An Elementary Treatise on Electricity

by James Clerk Maxwell, William Garnett (Editor)

Overview

This is the Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition.

A FRAGMENT FROM THE AUTHOR'S ORIGINAL PREFACE.

The aim of the following treatise is different from that of my larger treatise on electricity and magnetism. In the larger treatise the reader is supposed to be familiar with the higher mathematical methods which are not used in this book, and his studies are so directed as to give him the power of dealing mathematically with the various phenomena of the science. In this smaller book I have endeavoured to present, in as compact a form' as I can, those phenomena which appear to throw light on the theory of electricity, and to use them, each in its place, for the development of electrical ideas in the mind of the reader.

In the larger treatise I sometimes made use of methods which I do not think the best in themselves, but without which the student cannot follow the investigations of the founders of the Mathematical Theory of Electricity. I have since become more convinced of the superiority of methods akin to those of Faraday, and have therefore adopted them from the first.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798823194921
Publisher:	Barnes & Noble Press
Publication date:	02/10/2023
Pages:	70
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.15(d)

About the Author

James Clerk Maxwell, a Scottish mathematician and scientist, is known for his classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first to explain the connection between electricity, magnetism, and light. His equations are widely considered to be the "second great unification in physics," following Isaac Newton's laws of motion and gravitation. Maxwell's work laid the groundwork for modern physics and had a profound impact on the fields of special relativity and quantum mechanics. He is regarded as one of the most influential scientists of the 19th century, and many physicists consider his contributions to be on par with those of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. In a survey of 100 prominent physicists, Maxwell was named the third greatest physicist of all time, behind only Newton and Einstein. On the 100th anniversary of Maxwell's birth, Einstein referred to his work as the "most profound and the most fruitful that physics has experienced since the time of Newton." When Einstein visited Cambridge in 1922, he was told that he had accomplished great things because he stood on Newton's shoulders, to which Einstein replied, "No, I don't. I stand on the shoulders of Maxwell."