Maxwell's Equations

   , MAXWELX'S LAW

   Although the name James Clerk Maxwell is not well-known today, he made remarkable contributions to the electromagnetic theory, known a Maxwell's Equations and Maxwell's Law. Through his keen knowledge of mathematics he unlocked some of the mysteries of nature. He is credited with having formulated the modern theory of electricity. Maxwell (1831-1879) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was educated at Edinburgh University and at Trinity College, Cambridge University. He taught natural philosophy at some universities, and later became the first professor of experimental physics at Cambridge.

   His studies led him to conclude that electromagnetic waves could be produced. He also determined that light waves are electromagnetic and not mechanical, as had been believed. He published his Theory of Heat in 1871 and his great work Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism in 1873. Few scientists at that time were able to follow his thinking, but it is now recognized as the foundation of modern electromagnetic theory, and Maxwell as one of the greatest theoretical physicists of all time. His interest in color and vision led him to demonstrate that different colors on a moving top blended together when the top was spun. His mathematical studies of the motion of molecules in gas proved that all molecules do not move at the same speed.

   Maxwell is best known for a unit of magnetic flux called the maxwell. A maxwell is a unit equal to the flux perpendicularly intersecting an area of one square centimeter in a region where the magnetic induction is one gauss.