was one of the greatest physicists in history. Like another great British physicist, Sir Isaac Newton, he investigated many different areas of physical science. Also like Newton, he contributed theories that opened new avenues of thought and scientific development
Maxwell's work on electricity, magnetism, and force fields was his greatest achievement. In this area of research, he built on theories that Michael Faraday had developed. Maxwell and Faraday exchanged ideas on this subject (Faraday died in 1867.) Faraday studied the electromagnetic force field produced by electrical current He became convinced that the forces at work in such a field are not confined to the conductor The conductor is, rather, simply a medium through which the force is exerted. The logical conclusion of this idea is that lines of force extend into the space that surrounds a conductor. Faraday's idea was an original and important one. But he was not able to work it out completely.
Maxwell took Faraday's idea and developed it into a complete electromagnetic theory This theory explains how electrical current radiates energy-such as radio waves and microwaves-into space. Eventually the electromagnetic theory was applied to the physical properties of radioactive materials and the energy they produce and to other types of energy as well. Maxwell then applied principles of electromagnetic theory to light. He discovered that light behaves in the same way as electromagnetic forces and concluded that light is a type of electromagnetic force.Several years later, in the 1880's, the German physicist Heinrich Hertz produced radio waves in a laboratory selling. Hertz's experiments completely confirmed Maxwell's electromagnetic theory The importance of Maxwell's electromagnetic theory can hardly be overestimated. For the most part, twentieth century technology would have been impossible without it. Inventions such as television, radio, radar, satellite communications, and many others are a result of electromagnetic theory. In fact, communications as we know them would be unthinkable without Maxwell's pioneering work And without the long-distance communications made possible by electromagnetic waves, there would be no space exploration.
Furthermore, Maxwell's work laid the theoretical foundations for an avalanche of scientific developments to come. Development of the quantum theory-probably the most important scientific theory of our century-is partly an outgrowth of Maxwell's study of light and other electromagnetic energy. His development of field theory-the study of force fields created by magnetism, electricity, or other natural forces-also strongly influenced later physicists. Albert Einstein, for example, spent much of his later life trying to formulate a unified field theory that would explain all forces in the universe in unified, mathematical terms. This work, which continues today, would have been impossible without Maxwell's basic theories. Maxwell made important contributions to other areas of science. He developed a kinetic theory of gases that helped clarify the nature of gases. In this theory, Maxwell explained the behavior of a gas in terms of the movement of its molecules. He calculated mathematically the movements of the molecules and showed how these individual movements, multiplied billions of times, explained many properties of gases. This work enabled chemists to determine mathematically-and to predict-the characteristics of a gas.
Maxwell developed a theory of color vision and made one of the first color photographs. He also studied the rings of the planet Saturn. Maxwell studied the work of contemporary and previous scientists and learned from them. He was particularly interested in the work of Henry Cavendish, a great English scientist of the 1700's who had been largely ignored in his own time. Maxwell drew on Cavendish's work with electricity in formulating his own theories. Maxwell also tried to draw public attention to the scientific achievements of Cavendish, who had died in 1810. He published in 1879 some of the scientific papers by Cavendish on electricity. In the early 1870's, descendants of Henry Cavendish endowed a scientific laboratory at Cambridge University. James Clerk Maxwell accepted the invitation to become the first Cavendish professor of physics. He designed the laboratory and recruited its staff. Maxwell's published scientific writings include Theory of Heat and Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism.
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