Texts and Readings in Physical Sciences

Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri -- of the eponymous Raychaudhuri equations of the General Theory of Relativity -- taught physics at Presidency College, Calcutta from 1961 to 1986. His lectures on electromagnetism, first published in 1990, have long been recognised as comprehensive and masterful expositions of the classical theory of electricity and magnetism.

This textbook is meant primarily for post-graduate students of physics, although undergraduates will also find the treatment of the subject appealing. In addition to the usual topics, AKR discusses magnetohydrodynamics and plasma oscillations in two short chapters.

The treatment of the Special Theory of Relativity clearly emphasises the Lorentz covariance of Maxwell's equations. The rather abstruse topic of radiation reaction is covered at an elementary level and the Wheeler-Feynman absorber theory has been dwelt upon briefly.

In this revised edition the units and notation have been modernised to conform to contemporary standards. In other aspects the text is largely unchanged. Today's readers can experience the clarity and lucidity, not to mention the characteristic idiosyncrasies, of AKR's lectures. The original problems have also been retained.