Customer Reviews (1)

Maxwell's Theory and Equations
This text is the classic work of James Clerk Maxwell. It is an essay, printed by the Royal Society of London in 1864 which gives a full insight into Maxwell's theory of electromagnetic waves.

Maxwell's equations are of course the entire basis of modern electromagnetic theory. It is much easier to view these ideas here, in this brief form, than to wade through the 1873 and later editions of Maxwell's mammoth "Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism".

The primary benefit of this small volume is the easy access to this paper. One would otherwise have to go for a collection of Maxwell's papers, which would be somewhat more expensive. The preface to the volume is a useful addition to the work. However, the Introduction by Thomas F. Torrance is a bit over the top. It also introduces a bit of a Theological `spin' to the material, which is not surprising when you see how many Theological/Religious texts this fellow is involved with.

Take or leave this 27 page introduction as you wish. The fact remains that you still get Maxwell, which is why you wanted the book in the first place! ... Read more

Book Description
This is the first biography in twenty years of James Clerk Maxwell, one of the
greatest scientists of our time and yet a man relatively unknown to the wider public. Approaching science with a freshness unbound by convention or
previous expectations, he produced some of the most original scientific thinking
of the nineteenth centuryand his discoveries went on to shape the twentieth
century.Download Description
This is the first biography in twenty years of James Clerk Maxwell, one of the greatest scientists of our time and yet a man relatively unknown to the wider public. Approaching science with a freshness unbound by convention or previous expectations, he produced some of the most original scientific thinking of the nineteenth centuryand his discoveries went on to shape the twentieth century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

An Unsung Hero
If your a science enthusiast and enjoy reading about the history and the people behind some of the great scientific achievements then you will enjoy this book.I certainly never realized the scope of Maxwell's achievements.He was simply brilliant.

Required reading for those interested in how one of the world's most creative scientists went about his life of discorvery.
In the history of science there are only a few true human beings who used their genius in a humble and open fashion to uncover some of natures best kept secrets, while remaining true to their principles, friends and family. James Clerk Maxwell was one of these largely unsung heros.[ As was Paul Dirac who started his studies in Electrical Engineering some decades later]

I recommend this book to all those engineering and science students interested in how a fundamental pillar of modern science and engineering, electromagnetics, actually came into being.

One hopes that some of todays students will be able to follow in the footsteps of such a true scientist and well rounded human being as James Clerk Maxwell.

Biography of James Maxwell
I found the book easily readable and enjoyable, however focusing more on biography and light on science. I had hoped to pick up more science, especially when the bigraphy was written by an engineer. I found that my knowledge of Maxwell's contributions to science was limited before reading this book. I also found it interesting that physics was taught in his day as natural philosophy. The many details of the English universities were also quite interesting.

Superlative in both Biography & Science
"The Man who Changed Everything:The Life of James Clerk Maxwell"

Mahon is a suberb biographer,one of the finest currently in print. Biographies of notable people in historycan be one dimensional;but a two dimensional approach is necessary when writing about a scientist.The author must not only convey the personal elements,but also explain his significant discoveries ingreater detail.The critical balance is whether or not to emphasize the the personal elements and go soft on the science; or to emphasize the science in greater depth,yet somehow reveal the person behind the scientific mind.The second choice,to include more of the exactness of the scientific discoveries is the choice of author Basil Mahon.

Mahon reveals James Clerk Maxwell through his science,rather then showing,by human anecdotes,a personalitythat eclipses the scientific accomplishments. Maxwell lived in the age when science was more fluid and generalized,not so specialized as it is today.That is why Maxwell,a mathematician,made discoveries in the nature of Light, Electricity and Magnetism, and also workedin astronomy.

In fact,in the 1800's, the title"scientist" did not exist.The study of natural phenomena wasplaced in the ancient classification of "natural philosophy".Fledgling scientists in the mid 1800's typically were wealthy individuals who pursued science as a hobby.The Law and Clergy were fields drawing bright young men.

Mahon tells of of Maxwell's formative years,and covers the years at Edinburgh University, and Cambridge in depth, and throughout these years,Maxwell is performing experiments of his own. His character was generous towards others. He was quiet amongst total strangers, and vocal and stimulating amongst groups of his friends.He got up at 2 AM each night, and jogged through his lodgings until 2:30 AM. Maxwell was in these years, and for the many thereafter,a prolific letter writer,confiding in many acquaintances and advising them on their personal and public matters.

A wonderful biography
James Maxwell was a phenomenal, and perhaps underappreciated, scientist, and a wonderful person.Basil Mahon, who obviously loves Maxwell, has done a wonderful job of summarizing his life.Biographers of such prodigies have to avoid deluging their readers with too many details on the one hand, but on the other hand they have to avoid being so brief that their subject ultimately remains elusive to their readers.

