This book and its sequel (
Theories of Matter Space and Time: Quantum Theories) grew out of courses that are taught by the authors on the undergraduate degree program in physics at Southampton University, UK. The aim is to move beyond the initial courses in classical mechanics, special relativity, electromagnetism and quantum theory to more sophisticated views of these subjects and their interdependence.
In this first book, several key areas of study are introduced. Firstly, the Principle of Least Action, an alternative treatment of Newtonian Dynamics, that provides new understanding of conservation laws. Secondly, Special Relativity, including four-vector notation. Thirdly, the integral and differential forms of Maxwell’s Equations are discussed before massaging them to four-vector form so that the Lorentz boost properties of electric and magnetic fields were transparent.
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Author Biographies
Least Action
Special Relativity
Relativistic Electromagnetism
About the Author(s)
Nick Evans, Southampton University
Nick completed his PhD in collider phenomenology in 1993 at Southampton University. He performed his early research work at Yale and Boston Universities in the US before returning to Southampton in 1999 on a UK government 5 year fellowship. His work centered on strongly interacting particle systems, including composite Higgs models, and he played a large role in applying string theory to study the strong nuclear force and the mechanism of mass generation. Much of his work centers on the structure of the vacuum so in a sense he works on nothing. He is now a Professor at Southampton University and the Director of the Faculty of Physical Science and Engineering Graduate School. Nick’s outreach work includes the on-line physics with murder, mystery, thriller ‘The Newtonian Legacy’ which you can read for free online at: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/~evans/NL/
Steve King, Southampton University
Steve completed his PhD in QCD perturbation theory in 1980 at Manchester University. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Oxford University, where he worked on composite models, before moving to Harvard and Boston Universities in the US, where he worked on technicolour and collider phenomenology. Returning to Southampton in 1987, he won a 5 year fellowship to work on lattice QCD and top quark condensates. Soon after becoming a Lecturer, he turned his attention to supersymmetry, cosmology, strings, unification, flavour symmetry models and neutrinos. He is now Professor and First Year Director of Studies in Physics and Astronomy at Southampton. For more details see the recent on-line interview: https://jphysplus.iop.org/2015/12/01/an-interview-with-stephenking-physicist/
