Page 15 - Engineering Electromagnetics, 8th Edition

Preface xi

As in the previous edition, the transmission lines chapter (10) is stand-alone,
and can be read or covered in any part of a course, including the beginning. In
it, transmission lines are treated entirely within the context of circuit theory; wave
phenomena are introduced and used exclusively in the form of voltages and cur-
rents. Inductance and capacitance concepts are treated as known parameters, and
so there is no reliance on any other chapter. Field concepts and parameter com-
putation in transmission lines appear in the early part of the waveguides chapter
(13), where they play additional roles of helping to introduce waveguiding con-
cepts. The chapters on electromagnetic waves, 11 and 12, retain their independence
of transmission line theory in that one can progress from Chapter 9 directly to
Chapter 11. By doing this, wave phenomena are introduced from first principles
but within the context of the uniform plane wave. Chapter 11 refers to Chapter 10 in
places where the latter may give additional perspective, along with a little more detail.
Nevertheless, all necessary material to learn plane waves without previously studying
transmission line waves is found in Chapter 11, should the student or instructor wish
to proceed in that order.
The new chapter on antennas covers radiation concepts, building on the retarded
potential discussion in Chapter 9. The discussion focuses on the dipole antenna,
individually and in simple arrays. The last section covers elementary transmit-receive
systems, again using the dipole as a vehicle.
The book is designed optimally for a two-semester course. As is evident, statics
concepts are emphasized and occur first in the presentation, but again Chapter 10
(transmission lines) can be read first. In a single course that emphasizes dynamics,
the transmission lines chapter can be covered initially as mentioned or at any point in
the course. One way to cover the statics material more rapidly is by deemphasizing
materials properties (assuming these are covered in other courses) and some of the
advanced topics. This involves omitting Chapter 1 (assigned to be read as a review),
and omitting Sections 2.5, 2.6, 4.7, 4.8, 5.5–5.7, 6.3, 6.4, 6.7, 7.6, 7.7, 8.5, 8.6, 8.8,
8.9, and 9.5.
A supplement to this edition is web-based material consisting of the afore-
mentioned articles on special topics in addition to animated demonstrations and
interactive programs developed by Natalya Nikolova of McMaster University and
Vikram Jandhyala of the University of Washington. Their excellent contributions
are geared to the text, and icons appear in the margins whenever an exercise that
pertains to the narrative exists. In addition, quizzes are provided to aid in further
study.
The theme of the text is the same as it has been since the first edition of 1958.
An inductive approach is used that is consistent with the historical development. In
it, the experimental laws are presented as individual concepts that are later unified
in Maxwell’s equations. After the first chapter on vector analysis, additional math-
ematical tools are introduced in the text on an as-needed basis. Throughout every
edition, as well as this one, the primary goal has been to enable students to learn
independently. Numerous examples, drill problems (usually having multiple parts),
end-of-chapter problems, and material on the web site, are provided to facilitate this.