Mahon has done a masterfully dealt with this dilemna.By going through the more important stations in Maxwell's life, but always providing more detailed sources in the appendix, often with insightful critiques of these articles, he has opened a doorway to understanding the Maxwell's life and works.If you are looking for a good biography of Maxwell, or simply just a good book to stimulate your interest in science, for you or your children, I highly recommend this book.

"He achieved greatness unequalled." -- Max Planck ... Read more

Book Description
Originally published in 1891, and now part of the Oxford Classic Texts in the Physical Sciences series, this celebrated treatise details Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism that underpins much of modern physics. The theory inspired both Lorentz's theories on the electron and Einstein's theory of relativity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Back to the 19th Century
It's reading such a book we can understand how powerfull was the 19th Century scientific thought. Maxwell, was a genius as was Newton and Einstein, his book is didactic and clear. A must have.

This book is the fountainhead of physics
I suggest that some reviewers miss the significance of Maxwell's book Electricity and Magnetism.

First, it introduced "Dimensional Analysis" which is the standard against which ALL physics models must be tested.

Equations are maths.
Units are politics.
Dimensional Analysis is physics.
( If a model doesn't fit Maxwell's Dimensions, it is not correct.)

Secondly, Maxwell established the framework for Quantum Mechanics when he showed that statistics, rather than two-body math, is required to model multi-body systems.

Thirdly, Maxwell established the framework for modern atomic theory by postulating dimensionless points, and assembling the
points into atoms, molecules, and larger structures, while leaving room for finer complex assembles of points such as quarks and neutrinos.

Fourthly, Maxwell laid the ground work for the Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac distributions, which are slight modifications of Maxwell's distribution to account for the separation of matter into two classes, bosons and fermions.

Fifthly, Einstein's much touted paper on Brownian movement is a variation of Maxwell's more comprehensive treatment of the
velocity distribution of particles.

Just as most historians parrot Herodotus, most physicists parrot Maxwell, but none come close to the masters.
Maxwell was the fountainhead of modern physics, and this book is his best.

Good stuff
There's alot of interesting stuff here.Very informative about history yes, but it is still probably the best text on eletromagnetic theory.There is some advanced math in here. I only read part of it for a research project(its huge).From this(and the equation contained within) came the basis for all of modern physics.Maxwell's equations are inconsistent in some ways with classical mechanics.To compensate, physicists had to create relatvity and quantum mechanics.Maxwell's work was not all new stuff.He took other people's theories and summed them up in his book.He then predicted the existence of EM waves and such .

A classic that still is worth reading
Whenever I teach a course which touches on electric or magnetic phenomena I find myself going through this book. It works well with the early chapters of Jackson, in particular, and Smythe. Maxwell knew the subject thoroughly, up to the 1870s (and much of this material has since dropped out of courses and almost out of memory), his thinking was both profound and clear,and he may well be the best writer on physics in the English language. His proofs are economical and elegant. Oh yes - this book is still a good reference for the treatment of spherical harmonics and multipole expansions in Cartesian coordinates.

Electricity & Magnetism defined mathematically
The book in my opinion coming from a calculus III student is very rigorous and one needs to have a firm foundation on Mathematics I would say about calc III or better to even try to read this book. So far I have just started but every page is exciting because he goes into a deep explanation of what is happening and going on physically and mathematically. Not to mentioned his work is very organized. ... Read more

Book Description
An Unabridged Reprinting (Volume 2 Of 2), To Include Over Sixty Figures: Elementary Theory Of Magnetism - Magnetic Force And Magnetic Induction - Particular Forms Of Magnets - Induced Magnetization - Magnetic Problems - Weber's Theory Of Magnetic Induction - Magnetic Measurements - Terrestrial Magnetism - Electromagnetic Force - Mutual Action Of Electric Currents - Induction Of Electric Currents - Induction Of A Current On Itself - General Equations Of Dynamics - Application Of Dynamics To Electromagnetism - Electrokinetics - Exploration Of The Field By Means Of The Secondary Circuit - General Equations - Dimensions Of Electric Units - Energy And Stress - Current-Sheets - Parallel Currents - Circular Currents - Electromagnetic Instruments - Electrical Measurement Of Coefficients Of Induction - Determination Of Resistance In Electromagnetic Measure - Comparison Of Electrostatic With Electromagnetic Units - Electromagnetic Theory Of Light - Magnetic Action On Light - Electric Theory Of Magnetism - Theories Of Action At A Distance - Comprehensive Index ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Some Reverence Required
Just as some assembly is required as with a good chair for the study, some reverence is required to understand this book.

