Sir James Maxwell

“One scientific epoch ended and another began with James Clerk Maxwell.” Don’t believe me? Well, I wasn’t the first person to say it – Albert Einstein said it first. When Einstein was asked if he had stood on the shoulders of Newton, he replied: “No, I stand on Maxwell’s shoulders.” And Richard Feynman, another of the 20th century’s greatest physicists said: “…the great transformations of ideas come very infrequently… we might think of Newton’s discovery of the laws of mechanics and gravitation, Maxwell’s theory of electricity and magnetism, Einstein’s theory of relativity, and… the theory of quantum mechanics.” James Clerk Maxwell is one of the giants of physics. Unfortunately, his work is less famous than that of the other greats – possibly because his crowning glory – Maxwell’s Equations – are so hard to understand. In producing these equations, he was the first scientist ever to unify any of nature’s fundamental forces. He discovered that electricity and magnetism are actually, at the deepest level, the same force – the electromagnetic force. In doing so, Maxwell proved that light is an electromagnetic wave, and so made a link between electricity, magnetism and optics. As if this achievement were not enough, his kinetic theory of gases accurately explained the origin of temperature. He introduced statistics and probability into the physics of the very small, laying the foundation for quantum theory. He was the first person ever to produce a color photograph; and he used mathematics to explain Saturn’s rings over 100 years before the Voyager spacecraft confirmed that he was absolutely right. In addition to his great discoveries, in his personal life, he was known for his capacity for hard work, his friendliness, personal kindness and generosity. Maxwell’s School Life James Clerk Maxwell was born into a wealthy family in Edinburgh, Scotland on June 13, 1831. His father was a lawyer, and his mother died when he was only eight years old. He attended high school in Edinburgh, where he published his first academic paper, ‘Oval Curves’ at the age of just 14. By this age, he had also completely memorized the Bible. Maxwell was an evangelical protestant, who believed his religion was a private affair. Like Isaac Newton, he saw no disagreements between his science and his religion. Unable to properly understand the genius in their class, some of the boys at school gave Maxwell the name ‘dafty.’ Maxwell was completely unconcerned by this, and made firm friends with Lewis Campbell, who went on to became a professor of Greek at the University of St Andrews and Peter Guthrie Tait, who became a professor of physics at Edinburgh University. Maxwell at University – A Student, then Professor Aged 16, Maxwell entered Edinburgh University for three years, taking courses in physics (it was then called natural philosophy), mathematics, and philosophy. He found the courses rather easy, leaving plenty of free time for his own private scientific research. Maxwell continued to publish serious scientific papers while studying for his degree. Aged 19, he moved to Cambridge University, studying mathematics, becoming a Fellow of Trinity College when he was 24, sharing the Smith’s Prize for theoretical physics and mathematics with Edward Routh. In 1856, aged 25, he was awarded Edinburgh’s highest prize in mathematics, the Straiton Gold Medal, and in the same year, he was appointed to the Chair of Natural Philosophy at Aberdeen University, where he stayed for four years.