Electricity and Magnetism

Epilogue

In this volume we’ve undertaken a thorough survey of classical electromagnetism, culmi-

nating in Maxwell’s Equations.

Having begun with the physical existence of electric charge and the empirical properties

of the Coulombic interaction between static charges, we were led to introduce the electric

field and its associated potential. Gauss’s Law for Electric Fields emerged from the

analysis of special cases, while the fieldline perspective, along with heuristic arguments,

assured us of its generality. With the introduction of capacitance, it became necessary to

regard the electric field as a physical object, rather than a mere formal construction, ...