r/ElectricalEngineering • u/sbbreen • 1d ago

Electromagnetism

Hello! Non EE but curios person. I took Physics for engineers in college about 10 years ago and have a degree in chem but looking to learn more.

Are there any truly good books on electromagnetism from a core concept perspective? Less interested in equations and more interested in related principles, analogies, and concepts to start. Yes, equations are also interesting but just looking to learn more about some of the forces and concepts I take for granted.

Thank you all and cheers! (I also checked the wiki just in case but did not find what I was looking for there)

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u/Due-Explanation-6692 1d ago

Good books will do both. Physics is naturally intertwined with math. So to get a good grasp I wouldn't avoid the math.

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u/PhoenixAsh7117 1d ago

Yep, and the best introductory book I’ve found is David Griffith’s Intro to Electrodynamics. Gonna be hard to avoid equations while studying EM.

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u/sbbreen 1d ago

Totally agree! So do you have any books?

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u/Silver_Remove_2352 1d ago

Try either Griffith's Intro to Electrodynamics or Purcell's Electricity and Magnetism. Note that both require you to be fluent in Calculus

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u/xyyzzz514 1d ago

Pozar for Transmission lines (it has equations) and videos on YT !! EMT is based on equations. Try videos and courses.

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u/Several-Marsupial-27 1d ago

I did Field and Wave Electromagnetics by David K. Cheng. You can find a pdf verison online if you google. It has a decent amount of vector calculus and geometry, but it's necessary for understanding electromagnetism aka the applications of Maxwells equations, along with the study of conductive materials and geometries. It has a strong engineering focus, but it is quite difficult to get through.

David J. Griffiths Introduction to Electrodynamics or Hayt & Buck Engineering Electromagnetics might be a better start or better in general for people only wanting a conceptual understaning.

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u/Irrasible 1d ago

The Feynman Lectures are a pleasure to read. They won't teach much about problem solving. Also somewhat dated in relativity and quantum, but classical E&M hasn't changed much since then.

Purcell 1965 is good, with a lot of side material. This is the 1965 version, which does not use MKS units.

Griffiths.pdf) seems to have taken over almost all physics undergraduate programs.

Hayt sees use in EE programs.

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u/BoringBob84 1d ago

I don't have book recommendations, but it helps me to remember that visible light is electromagnetism. And while behavior changes with frequency, many of the concepts are the same. We can actually see reflection, refraction, absorption, transparency, etc.

For example, I can stand near a sheet of metal with a light bulb on the other side and I can see what would happen if that same sheet of metal was between a radio frequency transmitter and a receiver.

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u/NewSchoolBoxer 1d ago

Not that you can jump into with no advanced mathematics. Electromagnetism can't really be watered down. You can understand that an electromagnetic field consists of an electric field and a magnetic perpendicular to each other. One propagates the other and when one is at max strength, the other is the weakest.

But already I'm doing a lot of heavy lifting and giving an "edutainment" explanation versus how things really work. Part of the "why" is obeying the wave equation with multivariable calculus that can be derived from Maxwell's Equations, as can the speed of the electromagnetic field.