James Clerk Maxwell: Perspectives on his Life and Work PDF
Preview James Clerk Maxwell: Perspectives on his Life and Work
JamesClerkMaxwell JAMES CLERK MAXWELL Perspectives on his Life and Work Editedby raymond flood mark m cartney c and andrew whitaker 3 3 GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OX26DP, UnitedKingdom OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford. ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship, andeducationbypublishingworldwide.Oxfordisaregisteredtrademarkof OxfordUniversityPressintheUKandincertainothercountries (cid:2)c OxfordUniversityPress2014 Themoralrightsoftheauthorshavebeenasserted FirstEditionpublishedin2014 Impression:1 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedin aretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutthe priorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress,orasexpresslypermitted bylaw,bylicenceorundertermsagreedwiththeappropriatereprographics rightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproductionoutsidethescopeofthe aboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment,OxfordUniversityPress,atthe addressabove Youmustnotcirculatethisworkinanyotherform andyoumustimposethissameconditiononanyacquirer PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyOxfordUniversityPress 198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016,UnitedStatesofAmerica BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Dataavailable LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2013942195 ISBN978–0–19–966437–5 Printedandboundby CPIGroup(UK)Ltd,Croydon,CR04YY LinkstothirdpartywebsitesareprovidedbyOxfordingoodfaithand forinformationonly.Oxforddisclaimsanyresponsibilityforthematerials containedinanythirdpartywebsitereferencedinthiswork. FOREWORD ThenamesofArchimedes,Newton,EinsteinandCrickhaveenteredintolegendbecause fragments of their achievements and evidence of their personalities have captured the public’simagination.However,anotherverygreatscientist,whosefundamentalresearch todaypervadesallthephysicalsciencesandengineeringandenablesthetechnologythatmakes advancesinthelifesciencespossible,remainsvirtuallyunknownoutsidescientificcircleswhere heisrightlyregardedasagiant. Accordingtoeveryonewhoknewhim,Maxwellwaspractical,modest,kindandhadastrong sense of humour. For him, science was seemingly effortless, a gentleman landowner’s hobby ratherthananobsessiondrivenbyambitionandrivenwithrivalry,aswasthecasewithNewton. Hewashumaneandsensitivewhilepossessingextraordinarypowerandvirtuosityinscience,and seemstohavebeendevoidofanyshredofpomposity.Hewasveryfondofdogsandalwayshad onewhichhealwayscalledToby. Maxwell was born in Edinburgh, in 1831, to a landed family, and many of his ancestors on bothsideswereintellectuallyaccomplished,membersoftheRoyalSociety,ortheRoyalSocietyof Edinburgh,orboth.AfteraprecociouschildhoodonthefamilyestateanduniversityatEdinburgh andCambridge,andauniversitypositioninAberdeen,whereheexplainedtheringsofSaturnin aprize-winningessayandwasmaderedundant,hemovedtoKing’sCollege,London,in1860. Therefollowedfiveannimirabilesduringwhichheconsolidatedhisworkonelectromagnetism, foundedthetheoryofstatisticalmechanicsanddevelopedhisworkoncolourvision,producing, in1861,thefirstcolourphotograph(appropriatelyofatartanribbon)attheRoyalInstitution, where he came into regular contact with Michael Faraday, by then a much older man. While atKing’shewasawardedtheRoyalSociety’s1860RumfordMedalforhisworkoncolourand electedFRSayearlater. However,in1865(theyearinwhichheproposedthatradiantheatandlightarebothexamples ofelectromagneticwaves),heresignedhispositionatKing’storunthefamilyestatewhilecon- tinuing to do research in his own time. There he remained until 1871, when he was prevailed upontobethefirstCavendishProfessorinCambridge.Hediedtherein1879,aged48,andwas buriedinthegraveyardoftheOldKirkinParton,closetothefamilyhome. If he had lived as long as Archimedes or Einstein (76) he would have seen Marconi receive transatlanticradiosignals,learnedofEinstein’stheoriesofspecialrelativity,ofthephotoelectric effectandofBrownianmotion,onallofwhichhisownworkhadexertedaprofoundinfluence. foreword | v If he had lived