James Maxwell (1831-1879
James Maxwell was a true genius and made several contributions to the scientific community. Indirectly, he made a significant contribution to the area of relativity. His equations for electromagnetic waves helped to aid the future work of Hendrik Lorentz.
James Maxwell was born on June 13, 1831 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Maxwell showed an early understanding and love for the field of mathematics. In fact, he can be classified as one of the most brilliant mathematicians of all time. He lost his mother at the early age of eight. It was the original thoughts of his parents that he would be educated at home by them. He composed his first formal paper at the age of fourteen and it was entitled "On the description of oval curves, and those having a plurality of foci." This paper was presented to the Royal Society and it was well received. However, at the age of sixteen, James attended the Edinburgh Academy. While he attended the college, Maxwell was given the nickname "Dafty." In 1854, James graduated with a degree in mathematics from Trinity College and also received a fellowship there. He was the first person to establish the three color model of ordinary vision and hence became the first person to create the world's first ever color photo. In April of 1856, Maxwell became the chairman at Marischal College. A few months later he accepted a professorial position in Aberdeen. In 1857, Maxwell competed for and won the Adam's Prize on the subject of the motion of the rings of Saturn. He proved that the rings are not solid, but are made of several tiny, rocky particles. In 1860, James took the position of chairman of Natural Philosophy at King's College in London. Maxwell was always respected by his students and thought to be a fine professor. In addition, he was recognized publicly as one of the wisest men of that time. In 1866, he helped to develop a theory of gases that showed that the movement of molecules was the root cause for heat and for temperature. This theory is now called the Maxwell-Boltzmann kinetic theory of gases. James Maxwell died on November 5, 1879 in Cambridge, England.
Maxwell made several contributions to the scientific community, but his most important achievement was his development of the equations of electromagnetic waves that were first envisioned by Michael Faraday. His theory was presented in 1873 and was entitled "Electricity and Magnetism." His four differential equations can be summarized as the following: 1. Electric fields come from a single charge (it has definite starting and ending point at the charge itself or at infinity). 2. Neither a starting nor an ending point for a magnetic field can be located. 3. If a magnetic field is altered, then over time it will become an electric field; however, no beginning or ending points can be located since the field was not created by charges. 4. Changing an electric field will convert it into a magnetic field over time, and it will retain its looping properties. This description of electromagnetism is at once simple and complex and is one of the greatest mathematical achievements of the 19th century. Even though these four equations were not directly intended for the theory of relativity, they have made a significant contribution in the development of the theories of relativity by later mathematicians and physicists. For example, Hendrik Lorentz used a slightly modified version of Maxwell's equations in order to develop the concept of length contraction when an object is traveling near the speed of light.
Though Maxwell did not envision relativity at the time of the development of his equations describing electromagnetism, they definitely made a significant impact during the early formation of the concepts of relativity
James Maxwell was born on June 13, 1831 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Maxwell showed an early understanding and love for the field of mathematics. In fact, he can be classified as one of the most brilliant mathematicians of all time. He lost his mother at the early age of eight. It was the original thoughts of his parents that he would be educated at home by them. He composed his first formal paper at the age of fourteen and it was entitled "On the description of oval curves, and those having a plurality of foci." This paper was presented to the Royal Society and it was well received. However, at the age of sixteen, James attended the Edinburgh Academy. While he attended the college, Maxwell was given the nickname "Dafty." In 1854, James graduated with a degree in mathematics from Trinity College and also received a fellowship there. He was the first person to establish the three color model of ordinary vision and hence became the first person to create the world's first ever color photo. In April of 1856, Maxwell became the chairman at Marischal College. A few months later he accepted a professorial position in Aberdeen. In 1857, Maxwell competed for and won the Adam's Prize on the subject of the motion of the rings of Saturn. He proved that the rings are not solid, but are made of several tiny, rocky particles. In 1860, James took the position of chairman of Natural Philosophy at King's College in London. Maxwell was always respected by his students and thought to be a fine professor. In addition, he was recognized publicly as one of the wisest men of that time. In 1866, he helped to develop a theory of gases that showed that the movement of molecules was the root cause for heat and for temperature. This theory is now called the Maxwell-Boltzmann kinetic theory of gases. James Maxwell died on November 5, 1879 in Cambridge, England.
Maxwell made several contributions to the scientific community, but his most important achievement was his development of the equations of electromagnetic waves that were first envisioned by Michael Faraday. His theory was presented in 1873 and was entitled "Electricity and Magnetism." His four differential equations can be summarized as the following: 1. Electric fields come from a single charge (it has definite starting and ending point at the charge itself or at infinity). 2. Neither a starting nor an ending point for a magnetic field can be located. 3. If a magnetic field is altered, then over time it will become an electric field; however, no beginning or ending points can be located since the field was not created by charges. 4. Changing an electric field will convert it into a magnetic field over time, and it will retain its looping properties. This description of electromagnetism is at once simple and complex and is one of the greatest mathematical achievements of the 19th century. Even though these four equations were not directly intended for the theory of relativity, they have made a significant contribution in the development of the theories of relativity by later mathematicians and physicists. For example, Hendrik Lorentz used a slightly modified version of Maxwell's equations in order to develop the concept of length contraction when an object is traveling near the speed of light.
Though Maxwell did not envision relativity at the time of the development of his equations describing electromagnetism, they definitely made a significant impact during the early formation of the concepts of relativity
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