James Clerk Maxwell

Formulated the electromagnetic field equations and predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves.

Life

Child prodigy

Maxwell was born into a landed gentry family in Edinburgh and showed mathematical talent from childhood. He studied at the University of Edinburgh and then the University of Cambridge, and in his early twenties he made his mark with work on the kinetic theory of gases and the stability of Saturn's rings, becoming widely recognized as one of the most promising young scholars of his time.

Electromagnetic field equations

He systematically developed Faraday's idea of electromagnetic lines of force and in 1865 proposed a set of equations unifying electricity, magnetism and light as one and the same electromagnetic wave phenomenon, predicting that it travels at the speed of light. He also derived the velocity distribution law in the kinetic theory of gases, and late in life became the first director of the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge.

Proven after his death

After Maxwell's death, Hertz experimentally confirmed the existence of electromagnetic waves, opening the way for radio communication, and Einstein called his work one of the most profound changes in physics since Newton. But because the form of his equations was so difficult, they were not widely understood during his lifetime and were for a time regarded as an overly abstract mathematical game.

Legacy

Maxwell unified electricity, magnetism and light. His electromagnetic field theory is regarded as the second great synthesis in physics after Newtonian mechanics; it laid the theoretical foundation for modern communication technologies such as radio and television and directly inspired the birth of the theory of relativity. His pioneering work in statistical physics was equally far-reaching. He is widely considered the most important theoretical physicist of the 19th century.

Major works & achievements

• Formulated Maxwell's equations
• Predicted electromagnetic waves and showed that light is an electromagnetic wave
• Proposed the distribution of gas molecule speeds
• A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism
• Oversaw the founding of the Cavendish Laboratory

Did you know? In 1861 he demonstrated a photograph of a tartan ribbon, which is regarded as the world's first color photograph.

Key dates

• 1850Entered Trinity College, Cambridge
• 1857Proved Saturn's rings consist of fragments
• 1860Proposed the distribution of gas molecule speeds
• 1865Published A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field
• 1871Became director of the Cavendish Laboratory
• 1873Published A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism
• 1879Died in Cambridge