as long as Crick (88) he would have seen Einstein’s theory of general relativity andMaxPlanckwintheNobelPrizeforquantumtheory.Maxwellwastheequalofthesegreat scientistsandhisearlydeathwasahugeloss. HowcansomeonewithMaxwell’spresenceandachievementbesouncelebratedinhisown timeandplaceandlater?Whenthepopularhistoricalnovelist,SirWalterScott,diedin1832, a61-metrehightowertohismemorywaserectedonPrincessStreet,Edinburghin1846.When Bobby,adogmuch-lovedforhisfidelity,diedin1872,astatuetohismemorywasunveiledat GreyfriarsChurchyardinEdinburgh a yearlater.Bobby’slegendhassurvived andhislifewas madeintoaWaltDisneyfilmin1961.Maxwellmighthaveapproved. However,whenJamesClerkMaxwell,arguablythegreatestscientistofthenineteenthcentury, died in 1879, no statue in Edinburgh was erected to his memory for 129 years. Today there is a statuedepicting Maxwell, looking down George Streetwith hisback to St.Andrew’s Square, sitting,withTobyloyallyathisfeet,holdinghiscolourwheel,withhisfamousequationsforthe electricandmagneticfieldswrittenontheplinth.Hemighthavehadmisgivings,butonehopes thatMaxwell would havebeenpersuaded of thegood intentionsof hisadmirersinhonouring himforhisachievements. Thatalsoistheintentionofthisbook. JohnToland IsaacNewtonInstituteforMathematicalSciences Cambridge vi | foreword PREFACE Onehundredandfiftyyearsago,intheautumnof1863,JamesClerkMaxwellwasliving at8PalaceGardensTerrace,Kensington,London,andwasprofessoratKing’sCollege. Itwasthesecondofthreeprofessorialappointments(thefirstbeingatMarischalCollege, Aberdeen, the last at Cambridge). He was 31, a fellow of the Royal Societies of both London and Edinburgh, and had an established reputation within the Victorian scientific community. However,thoughhecouldnotknowitatthetime,hewasmidwaythrough,ratherthanearlyon, inhisscientificcareer.Bytheautumnof1879,aged48,hewouldbedead.Itwasarelativelybrief, but remarkable, life, lived in his beloved rural home of Glenlair, and variously in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, London and Cambridge. His scholarship also ranged wide – covering all the major aspectsofVictoriannaturalphilosophy. Inscientificterms,hisimmortalityisenshrinedinelectromagnetismandMaxwell’sequations but,asthisbookseekstoshow,therewasmuchmoretoMaxwellthanelectromagnetism,both intermsofhisscienceandhiswiderlife.Indeed,aseditorsofthisbookweareoftheviewthat Maxwell’slifeandcontributionstosciencearesorichastodemandtheexpertiseofarangeofaca- demics–physicists,mathematiciansandhistoriansofscienceandliterature–todohimjustice. WehopethatthevariouschapterswillenableMaxwelltobeseenfromarangeofperspectives. Chapters1to4dealwithwideraspectsofhislifeintimeandplace,beforeChapters5to12goon tolookinmoredetailathiswide-rangingcontributionstoscience,withconcludingchapterson Maxwell’spoetryandChristianfaith.Eachchapterisself-containedandcanbereadindepend- entlyoftheothers,andthoughthishasinevitablyledtosomerepetitionandoverlap,wetrust thatthiswillnotbeaburdentothereader. Wewishtothankeachofthecontributorsfortheirchapters,theirexpertise,andtheirenthu- siasmforbothMaxwellandthisbook.Theyhavesubmittedtooureditorialrequestsandqueries alongthewaywithgoodhumouredcompliance.WealsowishtothankthestaffatOUP(includ- ingClareCharles,KeithMansfield,CarolineMcPherson,VictoriaMortimerandHemalackshmi Niranjan)fortheirhelp,adviceandpatienceontheoccasionallywindingroutewhichthisbook tookfromcommissioningtofinalproduction. RaymondFlood MarkMcCartney AndrewWhitaker November,2013 preface | vii CONTENTS PartI:Life 1. Introduction 3 raymond flood 2. MaxwellatAberdeen 17 john s. reid 3. MaxwellatKing’sCollege,London 43 john s. reid 4. CambridgeandBuildingtheCavendishLaboratory 67 isobel falconer PartII:Science 5. MaxwellandtheScienceofColour 101 malcolm longair 6. MaxwellandtheRingsofSaturn 115 andrew whitaker 7. Maxwell’sKineticTheory1859–70 139 elizabeth garber 8. MaxwellandtheTheoryofLiquids 154 john s. rowlinson 9. Maxwell’sFamous(orInfamous)Demon 163 andrew whitaker 10. Maxwell’sContributionstoElectricityandMagnetism 187 daniel m. siegel 11. TheMaxwellians:TheReceptionandFurtherDevelopmentofMaxwell’s ElectromagneticTheory 204 chen-pang yeang contents | ix
The list of books you might like
