Chris D White – författare

Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental forces in nature, and underlies almost everything we experience in our daily lives, whether we realise it or not. The complete theory was first written down in the late 19th century, and remains an essential part of a scientific education. The mathematics behind the theory, however, can be intimidatingly complex. Furthermore, it is not always clear to beginners why the theory is either useful or interesting, nor how it relates to modern research in theoretical physics.The aim of this book is to guide students towards a detailed understanding of the full theory of electromagnetism, including its practical applications. Later chapters introduce more modern formulations of the theory than are found in traditional undergraduate courses, thus bridging the gap between a first course in electromagnetism, and the advanced concepts needed for further study in physics. The final chapter reviews exciting current research stating that possible theories of (quantum) gravity may be much more closely related to electromagnetism than previously thought.Throughout the book, an informal conversational style is used to demystify intimidating concepts. Relevant mathematical ideas are introduced in a self-contained manner, and exercises are provided with full solutions to aid understanding. This book is essential reading for anyone undertaking a physics degree, but will also be of interest to engineers and chemists.

Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental forces in nature, and underlies almost everything we experience in our daily lives, whether we realise it or not. The complete theory was first written down in the late 19th century, and remains an essential part of a scientific education. The mathematics behind the theory, however, can be intimidatingly complex. Furthermore, it is not always clear to beginners why the theory is either useful or interesting, nor how it relates to modern research in theoretical physics.The aim of this book is to guide students towards a detailed understanding of the full theory of electromagnetism, including its practical applications. Later chapters introduce more modern formulations of the theory than are found in traditional undergraduate courses, thus bridging the gap between a first course in electromagnetism, and the advanced concepts needed for further study in physics. The final chapter reviews exciting current research stating that possible theories of (quantum) gravity may be much more closely related to electromagnetism than previously thought.Throughout the book, an informal conversational style is used to demystify intimidating concepts. Relevant mathematical ideas are introduced in a self-contained manner, and exercises are provided with full solutions to aid understanding. This book is essential reading for anyone undertaking a physics degree, but will also be of interest to engineers and chemists.

What is our universe made of? How did it get here, and how will it end? Why are many scientists currently so excited about these questions? And why is everybody else so scared of the one subject – physics – that promises to give us all the answers?This book is here to help. Its main aim is to explain a remarkable new idea that has arisen in recent years, that tells us all of our current theories of nature are much more closely related than previously thought possible. It will tell you where these theories come from, why understanding them has traditionally been so difficult, and about the tantalising new hints that our understanding of nature is about to significantly change.More than this, the book will explain quite why it is so important that more people join the greatest pursuit of knowledge that our species has ever seen. Practical advice is given on how to become a scientist, so that people from all backgrounds may be inspired to become the leading thinkers of the future.

Our current understanding of nature is in terms of matter that is acted on by forces. There are four fundamental forces, of which three are described by so-called gauge theories, a type of quantum field theory. The fourth force, gravity, is best described by general relativity, and our traditional ways of thinking about gauge theories and gravity look completely different from each other.In recent years, an exciting new correspondence called the "double copy" has emerged, which suggests that the above theories may be much more closely related than previously thought. Inspired by previous work in string theory, it originated in the study of how particles interact, but has since been generalised to show that many gravitational quantities can be simply obtained by recycling simpler gauge theory results. This has significant practical applications — such as new calculational tools for astrophysics — but is also of conceptual importance, in suggesting that our current ways of thinking about fundamental physics are hiding a vast underlying structure.This book reviews our current theories of fundamental physics, before describing in detail how the double copy was discovered, how it can be applied to different types of object in gauge or gravity theory, and what its current and future applications are. No prior knowledge of quantum field theory or string theory is assumed, such that the book will be of interest to a broad audience of physicists and mathematicians.