electricity

Graduate level concepts are expounded upon in the manner of an undergraduate text (i.e. readable. Boggle!). John Davies does not assume that the reader has already done all of the calculations available in the field. Rich conceptual descriptions are rooted in an easy formalism accessible to anyone with a background in the elements of physics. This text is proof that even the exotic physics of quantum mechanics in reduced dimensions is not difficult when care is taken by the author to relate to the reader as a student rather than a peer.

-s

Readable introductions to mesoscopic physics are few and far between, many being either far too simplistic and naive or too mired in formalism. Davies gives clear and lucid discussions of such topics as electron confinement in quantum wells, the integral quantum Hall effect, quantum point contacts, and MODFET's/HEMT's. Although by no means extensive and in depth, Davies does point out simplifications and refers the interested reader to relevant references for more details. Overall, it is a balanced introduction.

This book is a useful point of entry for undergraduates to low-dimensional semiconductor physics. Reading this book is good preparation for more advanced and specialized literature including: Solid State Physics vol. 44 ed. Ehrenreich and Turnbull; Perspectives in Quantum Hall Effects, Das Sarma and Pinczuk.

As with any new text, there are errata but an up to date webpage of corrections is maintained by the author.

The first book you should read if you wanna do some Low Dimentional Electron Physics and only learned Solid State Physics before. It just covers all topics in this field --- with the knowledge in this book, you could read any new paper published recently.
And this book's written style is very friendly --- just a textbook! So it could be finished in 2 days if you know the basic notions in Solid State Physics and concentrate on it.

So there is no match for such a good introductory book --- there's no other ones like this --- I searched a lot when I tried to enter this field, and this is a good choice:)

Turton has done a wonderful job descibing the technicalities of today's computer/electronic technology. His descriptions allow the lay-person to understand the current technology and to understand where the future is taking us - probably to the Quantum Dot - and other devices. I highly reccomend it for anyone interested in the nanotechnology field as a primer

This book consists of two parts (its not formally laid out that way, it just naturally organizes into two parts). The first part is a qualitative introduction to integrated semiconductor electronics (with emphasis on transistor junctions). The second part focuses on solid state quantum physics with emphasis on optical as well as electrical properties. There is also a smattering of material on super conducting materials and some basic material about how a digital computer works. The author's intended audience is the high school student or first-year college student who wants to pursue a degree in the sciences. An alternate audience is the informed layman who wants to be up to date at a qualitative level with recent advances in electronics and future directions in research and development.

I believe the book is well written for the intended audience. Turner has an easy-to-read style, and he manages to explain things (generally) in a technically accurate way without the use of mathematics. Without the mathematical details this book is not what you'd expect in a design reference - and that's not what it's intended for. But it is an excellent book to read in advance of a rigorous quantitative class on the subject. I think it's much easier to understand physical phenomena in mathematical detail if one first obtains a qualitative "feel" for what's going on.

Turner opens his book with two short chapters on matter and the origin of conductivity. He spends the next few chapters describing p-n junctions, how they are used to make transistors, and issues that limit their size and speed. Along the way he shows how transistors are used in computers both in the fabrication of basic logic elements, and also in the venerable "flip-flop" memory cell. His descriptions are clear and concise, making liberal use of figures and diagrams so that the concepts can be grasped with no particular pre-existing skills in physics or electronics.

The explanation of present semiconductor physics sets the stage for later discussions about the motivation for semiconductor devices at the quantum level. He does a good job of illustrating the fact that quantum-dominated semiconductor devices will not simply be miniaturized versions of the devices populating current integrated circuits. The physics would not allow it. Rather, they will be unique devices that are designed and custom tailored using quantum theory from the ground up. The result will be new devices that have similar - though often dramatically different - operating characteristics, and that are orders of magnitude smaller than present devices, as well as faster.

In illustrating the classical and quantum semiconductor circuits, Turner does a nice job of laying out the basic ideas behind these devices. In qualitative prose, he explains the exclusion principle, how it applies to fermions, and how the exclusion principle in conjunction with quantized energy states results in many of the phenomena that we observe in semiconductor devices. Turner's description of the optical properties of semiconductors flows naturally from earlier discussions. He describes the basic ideas behind a laser, though in this regard I found the descriptions somewhat lacking. Other interesting groundwork is provided in his descriptions of tunneling and Compton pairs (which are involved in super conducting).

