A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism

by James Clerk Maxwell

Overview

Described by Einstein as "the most important event in physics since Newton's time," the discovery by James Clerk Maxwell that a vast array of phenomena could be united by four elegant formulas remains one of the greatest successes of modern physics. This book, based on the third originally published in 1891, presents the original work which underpins the electronic revolution in the 20th century and which inspired both Lorentz's theories on the electron and Einstein's theory of relativity. Volume II covers magnetism and electromagnetism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198503743
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/10/1998
Series:	Oxford Classic Texts in the Physical Sciences , #2
Edition description:	3RD
Pages:	532
Product dimensions:	9.18(w) x 6.28(h) x 1.17(d)

About the Author

James Clerk Maxwell: In His Own Words — And Others
Dover reprinted Maxwell's Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism in 1954, surely one of the first classics of scientific literature over a thousand pages in length to be given new life and accessibility to students and researchers as a result of the paperback revolution of the 1950s. Matter and Motion followed in 1991 and Theory of Heat in 2001.

Some towering figures in science have to speak for themselves. Such is James Clerk Maxwell (1813–1879), the Scottish physicist and mathematician who formulated the basic equations of classical electromagnetic theory.

In the Author's Own Words:
"We may find illustrations of the highest doctrines of science in games and gymnastics, in traveling by land and by water, in storms of the air and of the sea, and wherever there is matter in motion."

"The 2nd law of thermodynamics has the same degree of truth as the statement that if you throw a tumblerful of water into the sea, you cannot get the same tumblerful of water out again." — James Clerk Maxwell

Critical Acclaim for James Clerk Maxwell:
"From a long view of the history of mankind — seen from, say, ten thousand years from now — there can be little doubt that the most significant event of the 19th century will be judged as Maxwell's discovery of the laws of electrodynamics. The American Civil War will pale into provincial insignificance in comparison with this important scientific event of the same decade." — Richard P. Feynman

"Maxwell's equations have had a greater impact on human history than any ten presidents." — Carl Sagan

Table of Contents

Part 3: Magnetism1. Elementary theory of magnetism2. Magnetic force and magnetic induction3. Magnetic solenoids and shells4. Induced magnetization5. Particular problems in magnetic induction6. Weber's theory of induced magnetism7. Magnetic measurements8. On terrestrial magnetismPart 4: Electromagnetism1. Electromagnetic force2. Ampères investigation of the mutual action of electric currents3. On the induction of electric currents4. On the induction of a current on itself5. On the equations of motion of a connected system6. Dynamical theory of electromagnetism7. Theory of electric circuits8. Exploration of the field by means of the secondary circuit9. General equations of the electromagnetic field10. Dimension of electric units11. On energy and stress in the electromagnetic field12. Current-sheets13. Parallel currents14. Circular currents15. Electromagnetic instruments16. Electromagnetic observations17. Comparison of coils18. Electromagnetic unit of resistance19. Comparison of the electrostatic with the electromagnetic units22. Electromagnetic theory of light21. Magnetic action on light22. Ferromagnetism and diamagnetism explained by molecular currents23. Theories of action at a distance

Editorial Reviews

"If your library does not have copies of the original editions, you should certainly ask them to consider getting these...and you may want one or two for yourself!" MAA Online, April 1999

From the Publisher