Physicist, born in Edinburgh, EC Scotland, UK. He studied at Edinburgh and Cambridge, became professor at Aberdeen (1856) and London (1860), and was the first professor of experimental physics at Cambridge (1871), where he organized the Cavendish Laboratory. In 1873 he published his great Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, which gives a mathematical treatment to Faraday's theory of electrical and magnetic forces. He also contributed to the study of colour vision, and to the kinetic theory of gases, but his greatest work was his theory of electromagnetic radiation, which established him as the leading theoretical physicist of the century.
| James Clerk Maxwell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
13 June 1831 Edinburgh |
| Died |
5 November 1879 Cambridge |
James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematical physicist, born in Edinburgh. Maxwell formulated a set of equations expressing the basic laws of electricity and magnetism and developed the Maxwell distribution in the kinetic theory of gases.
Maxwell had one of the finest mathematical minds of any theoretical physicist of his time. In 1931, on the centennial anniversary of Maxwell's birthday, Einstein described Maxwell's work as the "most profound and the most fruitful that physics has experienced since the time of Newton."
Algebraic mathematics with elements of geometry are a feature of much of Maxwell's work.
Biography
Early life and education
Maxwell was born at 14 India Street, Edinburgh, Scotland. Everything that moved, shone, or made a noise drew the question:
Maxwell's early education was provided by his Christian mother and included studying the Bible. In 1845, at the age of 14, Maxwell wrote a paper describing mechanical means of drawing mathematical curves with a piece of twine.
Middle years
In 1847, Maxwell attended the University of Edinburgh studying natural philosophy, moral philosophy, and mental philosophy. In 1850, Maxwell left for Cambridge University and initially attended Peterhouse, but eventually left for Trinity College where he believed it was easier to obtain a fellowship.
In 1854, Maxwell graduated with a degree as second wrangler in mathematics from Trinity (scoring second-highest in the mathematics exam) and was declared equal with the senior wrangler of his year in the higher ordeal of the Smith's prize examination. For example, Maxwell's discs, seen in the photograph above, were used to compare a variable mixture of three primary colours with a sample colour by observating the spinning "colour top." In 1856, Maxwell was appointed to the chair of Natural Philosophy in Marischal College, Aberdeen, which he held until the fusion of the two colleges there in 1860.
Kinetic theory
One of Maxwell's greatest investigations was on the kinetic theory of gases. but it received enormous development from Maxwell, who in this field appeared as an experimenter (on the laws of gaseous friction) as well as a mathematician.
In 1865, Maxwell moved to the estate he inherited from his father in Glenlair, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. Maxwell's work on thermodynamics led him to devise the thought experiment that came to be known as Maxwell's demon.
Electromagnetism
The greatest work of Maxwell's life was devoted to electricity. Maxwell's most important contribution was the extension and mathematical formulation of earlier work on electricity and magnetism by Michael Faraday, André-Marie Ampère, and others into a linked set of differential equations (originally, 20 equations in 20 variables, later re-expressed in quaternion and vector-based notations). These equations, which are now collectively known as Maxwell's equations (or occasionally, "Maxwell's Wonderful Equations"), were first presented to the Royal Society in 1864, and together describe the behaviour of both the electric and magnetic fields, as well as their interactions with matter.
Furthermore, Maxwell showed that the equations predict waves of oscillating electric and magnetic fields that travel through empty space at a speed that could be predicted from simple electrical experiments—using the data available at the time, Maxwell obtained a velocity of 310,740,000 m/s. Maxwell (1865) wrote:
Maxwell proved correct, and his quantitative connection between light and electromagnetism is considered one of the great triumphs of 19th century physics.
At that time, Maxwell believed that the propagation of light required a medium for the waves, dubbed the luminiferous aether.
Later years and afterwards
Maxwell also made contributions to the area of optics and colour vision, being credited with the discovery that colour photographs could be formed using red, green, and blue filters. The three photographic plates now reside in a small museum at 14 India Street, Edinburgh, the house where Maxwell was born.
Maxwell's work on colour blindness won him the Rumford Medal by the Royal Society of London. One of Maxwell's last great contributions to science was the editing (with copious original notes) of the Electrical Researches of Henry Cavendish, from which it appeared that Cavendish researched such questions as the mean density of the earth and the composition of water, among other things.