A nice feature is the glossary of terms, along with a nice list of further reading material and a good index. The book is also well illustrated throughout, with figures that add considerably to one's level of understanding. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in a qualitative introduction to solid-state physics, electronics, or semiconductor optics. I found it enjoyable to read and rich in the sort of qualitative imagery and description that makes learning so much more enjoyable.

This book gives sound, complete and comprehensible explanations for a number of solid state devices (pn diodes, FET and bipolar transistors, laser diodes, superconductors, Josephson junctions, etc). This book contains the best (most comprehensible) explanation I have ever read on the theoretical operation of bipolar transistors.

This book gives a solid introduction to the simplest of gauge theories, that of the Abelian gauge field governing the interactions between photons and charged particles. The emphasis is on doing calculations, and so readers who need a more in-depth mathematical or "foundational" overview of quantum electrodynamics may be disappointed. Quantum field theory of course was not founded on the need for mathematical rigor in physics, but instead has its origins in reconciling quantum mechanics with the theory of special relativity. This reconciliation has sometimes been a rough road, and in many places employs some sophisticated but eccentric "trickery" on the part of the researchers. It is these tricks that are the most difficult to generalize, to the annoyance of mathematicians who want to put quantum field theory on a more rigorous mathematical foundation. But in spite of the use of these oddities quantum field theory is not magical, and has proven to be one of the most precise physical theories ever constructed.

Some of the highlights of the book:

1. The chapter on exact propogators and vertex parts is particularly illuminating, especially the discussions on Dyson's equation, Ward's identity, and the physical conditions needed for renormalization. Dyson's equation relates the vertex part to the exact propagator, and the authors derive it using two different approaches in the book: one using the concepts of reducible and irreducible diagrams, the other using direct calculation and taking the Fourier transform. Readers who go on in quantum field theory will find that this equation is usually called the Dyson-Schwinger equation and can be derived using "functional methods." Ward's identity is a relation that connects the momentum derivative of the electron propagator to the vertex part, but can derived solely by using gauge invariance. Applying a gauge transformation to the electron propagator will result in an expression involving an external (photon) field. This expression though has a contribution coming from photons with longitudinal components in their momentum, but the expression is shown to vanish. Hence, as expected, gauge invariance results in an electron propagator that does not involve massive photon fields, and its momentum derivatives are equal to the vertex part. The authors point out that this identity generalizes the expression for the case of the free-particle propagator.

2. The discussion on the radiative corrections to Coulomb's law, resulting from the "polarization of the vacuum" around a point charge. The corrections are done via the use of an "effective field", thus introducing the reader to a very common approach these days. After taking Fourier transforms the authors show that the polarization of the vacuum alters the Coulomb field in a region inversely proportional to the electron mass. Beyond this region the change drops off exponentially. The authors point out though that they have ignored the contributions of pions and muons in their calculation of the correction. At distances less than one over the muon (or pion) mass, the strong interaction must be taken into account and quantum electrodynamics breaks down.

3. The discussion on photon-photon scattering, which is a strictly quantum effect since it cannot occur in classical electrodynamics, due to the linearity of Maxwell's equations. It is the electron-positron annihilation which is responsible for this effect, and this is one example of the matter-antimatter duality that seems to always occur in quantum theories that must respect the principle of relativity (although, strictly speaking, another assumption, called "cluster decomposition" is needed to show this in a convincing way).

4. The (short) chapter on hadron electrodynamics, with "electromagnetic form factors" used to finesse the problem of the strong interaction. One thus gets a purely phenomonological theory, but one that still allows the calculation of electron-hadron and photon-hadron scattering.

This is the Volume 4 of the famous Course of Theoretical Physics by L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshitz. All serious students of theoretical physics must possess the ten volumes of this excellent Course, which cover in detail and rigour practically all the branches of theoretical physics. The Volume 4 treats the subject of quantum electrodynamics. It contains all of basic material on quantum electrodynamics and the whole of the theory of radiation. This book, although very dense, describes with clarity the large amount of topics contained in it and does not include topics not firmly established, such as the theory of strong and weak interactions. All physicists specialized in quantum electrodynamics must possess this remarkable book. A superb book!

