01 / Reading Guide
Reading Guide
Citation
Hayt, W. H., & Buck, J. A. (2018). Engineering Electromagnetics (9th ed.). McGraw Hill.
Chapter Summary
The book has fourteen chapters followed by six appendices. The order is the traditional one for an engineering field course: static electric fields, static magnetic fields, time-varying fields and Maxwell's equations, then transmission lines, waves and radiation. The publisher describes it as a text that stresses fundamental concepts and problem solving, with many illustrations, analogies, examples and problems.
Chapter 1: Vector Analysis
The opening chapter supplies the vector tools the later chapters depend on. Appendix A, also titled "Vector Analysis", sits at the back of the book.
Chapters 2–4: Coulomb's Law and Electric Field Intensity; Electric Flux Density, Gauss' Law, and Divergence; Energy and Potential
Three chapters develop electrostatics. They move from Coulomb's law and the electric field to flux density, Gauss' law and divergence, and then to energy and potential.
Chapters 5–6: Conductors and Dielectrics; Capacitance
Materials enter the static electric field here: conductors and dielectrics, followed by capacitance.
Chapters 7–8: The Steady Magnetic Field; Magnetic Forces, Materials and Inductance
The magnetic counterpart of the electrostatic sequence: the steady magnetic field first, then forces, magnetic materials and inductance.
Chapter 9: Time-Varying Fields and Maxwell's Equations
Time-varying fields lead to the full set of Maxwell's equations.
Chapters 10–13: Transmission Lines; The Uniform Plane Wave; Plane Wave Reflection and Dispersion; Guided Waves
Transmission lines come before plane waves in this order. The uniform plane wave is followed by reflection and dispersion, and then by guided waves.
Chapter 14: Electromagnetic Radiation and Antennas
The publisher highlights this chapter, which covers the basic principles of radiation, wire antennas, simple arrays and transmit-receive systems.
Appendices
The appendices cover vector analysis, units, material constants and the uniqueness theorem, and give answers to odd-numbered problems.
Key Concepts
Chapters 1–6: Static electric fields
- Vector analysis: the vector tools used throughout the book, set out in Chapter 1 and Appendix A.
- Coulomb's law and Gauss' law: two routes to the electric field and flux density.
- Energy and potential: the scalar description of the electrostatic field.
- Conductors, dielectrics and capacitance: how materials modify the static electric field.
Chapters 7–9: Magnetic and time-varying fields
- The steady magnetic field: the magnetic field of steady currents.
- Magnetic forces, materials and inductance: forces on currents, magnetic materials and inductance.
- Maxwell's equations: the time-varying field equations introduced in Chapter 9.
Chapters 10–14: Lines, waves and radiation
- Transmission lines: the subject of Chapter 10.
- Uniform plane waves, reflection and dispersion: wave propagation in Chapters 11 and 12.
- Guided waves: Chapter 13.
- Radiation and antennas: Chapter 14.
Critical Analysis
Strengths
- Fundamental concepts first. The publisher describes the book as stressing fundamental concepts and problem solving in an understandable and readable way, and the chapter order reflects it: vector tools come first, then statics, then time-varying fields and waves.
- Support for independent study. The publisher points to numerous illustrations and analogies for difficult concepts, and to many examples and problems. Appendix F gives answers to odd-numbered problems, so a student can check work without an instructor.
- Complete arc from fields to antennas. One volume runs from vector analysis to radiation and antennas, with transmission lines and guided waves in between.
Limitations
- Late arrival of waves. Ten of the fourteen chapters precede the uniform plane wave (Chapter 11), and guided waves and antennas are the last two chapters. A one-semester course may not reach them, and a course that needs waves early has to skip ahead.
- Mathematical start. Chapter 1 and Appendix A are devoted to vector analysis, and the electrostatics chapters rely on it from the start. Readers need to be comfortable with vector calculus before beginning.
- Answers only to odd-numbered problems. Self-checking is limited to half of the problems.
Where It Fits in the Course
This is the one book in this circuits and electronics course devoted to electromagnetic fields; the others concentrate on circuit analysis, electronic devices and digital hardware. Storey's Electronics: A Systems Approach and Fundamentals of Electric Circuits come first for circuit analysis, and Agarwal and Lang's Foundations of Analog and Digital Electronic Circuits and Microelectronics: An Integrated Approach develop circuits and semiconductor devices. Hayt and Buck supplies the electromagnetic foundation that those books do not, and its chapter on transmission lines is the natural bridge from circuit theory to waves. Practical Electronics for Inventors is a hands-on companion, and Computer Organization and Design belongs to the digital-hardware side of the course.
How to Use This Book
The book suits students who have taken calculus-based physics with electricity and magnetism and who know multivariable and vector calculus and basic differential equations. Read it in order through at least Chapter 9, since each chapter relies on the one before. Chapters 1 to 4 are the core of electrostatics; Chapters 5 and 6 and Chapters 7 and 8 extend the static theory to materials and magnetism.
Chapter 10 on transmission lines is a useful early read for students taking circuit courses in parallel. Chapters 12 to 14 can be chosen according to the course: reflection and dispersion for wave behaviour, guided waves for waveguides, radiation and antennas for communications. Work the odd-numbered problems first and check them against Appendix F. Keep Appendix B (units) and Appendix C (material constants) at hand as reference tables, and use Chapter 1 together with Appendix A as a refresher on vector analysis before the electrostatics chapters begin.