This short monograph presents the theory of electromagnetic pulses in a simple and physical way. All pulses discussed are exact solutions of the Maxwell equations, and have finite energy, momentum and angular momentum. There are five chapters: on Fundamentals, Solutions of the Wave Equation, Electromagnetic Pulses, Angular Momentum, and Lorentz Transformations. Nine Appendices cover mathematical or associated aspects, such as chiral measures of electromagnetic fields. The subject matter is restricted to free-space classical electrodynamics, but contact is made with quantum theory in proofs that causal pulses are equivalent to superpositions of photons.

This book is written for scientists and engineers whose work involves wave reflec tion or transmission. Most of the book is written in the language of electromagnetic theory, but, as the title suggests, many of the results can be applied to particle waves, specifically to those satisfying the Schr6dinger equation. The mathematical connection between electromagnetic s (or TE) waves and quantum particle waves is established in Chapter 1. The main results for s waves are translated into quantum mechanical language in the Appendix. There is also a close analogy between acoustic waves and electromagnetic p (or TM) waves, as shown in Section 1-4. Thus the book, though primarily intended for those working in optics, microwaves and radio, will be of use to physicists, chemists and electrical engineers studying reflection and transmission of particles at potential barriers. The tech niques developed here can also be used by those working in acoustics, ocean ography and seismology. Chapter 1 is recommended for all readers: it introduces reflection phenomena, defines the notation, and previews (in Section 1-6) the contents of the rest of the book. This preview will not be duplicated here. We note only that applied topics do appear: two examples are the important phenomenon of attenuated total reflection in Chapter 8, and the reflectivity of multilayer dielectric mirrors in Chapter 12. The subject matter is restricted to linear classical electrodynamics in non-magnetic media, and the corresponding particle analogues.

The propagation of waves along and across the boundary between two media with different characteristic velocities is much more complicated when the source is on or near the boundary than when it is far away and the incident waves are plane. Examples of waves generated by localized sources near a boundary are the electromagnetic waves from the currents in a dipole on the surface of the earth and the seismic waves from a slip event in a fault in the earth's crust like the San Andreas fault in California. Both involve a type of surface wave that is called a lateral wave in electro magnetics and a head wave in seismology. Since the two are analogous and the latter is more easily visualized, it is conveniently used here to introduce and describe this important type of surface wave using the data of Y. Ben Zion and P. Malin ("San Andreas Fault Zone Head Waves Near Parkfield, CA," Science 251, 1592-1594, 29 March 1991).

This book reviews basic electromagnetic (EM) wave theory and applies it specifically to lasers in order to give the reader not only tangible examples of how the theory is manifested in real life, but also practical knowledge about lasers, and their operation and usage. The latter can be useful for those involved with using lasers. As a short treatise on this subject matter, this book is not intended to dwell deeply into the details of EM waves nor lasers. A bibliography is provided for those who wish to explore in more depth the topics covered in this book. Rather the aim of this book is to offer a quick overview, which will allow the reader to gain a competent general understanding of EM waves and lasers.