine Lie algebras, real forms and Lie groups, the Weyl group, automorphisms, loop algebras and highest weight representations. Chapters 14 to 22 cover specific further topics, such as Verma modules, Casimirs, tensor products and Clebsch-Gordan coefficients, invariant tensors, subalgebras and branching rules, Young tableaux, spinors, Clifford algebras and supersymmetry, representations on function spaces, and Hopf algebras and representation rings. A detailed reference list is provided, and many exercises and examples throughout the book illustrate the use of Lie algebras in real physical problems. The text is written at a level accessible to graduate students, but will also provide a comprehensive reference for researchers.

Customer Reviews:

Mixed feelings.......2007-09-15

Lie groups and Lie algebras permeate most parts of theoretical physics. Every student in physics should have some basic notions of the subject as it sometimes tends to have unsuspected applications.

The first three chapters of this book include exemples and motivation for the more formal aspect of the Lie theory. Those are also meant to set the notation used later throughout the book. Topics covered should be well-known from a senior undergraduate student with a good background in quantum mechanics (harmonic oscillator, the rotation group) and particle physics (mostly the "zoological" part of it : classification of particles, the eightfold way and so on).
From chapter 4 on, the Maths definitely take the most prominent part of the stage. Chapter 4 is a reminder of basic notions in algebra, as covered in an undergraduate course in algebra and classical groups.
Chapter 5, on representation, should not be a challenge to the physicist.
The core of the subject is presented in chapter 6, where the idea of the Cartan-Weyl basis is given a nice presentation. This chapter is a little bit more demanding. Some statements are not proved. However, a committed student in physics, should be able to devise proofs for him/herself.
Chapter 7 is particularly enjoyable, dealing with Dynkin diagrams and the classification of finite simple Lie algebras, and introducing infinite dimensional ones. The way Kac-Moody algebras appear, through relaxing the axioms of the Chevalley-Serre construction should be appreciated. Also, physical exemples are to the point.
However, beginning with chapter 12, the wrongs of this book become somewhat annoying. For instance, in chapter 12, the authors of this book freely speak of Verma modules, highest weight representations, while these concepts are to be introduced and properly developped in later chapters. I found this chaffing from an introductory book. From chapter 12, it seems that the reader is to gently follow and accept the statements made by the author, without encountering much proof or hint to this all.
Things come more acceptable in later chapters only, where invariant tensors and other things more familiar from a physicist with no previous acquaintance to Lie algebras, are exposed.

All in all, a good book for some parts of it but whose value could have surely been enhanced by adopting a more pedagogical presentations. Some proofs to key facts in the more "exotic subjects", would have been welcome, too. All the more, that some chapters of this book did not require much work from the authors, as it seems that they were taken from Dr. Fuchs "Affine Lie algebras".
Hopefully, welcome additions will be added to a further edition.
Beginners or readers with a casual interest in Lie algebras should better learn it from another source.

Group Representation Theory for Physicists

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Group Representation Theory for Physicists
Jin-Quan Chen , Jialun Ping , and Fan Wang
Manufacturer: World Scientific Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9812380655

Modern Differential Geometry for Physicists (World Scientific Lecture Notes in Physics)

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Good, with problems
Very readable presentation of diff. geometry

Modern Differential Geometry for Physicists (World Scientific Lecture Notes in Physics)
C. J. Isham
Manufacturer: World Scientific Publishing Company
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9810235623

Book Description

This edition of the invaluable text Modern Differential Geometry for Physicists contains an additional chapter that introduces some of the basic ideas of general topology needed in differential geometry. A number of small corrections and additions have also been made.

These lecture notes are the content of an introductory course on modern, coordinate-free differential geometry which is taken by first-year theoretical physics PhD students, or by students attending the one-year MSc course "Fundamental Fields and Forces" at Imperial College. The book is concerned entirely with mathematics proper, although the emphasis and detailed topics have been chosen bearing in mind the way in which differential geometry is applied these days to modern theoretical physics. This includes not only the traditional area of general relativity but also the theory of Yang-Mills fields, nonlinear sigma models and other types of nonlinear field systems that feature in modern quantum field theory.

The volume is divided into four parts: (i) introduction to general topology; (ii) introductory coordinate-free differential geometry; (iii) geometrical aspects of the theory of Lie groups and Lie group actions on manifolds; (iv) introduction to the theory of fibre bundles. In the introduction to differential geometry the author lays considerable stress on the basic ideas of "tangent space structure", which he develops from several different points of view - some geometrical, others more algebraic. This is done with awareness of the difficulty which physics graduate students often experience when being exposed for the first time to the rather abstract ideas of differential geometry.