This is an outstanding book. The former students of the great Russian physicist Lev Landau wrote a text based on his teaching and his papers, as well as on their own work. The result fits well in the magnificent Theoretical Physics course that carries the names of Landau and Lifshitz. There are differences between this text and the western analogues. Dirac equation is derived in a very elegant way using spinors, and the whole algebra of Dirac matrices becomes, in this way, much more natural, particularly, as one would expect, Lorentz invariance. The renormalization problem is treated in a very lucid way. The derivation of the Ward identities is very simple and amusing. High energy limits are treated in the Landau style, and well complements the more formal derivations based on the renormalization group. No book presents as many applications of quantum electrodynamics as this one, except perhaps, the old and dated book by Heitler.

I was a bit sceptical when I first approached this book but after the first few pages I was immersed in the wonderful theories presented by the author. The only reason that it does not recieve 5 stars is due to the fact that the author often times veers wildly off of the subject matter. A great read for History buffs with open minds.

This book was a pleasure to read. I want to learn more about Egypt after reading it. It includes notes and a bibliography-- very helpful for anyone planning to do more research. I highly recommend this book.

As an avid student of lost civilization and technology, I truly appreciated this entertaining yet serious book. It effectively discards conventional "knowledge", places in front of the reader a variety of mind-bending mysteries regarding ancient Egypt, and then proposes plausible and exciting answers. The book efficiently covers a lot of territory. It left me wanting more information on some subjects but provided ideas about further study, including the author's other books, which I have ordered and look forward to devouring soon. This was a all-in-all a very satisfying read for this lover of lost knowledge.

John Bardeen was one of the most important and prolific physicists of the twentieth century, on par with the likes of Niels Bohr and Richard Feynman, but the general public hardly knows his name. In this eloquent and entertaining biography, Lillian Hoddeson and Vicki Daitch capture the true essence of this quiet, gentle genius. They bring forth aspects of the warm, genuiune man behind the science that gave humanity the transistor and solved the almost intractable problem of superconductivity. Bardeen was a giant of 20th century science, and "True Genius" is the definitive story of his life.

I should really write two reviews. One with a rating of four stars, and one with five. Then the average will be 4.5, which I feel is the right rating. I have only two complaints. First, the discussion of minority carrier injection was not clear to me. I went back to the April 1992 issue of "Physics Today." There, the discussion is done just right,the importance of holes is clear. Second, the issue of "genius" and it's identification and cultivation in chapter 17 did not appeal to me. In my opinion, if we were to conclude with a jumping off point from Bardeen's life, it would be to address the question "why is he so unknown today?" That would have been a good epilogue. It's a good question. In W. H. Cropper's book "Great Physicists: etc." Bardeen is not mentioned. A real shame. Bardeen easily ranks with the physicists in that book.

But there really is so much to enjoy in this book. Although born in Wisconsin, and not Minnesota, Bardeen would have been so comfortable in Garrison Keillor's world. Bardeen seems straight out of Lake Wobegone and names like Clarence Bunsen and Florian Krebsbach kept coming to mind. Here was a loyal, moral, dedicated man, focused on his life and work, but needing few words to talk about it. Together with Brattain and Schockley (sort of), Bardeen invents the transistor, comes home to his wife, who is cooking dinner, and says to her, "we discovered something today." Wife Jane says, "that's great." After unraveling one of the greatest puzzles in all of physics, Bardeen says to Charles Slichter, "well, I think we've figured out superconductivity." Wonderful, News from Lake Wobegone stuff. (Hoddeson and Daitch's discussion of superconductivity is quite good, by the way.)

But that's the fun part. In the physics world, there are so few Bardeens. Not just in terms of intellect, but also in terms of generosity, humility, broad and inclusive vision, and overall respect and like for colleagues. I particularly liked the relationship between Bardeen and Brattain. Some physicists can only work alone, but for those who prefer collaboration, finding a partner like Brattain makes every workday fun and exciting.

