Field Theory For The Non-Physicist (The Modern Physics Series)

This book continues Ville's discussion of the Conceptual Foundation of Advance Physics, and as with the previous volume on Lagrangian Mechanics for the Non physicist, it is a volume a long time coming. The book is shorter than the previous volume but covers a great deal of territory. If you have gotten this far, you will understand these volumes are substantial and written for those who either want to understand advanced physics better or are planning on a career in this discipline. Their significant contribution is they can you a fair fighting chance of doing so. Simply put, Field Theories represent a stunning achievement by Physicists and as such, no easy introduction is realistically possible. Ville's volume is the clearest explanation I have found which means he does not seek to minimize the challenges, but presents it in a systematic manner which gives you a fighting chance to grasp the materials. You will learn a lot on your first reading, even if you are only absorbing 50% of the details. I, for one, am looking forward to my next pass. The organization of the material has been well mapped out, and the concepts are consistently presented within that organization. If understanding field theories is of interest to you, you need to have these books in your library. They are reasonably priced and exceptionally priced, given their content.

The title may draw more purchases by non-physicists, but let's be clear --- this book is best suited for physicists. It is not a physics textbook, however. This book goes through derivations step-by-step in a manner that a physics textbook wouldn't. It can be very useful for a student getting prepared to take a first course in Field theory. You should come away with a solid foundation that prepares you for more advanced material. The one danger is this ---- don't get comfortable with and dependent upon the spoon-fed approach of this book. You'll soon be expected to complete derivations yourself, as well as to work difficult end-of-chapter problems, of which this book has none. But, hey, if you successfully got through this author's Lagrangian Mechanics book, you are ready for this great Field Theory book!

At age 80, I have had to play catch up with much of physics. In the 50’s and 60’s field theory simply was not being taught in public schools. Fortunately, I learned calculus in college. This book supplied the missing pieces. It has changed my view of the Universe.

The presentation is clear and straightforward that allows the reader to grasp essential concepts and calculations. The result is a sense of understanding that regular textbooks often fail to deliver.

Contenido de lectura muy bien desarrollado y de fácil entendimiento para los no físicos. Otro muy buen trabajo del autor.

The title of this book is "Field Theory for the Non-Physicist". What is should be called is "Field Theory for the Non-Physicist Mathematician". On the fourth page of chapter 1, the author is introducing the concept of Lagrangians and Lagrangian Fields - heavy topics in integral calculus. Shortly thereafter he is introducing Lorentz Transformations and Lorentz Invariance. The book quickly becomes unreadable for the non-mathematician.

An exceptional book! The author has taken great care of presenting field theory from scratch!

Clear, comprehensive book on field theory.

A very good book, very clear

The several examples and step by step derivations, together with explicitly explaining the definitions used make the book invaluable for self learning, a must read!

This is a very good book, it is well structured and well written. If you are not an expert in Field Theory, it gives a good insight to what Field Theory is all about. What I like is, that all derivations from A to B are shown in detail and easy to follow, and long calculations are shown in the back of the book. Some knowledge of mathematics and classical physics is required by the reader, but the book is easy to read and can be recommended to others.

Me ha gustado mucho el libro. El formato es similar al anterior del mismo autor sobre mecánica lagrangiana. No se escatima en espacio lo que facilita la lectura ( especialmente las ecuaciones que no gusta ver apelmazadas y con letra pequeña ). Sigue una sistemática en forma de diálogo con el lector, con exposición, auto preguntas y respuestas. La lectura es casi adictiva, debido principalmente a la extraordinaria capacidad de V. Hirvonen para interrelacionar diferentes puntos de vista sobre el mismo ítem matemático/ físico. Las demostraciones se siguen bien, sin sensación de dar gato por liebre. No he visto errores tipográficos. En cuanto a si se puede leer con independencia de su libro anterior, creo que sí (tiene un apéndice explicativo breve), pero habría que tener una cierta base en mecánica lagrangiana. De cualquier manera es recomendable leerlo también. Son libros muy entretenidos para el lector interesado.

It is a beautiful book but to fully appreciate it one should also be aware of the Lagranzians, another of his books. Both of them are written with the same style and the field theories follow the langrazians in a natural way. He explains everything: Noether's Theorem, Symmetries (internal, spacetime), the energy-momentum tensor, angular momentum tensor. He begins with Klein-Gordon theory (scalar) and then with the Maxwell and Proca vector field field. He explains polarizations. And then he passes to gauge theories. What is gauge, gauge fixing, degrees of freedom, Lorenz Gauge, Gauge Invariant Energy Momentum Tensor. Having explained well all these fundamental notions he goes on combining particles and field Langrazians, interacting field theories, perturbation theory, Particles @ Feynman Diagrams, Massless and Massive fields, Higgs Mechanism. There are even more points in the book. And the unique style of it is that it fights the fears. It is just saying "here I am and I will make sure that every time you finish a chapter you will have understood it. I don't let you go otherwise" The passage from one concept to the other is smooth and unhurried. It looks like a friendly conversation about normal things. And he is a master at doing this. Being a self learner it is a pity that I discovered the book so late because I would have saved myself from a lot of trouble and waste of time.