Customer Reviews:

Good, with problems.......2006-01-02

Wow! What a great Table of Contents. It has all the stuff I've been wanting to learn about. So I bought the book in spite of seeing only one review of it. After one day, I'm now only at page 26, but I already have read enough to make some comments about it.
The main point about this book is that it is, as the author specifically states, LECTURE NOTES, not, I repeat, not a textbook. What are the implications of this (outside of a somewhat more chatty style than a textbook)? ["chatty" isn't quite what I mean; "smooth" might be a better word'] There are two which are noticable to me. 1) A lot of math knowledge is taken for granted. 2) It has a somewhat sloppy style to it.

Regarding point one, make sure you have a lot of math under your belt before picking up this book. By page 18 the author uses these terms without defining them: Differentiable Manifold, semigroup, Riemannian Metric, Topological Space, Hilbert Space, the " " notation, vector space, and Boolean Algebra. Fortunately for me, I have a fairly extensive math education, and self-studied Functional Analysis, so I wasn't thrown for a loop; but for many others -- brace yourselves!

Regarding point two, Here are two examples:
1) Here is a quote: "The collection of all open sets in any metric space is called the topology associated with the space." Sounds like a definition to me! Fortunately the author gives a (sloppy) definition a few lines later. By the way, the only thing the reader learns about what an 'open set' is, is that it contains none of its boundary points. All the topology books I have read define open sets to be those in the topology. This is another point of confusion for the reader. In fact, points of confusion abound in that portion of the book.
2) On page, 17, trying somewhat haphazardly to explain the concept of a neighborhood, the author defines N as "N := {N(x) | x is an element of X}" This is already a little disconcerting: x is already understood to be an element of X. So he is saying that N is defined as N(x) (which he defines to be a collection of subsets of X). This is all he has to say on the matter until, on page 26, he writes "each N, an element of N(x)". Now N isn't both N(x) and an element of N(x). This is a point which the author does not clear up. He then starts using N all over the place, yet the reader isn't sure of what he's refering to.

A couple of other things:
-When he defines terms, they is not highlighted, and are embedded in a sentence, making it difficult to find them later.
- The index is pitifully small. Typical for English texts, I know; but this *is* the 3rd millinium!

On the other hand, I have good things to say about the book, too.
I like his style of writing. If it were just more precise, it would be fine for me. I like it better than the normal higher math texts, which tend to be too laconic for me. Notice that I make a distinction between the somewhat chatty style, which I like, and the sloppiness, which is confusing. One can be chatty, yet clear. So far, the undefined math terms which I listed above were not central to the text; and one would not miss much by just reading past them. The author includes many 'comments' sections throughout the book. These are wonderful so far. They are full of comments and examples which really clear up a lot of points. His examples are very good, too, although he is very terse in stating them. The paperback is nice looking. The paper, font, etc. make for easy reading (except for the sub/super-script font, which is too small for me).

To wrap this review up, I had already pretty much learned the stuff covered in the book so far, but judging from what I have read, I will be able to learn a lot from the rest of it; and, unlike some other math books I have studied, the experience won't be too painful.
p.s. See other reviews of it on the UK Amazon site.

Very readable presentation of diff. geometry.......2000-08-18

I have found Isham's treatment of differential geometry very clear, while maintaining quite an abstract nature. Isham takes care to motivate his definitions and include comments where comments are due. No problems are included but the book sometimes omits the simpler results and lets you work them out by yourself. A very readable introduction indeed.

Statistics for Nuclear and Particle Physicists

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Do you want your Phd?

Statistics for Nuclear and Particle Physicists
Louis Lyons
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521379342

Book Description

Written by a non-statistician for non-statisticians, the book emphasizes the practical approach to those problems in statistics that arise regularly in data analysis situations in nuclear and high energy physics experiments. Rather than concentrate on proofs and theorems, the author provides an abundance of simple examples that illustrate the general ideas presented. This allows the reader to obtain maximum information in the simplest manner. Possible difficulties with the various techniques, and pitfalls to be avoided, are also discussed. This commonsense approach to statistical formalism enables nuclear physicists to better understand how to do justice to their analysis and interpretation of data.

Customer Reviews:

Do you want your Phd?.......2001-08-21

As a high energy physics graduate student, I know of no other book which provides a better grounding in the data analysis techniques needed in an HEP phd. This book has been invaluable to me. It has also been invaluable to many of my professors and friends. If you are doing an HEP phd, you should get this book. Its as simple as that.