Chapter 15 on Bardeen's work with charge density waves was also interesting, if dark. This chapter is an important lesson to those who believe science is the absolute collection of truths and facts. In reality, science is filled with that we do not understand and, as a result, consists of differing opinions and views, just like any other field. It was disheartening, but realistic, I feel, to read that disagreement can also include hurtful disrespect from colleagues/competitors, but Bardeen always maintained the highest levels of professionalism.

It was also disheartening to read in the acknowledgements that Betsy Bardeen Greytak had passed away. ...P>Other than physicsits, I'm not sure what audience will appreciate this book. But it will be interesting for all those, like myself, who have read, enjoyed, and mostly understood the "popular" Richard Feynman books and biographies.

I read the brief "Publishers Weekly" review for True Genius, as well as the more cryptic but more positive comments of others. From the very first sentence I knew that the "Publishers Weekly" review would be superficial, and maybe even wrong, which then is of what help to a reader and potential book customer? Living in the U.S. democracy, how can we not be curious and not read about the Founders? Similarly, how can we be immersed in all the new electronics (computers, cell phones, DVD and CD machines, MRI's, digital machinery---in fact, Si here, Si there, Si everywhere) and not be curious about how all this happened, what sort of ingenious mind, or minds, might be at the beginning of it all? Imagine the calamity on the planet if the transistor vanished for a day. Does that help in understanding the scale of a Bardeen, of "True Genius"! I knew John Bardeen for 40 years (as my teacher, friend, colleague) and still I learned something further from Hoddeson and Daitch and the material they unearthed for "True Genius", a fascinating biography (a different kind of story). Hoddeson and Daitch do not disappoint in their biography of Bardeen and in elucidating over many chapters his kind of genius, which "Publishers Weekly" doesn't seem to appreciate. Genius is a diamond of many facets, and Hoddeson and Daitch reveal a Bardeen facet. It isn't the last chapter of "True Genius" that matters. It's the whole book, all the chapters, that reveal an American hero---if you will, a genius.

Nick Holonyak, Jr.
John Bardeen Chair Professor of
Electrical and Computer
Engineering and Physics, and
Center for Advanced Study
Professor of Electrical and
Computer Engineering
University of Illinois
Urbana, IL

I think that everyone involved in study properties of semicondutors like GaAs and others should got this book. It's a good reference too. Obrigatory for Physicists that treat with Semiconductors! Fabio M. de S. Lima

First - it is an extremely well written book. In spite of being more than a decade old for a field that is very rapidly evolving, it provides the most comprehensive introduction to the field. The writing is lucid, and the quantum mechanical results are very clearly stated and derived before being used. That is a boon to a graduate student like me, since I can depend on it everytime I need to really understand heterostructure physics. One thing that is sorely missed in the book is an index at the end, which would make it much easier to be used for reference.

We have used this text for our 5th-year undergraduate course in Semiconductor Quantum Heterostructures in Electrical Engineering in Belgrade. The book clearly covers all the theoretical apects of the problem through the full derivations of all needed formulae. However, it lacks the applications, but anyway this is excellent, self contained, comprehensive theoretical intro to the field. Prerequests some standard undergraduate quantm mechanics, solid state physics and electromagnetics.

There is a tendency nowadays, especially if you are at Harvard, to think of a physicist as someone who only works on group-theoretical notions and topological structures in particle physics and cosmology, with everything else that looks something like physics to be worked on by crude, practical people in a electrical engineering department. This book, however, which was developed by a professor at Harvard's neighbor MIT, obviously has the attitude that the solution of partial differential equations applied to idealized (and therefore analytically solvable) problems in electromagnetic theory is still exciting physics. As such, this book belongs in the same class as Sommerfeld's "Electrodynamics" and Stratton's "Electromagnetic Theory." It is clearly written with good problem sets and covers enough material for a beginning graduate course. The units used are Gaussian, which makes for a better discussion of relativistic concepts. The mathematics used includes contour integrals, Green functions, and Hankel functions. At first sight, the author's use of only E and B and never D and H may come across as the fanaticism of the ultra-pure physicist. On the contrary, it makes for a clearer discussion of the boundary-value problem at the interface of continuous polarized and magnetic media.