Maxwell married Katherine Mary Dewar when he was 27 years of age, but they had no children.
Poetry and song
As a great lover of British poetry, Maxwell memorized poems and wrote his own.
Homage
The maxwell (Mx), a compound derived CGS unit measuring magnetic flux (commonly abbreviated as f). The James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, the largest sub-mm astronomical telescope in the world, with a diameter of 15 metres. The 1977 James Clerk Maxwell building of the University of Edinburgh, housing the schools of mathematics, physics, computer science and meterology. The James Clerk Maxwell building at the Waterloo campus of King's College London, in commemoration of him being Professor of Natural Philosophy at King's from 1860 to 1865. The £4 million James Clerk Maxwell Centre of the Edinburgh Academy, opened in 2006 to mark his 175th anniversary. James Clerk Maxwell Road in Cambridge, which runs along one side of the Cavendish Laboratory. Maxwell, James Clerk, "Illustrations of the Dynamical Theory of Gases". Maxwell, James Clerk, "On Physical Lines of Force". Maxwell, James Clerk, "A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field". Maxwell, James Clerk, "On Governors".From the Proceedings of the Royal Society, No.100. Maxwell, James Clerk, "Theory of Heat". Maxwell, James Clerk, "A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism". Maxwell, James Clerk, "Molecules". Maxwell, James Clerk, "Matter and Motion", 1876. Maxwell, James Clerk, "On the Results of Bernoulli's Theory of Gases as Applied to their Internal Friction, their Diffusion, and their Conductivity for Heat". Maxwell, James Clerk, "Ether", Encyclopedia Britannica, Ninth Edition (1875-89).Honours
Maxwell was ranked #24 on Michael H.
Biographical Information
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: James Clerk Maxwell Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: James Clerk Maxwell Wikisource has original works written by or about: James Clerk Maxwell Works by James Clerk Maxwell at Project Gutenberg Campbell, Lewis, "The Life of James Clerk Maxwell". "James Clerk Maxwell". Victorian Web's Maxwell 1911 Britannica MaxwellJames Clerk Maxwell Foundation
The James Clerk Maxwell Foundation Including a virtual tour of the museum.Maxwell's 175th Anniversary
Maxwell Year 2006 Events planned to mark 175th anniversary of Clerk Maxwell's birth. James Clerk Maxwell Centre, Edinburgh Academy Opened in Maxwell's 175th anniversary year. Poetry Rigid Body Sings song lyrics by Maxwell RPO -- Selected Poetry of James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879)Maxwell - Christian/Creationist Interpretation
Maxwell and the Christian Proposition Maxwell, Molecules, and Evolution Explains the misuse of Maxwell's equations by CreationistsPhotos
http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/1_P/1_photographers_maxwell.htm - Photo's and stories from the James Clerk Maxwell Foundation. Glenlair Today Wolfram Research's MaxwellTreatise On Electricity And Magnetism - 1873 Edition
Maxwell's Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism Vols 1 & 2, and his introductory textbook on Matter and MotionOnline Readable Versions of Maxwell's 1873 Treatise
A Treatise on Electricity And Magnetism - Volume 1 - 1873 - Posner Memorial Collection - Carnegie Mellon University Treatise on Electricty and Magnetism - Vol 1. (1873 Edition) - online readable version at openlibrary.org Volume 1 - 1873 - Internet Archive Mirror A Treatise on Electricity And Magnetism - Volume 2 - 1873 - Posner Memorial Collection - Carnegie Mellon University Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism - Vol 2. (1873 Edition) - online readable version at openlibrary.org Volume 2 - 1873 - Internet Archive MirrorSupplementary Material For Understanding Maxwell's 1873 Treatise
On Quaternions, Or On A New System Of Imaginaries In Algebra by William Rowan Hamilton - PDF File An Elementary Treatise On Quaternions by Peter Guthrie Tait - Archive.org Open Library Edition Original Maxwell Equations - Maxwell's 20 Equations in 20 Unknowns - PDF A Dynamical Theory Of The Electromagnetic Field - 1865 Maxwell's 1865 paper describing his 20 Equations in 20 Unknowns - Predecessor to the 1873 Treatise| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Maxwell, James Clerk |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | mathematical physicist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 13 June 1831 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Edinburgh |
| DATE OF DEATH | 5 November 1879 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Cambridge |
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