Essential Mathematical Methods for Physicists Ise

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Essential Mathematical Methods for Physicists Ise
Hans Weber , and George Arfken
Manufacturer: Academic Press Inc.,U.S.
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ASIN: 0120598787

The Mathematics Companion: Mathematical Methods for Physicists and Engineers

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Small but full of the right info.

The Mathematics Companion: Mathematical Methods for Physicists and Engineers
Anthony Craig Fischer-Cripps
Manufacturer: Taylor & Francis
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0750310200

Book Description

Following the style of The Physics Companion and The Electronics Companion, this book is a revision aid and study guide for undergraduate students in physics and engineering. It consists of a series of one-page-per-topic descriptions of the key concepts covered in a typical first-year "mathematics for physics" course. The emphasis is placed on relating the mathematical principles being introduced to real-life physical problems. In common with the other companions, there is strong use of figures throughout to help in understanding of the concepts under consideration. The book will be an essential reference and revision guide, particularly for those students who do not have a strong background in mathematics when beginning their degree.

Customer Reviews:

Small but full of the right info........2007-09-20

I purchased the book, because it was required for a class (among other books) that I am attending in the graduate school (a refreshment course for people that has been away from college for a while). The definitions are short and to the point; clear and precise. So far I have found two typos, but I guess that means that the refreshment is working. In sumary, It is a great book, highly recommended.

Mathematical Methods for Physicists: A Concise Introduction

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A Difference Of Opinion
Terrible, terrible, terrible
Do Not Buy This Book
Too many typos. Vague explanations. Unoriginal exercises.

Mathematical Methods for Physicists: A Concise Introduction
Tai L. Chow
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521655447

Book Description

This text is designed for an intermediate-level, two-semester undergraduate course in mathematical physics. It provides an accessible account of most of the current, important mathematical tools required in physics. The book bridges the gap between an introductory physics course and more advanced courses in classical mechanics, electricity and magnetism, quantum mechanics, and thermal and statistical physics. It contains a large number of worked examples to illustrate the mathematical techniques developed and to show their relevance to physics. The highly organized coverage allows instructors to teach the basics in one semester. The book could also be used in courses in engineering, astronomy, and mathematics.

Customer Reviews:

A Difference Of Opinion.......2002-07-17

After completing the first six chapters of professor Chow's book, I feel he has been treated a little too harshly by earlier reviewers. It is true that there are many typos, but finding typos can build confidence especially if they are not too egregious. When I studied undergraduate math, many years ago, most of the techniques we needed were taught in the science classes themselves. Few books covered in a single place the mathematics needed for science and engineering. Most of the ones that did were at the graduate student level making then rather obscure for the neophyte scientist. From what I have read and browsing through the rest of the book it appears that Dr. Chow covers a good selection of modern mathematic at a level an undergraduate student can comprehend. I agree with the other reviewers that a thorough editing is needed for the next edition. However, this book is a good introduction to the graduate level books, which must eventually be read and understood by most scientists.

Terrible, terrible, terrible.......2002-04-29

As a student in a math for physicist course who tried to learn the material for the first time, this book was totally worthless. Not only are the errors rampant but the text makes leaps between problem solving and solution, with no explanation. This book needs an editor (because it obviously didn't have one this time) and an intellectual properties rights attorney.

Do Not Buy This Book.......2000-11-22

This book mixes the brevity of Schaum's Outlines with the incomprehensibility of The Tao of Pooh. The author copies, sometimes, directly from either Schaum's or Arfkin. There is nothing noteworthy in this book and your money is better spent buying the original books, i.e. Schaum's. I am supprised that Cambridge University Press would publish this and not fear the litigation from more respectable authors who Chow copied this from. If you wrote a Schaum's or any Math Methods book please check for plagairism, it is there. If you are a Prof. thinking of assigning this book, Don't. And if you are a student who is required to buy this book, use the original Schaum's Outlines!

Too many typos. Vague explanations. Unoriginal exercises........2000-11-16

This is not the one I would recommend. This book amuses you with lots of typos, such as ``head conduction'', instead of ``heat conduction'' and some weird mathematical notations, like 1 over vector r, in TeX notation, \frac{1}{\vec{r}}. (Some say it is better than Chow's _Classical Mechanics_. That book had three ``vertical'' dots over a varaible.) Not just that. I just finished solving an exercise set for a chapter on complex variables and some problems are identical to Murray R. Spiegel's _Complex Variables_. Not a word was different.

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