This is a great book! The treatment is accessible and the section on electrostatics is outstanding in comparison with many other books. The author goes out of his way to both explain the subject in detail and to share his rather obvious enjoyment of the subject. This is another case of "if you read all these books then you will know electrodynamics". Not everything is here but it is a great supplemental text and reference. I don't know if anyone is using it as a single textbook for a course however. For the practical physicist in solid state, optics, electrodynamics, etc. this is a must have.

I have been using Demar's Standard Textbook of Electricity for the past five years. This book is our primary text for the first three months of a 10 month, 5 days per week, 7 hours per day Industrial Electricity Course. Student feedback is uniformly positive.

Excellent textbook. Presented in a textbook format with plenty of pictures, easy to read and understand. Linear learning curve. Explains ins and outs of electronics and electricity basics, easy math (no two-page formula derivations!). I found it a great resource for brushing up for my electronics tech certification. Recomend to anyone who wants to know how electricity operates, with references to real life. Straight to the point (thorough basics, and minimum fuss).

As an engineering student at the University of Kentucky, I took Clayton Paul's EMC class using this book as a text. I took it as a senior elective, but the class was about 50/50 undergrad/grad students (just to give you an idea of the book's intended level).

Several years later as a working engineer in the telecom industry, I still keep and occasionally use Paul's book as reference. EMC isn't something I face that often, but this book is ideal for someone like me who only has to deal with it maybe three or four times a year. With a pretty good engineering and math background, you should have no trouble getting what you need from this book. I recommend it.

But, yes, it does contain quite a few errors. Most of them are just annoying grammatical mistakes, but there are also a handful of technical ones I've found as well. Still, most are obvious enough that they won't steer you in any wrong directions, so don't worry about that. They don't diminish the book's usefulness.

This book is excellent. The author has the unique ability to cover the subject in great detail including all the theory, but yet make the reading very easy and enjoyable. I was amazed that I could read 750 pages of advanced and new material in a few weeks. The book unfortunately has many errors and typos which prevents me from giving it 5 stars.

Starting first with the negatives, of which they are four. First, do not be fooled by the title word "introduction." This is NOT a book for beginners, but rather senior engineers. If you are new to EMC this is not the book for you. Second, information relative to FCC/CE requirements is dated. Also, some tests relative to CE compliance are not covered. Third, though there are many diagrams, there are almost no pictures. In many cases I found a picture, as opposed to a diagram would have been far more explanatory. Lastly (though it does not bother me in the least, but I thought you would like to know), the book has numerous typos through out its 752 pages.

Ahhhhhh, but what the book is, IS ABSOLUTLY WONDERFUL! As an experienced design consultant, I found information in this book that I have not, and could not find anywhere else. The author has A COMMAND of the subject and it shows. Compared to my peers, I consider myself fairly well versed in the subject of EMC as it pertains to design and debug, but I took a back seat when reading. It was useful even re-reading the things I already knew. The author always offered a new insight. Funny, but after I finished (and it took a while to read) my first thought was "I would really like to meet this guy - to personally request a sequel." For what it is, THIS BOOK IS EXCELLENT, well worth the asking price.

C'est un bon livre mais seulement pour ceux qui ne connaissent rien de l'électronique de base. Il comporte les notions de base de l'électronique comme, la loi d'ohm, CC, Ca, resistor serie, parallèle, relay, diode etc dédier à l'automobile. Les illustrations son bonnes. C'est une livre d'apprentissage. Beaucoup de questions et réponses. Ce livre ne parle pas beaucoup d'injection. Il est en noire et blanc.
Dans sa catégorie, C'est un très bon livre d'initiation.

This book takes everything you need to know about automotive electrical systems and puts it into casual yet informative and respectable language. Full of diagrams and pictures it walks you through Electronics. From the standpoint of a Automotive Professor this book teaches you like a beginner, not as if you were an expert like many other books. It has saved so much money and time. You won't regret it!

This automotive electric book is one full of information in a way that is easy for its readers and learners to understand. It provides in accurate detail much information towards the processes and steps to learning automotive electric. The author has done an extremely tremendous job explaining and providing his knowledge towards this subject.