Book Description
This volume is a substantially complete presentation of theelectrodynamics developed by Wilhelm Weber.
Weber's force between point charges is explored and thoroughlyanalysed. Ampère's force between current elements is discussedin connection with modern experiments relating to the Ampèreversus Grassmann--Biot--Savart controversy. Ampère's force is acentral feature of this work, as Maxwell maintained it should alwaysbe in the study of electrodynamics, although it is included in fewtextbooks on electromagnetism. A detailed study of this force is anoutstanding feature of this book. Other topical questions of physicsare analysed, such as a potential-dependent inertial mass, Mach'sprinciple and the origin of inertia, action at a distance as opposedto contact actions, etc. No previous knowledge of the subject isrequired, and all topics are introduced with both their historicalbackgrounds as well as modern experimental evidence.
This volume will appeal to physicists, mathematicians, electrical andelectronic engineers, historians and philosophers of science.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A must for students of electrodynamics
This excellent book is one of the few which presents the subject of Electrodynamics from a different perspective, by analyzing the almost forgotten theory of Weber's. Most books of Electricity only talk about Maxwell's equations, and forget about this extremely successful theory, which was highly praised by Maxwell himself. By reviewing Weber's ideas, one can get a much deeper insight in Electrodynamics (even that of Maxwell's) and get to understand the real difficulties underlaying this complex subject.
It should be a must for all students of electrodynamics, although IMO it is too pricey to become a standard text book, which is a pity.

An Amazing Book
This book is great!It is definitely THE book to learn Weber's Theory of Electrodynamics.Something everybody interested in the fundamental laws of the universe should learn.Weber's Theory is very simple and fun to learn. The only dissapointment is that the theory doesn't explain the motions ofparticles travelling at near the speed of light (but that can easily beresolved).I also learned a lot of math by reading this book; It uses mathin ways I haven't seen done in any other book.The book is very wellorganized and includes derivations for practically all the formulas.Italso has a great bibliography to continue your studies in Weber's and otheralternative theories.What I really don't like is the huge price tag,which means I have to go the library everytime I wanna check something outfrom the book.

If you've learned the Classical Theory of Electrodynamics,such as the one taught in Griffiths' and Jackson's books, and ever wonderedif there can be another way...Then you gotta get a hold of this book! ... Read more