The Inventor

James Clerk Maxwell's

This one figure is known as one of the scientists whose theoretical theories make many valuable contributions in the field of science or science. British physicists are best known for their discoveries in the fundamental laws of electricity and magnetism.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

James Clerk Maxwell was born in Scotland on June 13, 1831. His father was John Clerk Maxwell, an advocate, and his mother was Frances Cay.

CHILDHOOD

At the age of 8, Maxwell was able to read long passages by Milton and the entire book of psalms. Indeed, Maxwell's knowledge of the scriptures is very detailed. His mother who cared for Maxwell died of stomach cancer in December 1839 when he was eight years old. Maxwell's educational responsibilities were later taken over by his father and his father's brother-in-law, Jane. Both played important roles in Maxwell's life.

Maxwell's formal education was unsuccessful under the guidance of a private tutor. Maxwell was then sent to the prestigious Edinburgh Academy. She lives in the house of her aunt, Isabella.

SMART SINCE CHILDHOOD

When Maxwell was 10 years old, he grew up on his father's country estate. Maxwell loved geometry at an early age. At the age of 13, he won a school math medal and the first prize for English and poetry.

Maxwell's interest in exact sciences such as mathematics went beyond his school syllabus. Maxwell wrote his first scientific paper at the age of 14. In it he described a mechanical way of drawing a mathematical curve with a piece of thread, elliptical properties, and Cartesian diagrams.

His work “Oval Curves” was sent to the Royal Society of Edinburgh by James Forbes, a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. Maxwell was considered too young to present his own work.

The work was not entirely original, as Rene Descartes had also examined the properties of multifocal ellipses in the 17th century, but Maxwell had simplified their construction.

STUDYING AT EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY

Maxwell left his Academy in 1847 at the age of 16. He then went to the University of Edinburgh. He had the opportunity to study at the University of Cambridge, but he decided to complete his undergraduate study programme in Edinburgh.

The academic staff of the University includes some highly regarded names. Lecturers in Maxwell's first year included Sir William Hamilton, who taught him about logic and metaphysics.

Philip Kelland on mathematics, and James Forbes on natural philosophy. He did not find his passion while studying at the University. He therefore took another education in private during his vacant time at the University and especially when returning home at Glenlair.

At home, he experimented with chemical, electrical, and magnetic equipment that he developed. But Maxwell's main concern was the polarized properties of light.

Through his experiments Maxwell discovered photoelasticity, which is a means of determining the distribution of stress in physical structures.

At the age of 18, Maxwell donated two papers to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. One of them, “On the Equilibrium of Elastic Solids”. His other paper is “Rolling Curves”. The paper was sent to the Royal Society by his tutor Kelland.

STUDYING AT CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY

By October 1850, Maxwell was already an accomplished mathematician. He left Scotland and studied at Cambridge University.

Maxwell's intellectual understanding of his religion and science flourished during his college years at Cambridge. In 1854, Maxwell graduated from Cambridge with a degree in mathematics.

He scored second highest in the final exams behind Edward Routh and earned the Second Wrangler title. After earning his degree, Maxwell read his paper “On the Transformation of Surfaces by Bending”. Maxwell decided to stay at Trinity, Cambridge after graduation and applied for a scholarship.

Maxwell was asked to prepare a lecture on hydrostatics and optics at Trinity. Maxwell accepted the professorship at Aberdeen, leaving Cambridge in November 1856.

BECOME A PROFESSOR AT AGE 25

In 1857, Maxwell befriended Reverend Daniel Dewar, then Principal of Marischal. Through him Maxwell met Dewar's daughter, Katherine Mary Dewar.

They were engaged in February 1858 and married in Aberdeen on June 2, 1858. On the marriage record, Maxwell was listed as Professor of Natural Philosophy at Marischal College, Aberdeen.

LECTURER AT KING’S COLLEGE, LONDON

In 1860, Marischal College merged with King’s College. Maxwell was given the post of Chair of Natural Philosophy at King’s College, London. After recovering from a smallpox attack that nearly cost him his life in 1860, Maxwell moved to London with his wife.

At King’s College, Maxwell was most prolific throughout his career. He was awarded the Medford Rumford Royal Society in 1860 for his work in color. Maxwell frequently attended lectures at the Royal Institution, where he made regular contact with Michael Faraday.

The relationship between the two men could not be described as close, as Faraday was a 40-year-old Maxwell senior and showed signs of senility. They still maintained a strong respect for each other's talents.

INVENTION IN THE FIELD OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM

Here important advances were made Maxwell in the field of electricity and magnetism. He examined the properties of electric and magnetic fields in his two-part paper “On physical lines of force”, published in 1861.

In his paper, he provided a conceptual model of electromagnetic induction. In an additional section he discusses electrostatic properties and current displacement.

DISCOVERY OF ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES

This back and forth motion like a pendulum is called an electromagnetic wave, which once moved will spread continuously to outer space.

These opinions show that the speed of electromagnetic waves reaches about 300,000 kilometers (186,000 miles) per second.

Maxwell knew that this was equal to the speed of light. From this angle he correctly came to the conclusion that light itself is made up of electromagnetic waves.

So Maxwell's opinion is not only the basic law of electricity and magnetism, but also the basic law of optics.

In fact, all of the earlier laws known as the laws of optics can be attributed to his opinion, as well as many facts and relationships with things that were once not revealed.

Maxwell's opinion suggests that other electromagnetic waves, in contrast to the light seen by the eye in that it has wavelengths and frequencies, could exist.

This theoretical conclusion was admirably reinforced by Heinrich Hertz, who was able to produce and discover both the visible waves of the eye predicted by Maxwell.

A few years later Guglielmo Marconi demonstrated that the invisible waves could be used for wireless communication, thus creating what he called radio.

In the second additional part, he describes the rotation of the polarizing plane of light in a magnetic field, a phenomenon that has been discovered by Faraday and is now known as the Faraday effect.

In 1865 Maxwell resigned at King’s College, London, and returned to Glenlair with Katherine. Maxwell wrote the book Theory of Heat (1871) and the treatise Matter and Motion (1876). Maxwell was also the first to use dimensional analysis explicitly, in 1871.

JAMES CLERK MAXWELL IS DEAD

In 1871, he returned to Cambridge and became the first Professor of Physics at Cavendish. Maxwell was responsible for the development of the Cavendish Laboratory. One of Maxwell's major contributions to science was the editing of Henry Cavendish's research, on the density of the Earth and the composition of water.

James Clerk Maxwell died in Cambridge of stomach cancer on November 5, 1879 at the age of 48.