James Clerk Maxwell (1831–79) was a Scottish theoretical physicist and mathematician who developed the electromagnetic radiation theory. His “second great unification in physics” brought together for the first time electricity, magnetism, and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon. His work paved the way for Albert Einstein and Max Planck.
Born in Edinburgh, Maxwell created a method for drawing oval curves at age 15, which the Royal Society of Edinburgh published. He studied mathematics, physics, and moral philosophy at Edinburgh and later graduated as Second Wrangler from Cambridge. He was appointed professor of natural philosophy at Marischal College-Aberdeen University (1856) and King’s College London (1860.)
In 1871 Maxwell became the first Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics at Cambridge, where he established the Cavendish Laboratory. He published papers on the kinetic theory of gases, theoretically discovered the character of Saturn’s rings (1857,) examined color perception, and proved color photography with a picture of tartan ribbon (1861.)
Maxwell worked on the theory of electromagnetic radiation. His Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism (1873) treated Michael Faraday’s theory of electrical and magnetic forces mathematically and provided the first conclusive evidence that light consisted of electromagnetic waves. He suggested that electromagnetic waves could be generated in a laboratory, as Heinrich Hertz later confirmed in 1887.
Maxwell also wrote Theory of Heat (1872.) Maxwell’s original papers are collected in The Scientific Papers of James Clerk Maxwell (2 vols., 1890.) Notable biographies include Lewis Campbell and William Garnett’s The Life of James Clerk Maxwell (1882) and Geophysicist Ivan Tolstoy’s James Clerk Maxwell (1982.)
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by James Clerk Maxwell
I have read up many queer religions; and there is nothing like the old thing, after all. I have looked, into the most philosophical systems, and have found none that will work without a God.
—James Clerk Maxwell
Topics: God
Thoroughly conscious ignorance is the prelude to every real advance in science.
—James Clerk Maxwell
Cynics are made, not born.
—James Clerk Maxwell
In every branch of knowledge the progress is proportional to the amount of facts on which to build, and therefore to the facility of obtaining data.
—James Clerk Maxwell
The only laws of matter are those that our minds must fabricate and the only laws of mind are fabricated for it by matter.
—James Clerk Maxwell
Topics: Lawyers, Law
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