Frank Petrexa
Tribune
This is a mildly technical history of Maxwell's equations from IEEE Spectrum. It is a good example of how physics works: experiment->theory->huh? experiment->refined theory-> -> applications. Note that the brilliant William Thompson (Lord Kelvin) with an ego to match is here again. He was notorious for not reading the literature, and always ready to denigrate the work of others. He once said that X-rays would prove to be a "hoax". Not a mistake, but a lie. Here, he weighs in against Maxwell, even though the equations were based on experimental work up to that point--they didn't just appear out of a vacuum (pun intended). Kelvin is still cited because he said evolution violated the Second Law of Thermodynamics (in which he was to that time an expert but which he didn't really understand in the modern sense). Anyway, I found this interesting and maybe others will as well.140 years ago today, James Clerk Maxwell died, aged 48
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'The work of James Clerk Maxwell changed the world forever.'
(Albert Einstein)
James Clerk Maxwell - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org