Theoretical Physics (Dover Books on Physics)

Among the finest, most comprehensive treatments of theoretical physics ever written, this classic volume comprises a superb introduction to the main branches of the discipline and offers solid grounding for further research in a variety of fields. Students will find no better one-volume coverage of so many essential topics; moreover, since its first publication, the book has been substantially revised and updated with additional material on Bessel functions, spherical harmonics, superconductivity, elastomers, and other subjects. The first four chapters review mathematical topics needed by theoretical and experimental physicists (vector analysis, mathematical representation of periodic phenomena, theory of vibrations and waves, theory of functions of a complex variable, the calculus of variations, and more). This material is followed by exhaustive coverage of mechanics (including elasticity and fluid mechanics, as well as relativistic mechanics), a highly detailed treatment of electromagnetic theory, and thorough discussions of thermodynamics, kinetic theory and statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics and nuclear physics. Now available for the first time in paperback, this wide-ranging overview also contains an extensive 40-page appendix which provides detailed solutions to the numerous exercises included throughout the text. Although first published over 50 years ago, the book remains a solid, comprehensive survey, so well written and carefully planned that undergraduates as well as graduate students of theoretical and experimental physics will find it an indispensable reference they will turn to again and again.