Mordern physics is founded less on math (as some institutional slimeballs would have us believe) and more on the accurate revelations and precision wording--plus just a dash of intellectual wiggle-room--of our most distinguished and revered. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (5)

Some Reverence Required
Just as some assembly is required as with a good chair for the study, some reverence is required to understand this book.

Mordern physics is founded less on math (as some institutional slimeballs would have us believe) and more on the accurate revelations and precision wording--plus just a dash of intellectual wiggle-room--of our most distinguished and revered. Careful thought about just what is being said here by Maxwell along with a thoughtful historical perspective provides an analysis of science that is on par with any analysis of calculus (e.g., as found in Walter Rudin's Principles of Mathematical Analysis).

To give this book less than 5 stars is a sign of reprehensible bad taste.

The conceptual ideas of high school physics
Maxwell wants to explain the "fundamental doctrines of matter and motion", by which he means not formulae and calculations but rather the conceptual framework that serves to "guide the current of thought". Modern readers will not be too impressed since all of this is basically stuff that we teach to high school kids today. One should understand physics in terms of matter and forces and Newton's laws and so on. It's not all Newton, however, because physics "has now fairly entered on the next stage of progress", recognising energy as a fundamental concept. Conservation of energy "furnishes to the physical enquirer a principle on which he may hang every known law relating to physical actions, and by which he may be put in the way to discover the relations of such actions in new branches of science". So it goes. Even in the last chapter celestial mechanics is touched on not as a success of Newtonian physics in reaching insights about the world, but only as an "instructive example" of how great our conceptual framework is since it can easily accommodate the law of universal gravitation. In short, this book amounts to celebrating the first ten pages or so of the Principia while ignoring the hundreds of pages of actual physics. The publishers have added a chapter from Maxwell's Electricity and Magnetism, and appendices and notes by Larmor, quite a bit of which is on relativity theory. Both of these additions are completely out of line with the original text.

This book is the fountainhead of modern physics
I suggest that the other reviewers completely missed the significance of Maxwell's book "Matter and Motion" as it is the fountainhead of modern physics. First, it introduces and outlines "Dimensional Analysis" which ALL physics theories MUST conform to. Dimensional Analysis is physics: Equations are maths: Units are politics. Secondly, Maxwell set the stage for Quantum Mechanics by introducing the concept that it is necessary to use statistics to model reality.

From the horses mouth
This is how founding fathers thought and wrote about the Matter and Motion. It is a nostalgic reading. Maxwell himself wrote about Matter and Motion of course based on Newtonian Physics. You do not learn any new Physics unless you are doing study in the History of Science. Maxwell basically starts with definition of concepts in Newtonian Mechanics and explains Newton's laws of Motion. Force, Energy, Momentum all the good staff. Short book and interesting piece of history. Definitely worth reading of it for leisure or for study.

good for the price
definitely not the best intro to newton mechanics but if you already know it and need the info in a new prespective this book will do you.NOT A SELF STUDY GUIDE.Is best when used as a review. ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1884 edition by Macmillan and Co., London. ... Read more

Book Description
The final volume of James Clerk Maxwell's correspondence and manuscript papers covers the years 1874-1879, during Maxwell's Cambridge Professorship, his directing of the Cavendish Laboratory, and his work as writer and editor. His letters show his response to innovations in physical theory--by Boltzmann, Gibbs, Lorentz, and van der Waals--and further explorations in statistical physics and the kinetic theory of gases. His letters reflect his influence on the younger generation of physicists whose outlook was shaped by "Maxwellian physics". This edition is annotated with a full historical commentary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A study in the nature of Genius
This volume along with the second provide a unique insight into the life and thoughts of a young and developing genius in mid-nineteenth-century Scotland.This work is a wonderful history not only of one of the greatest physicists of all time, but of a humble Christian.Flashes of a humor, personal struggle, tragedy are intertwined between notes of mathematical proofs, and researches.An amazing and truly inspiring complilation.I look forward to the release of the third volume with anticipation.

Me gusta este tipo de lectura.
Creo que es un autor y todas las personas que colaboraron para la realizacion de estos dos volumenes son grandiosos. Espero que realmente me pudieran ayudar a conseguir estos dos volumens y seria una persona bastantecontenta en poder leerlos y conocer mas de este tipo de lectura. Gracias deantemano.

Me gusta este tipo de lectura.
Creo que es un autor y todas las personas que colaboraron para la realizacion de estos dos volumenes son grandiosos. Espero que realmente me pudieran ayudar a conseguir estos dos volumens y seria una persona bastantecontenta en poder leerlos y conocer mas de este tipo de lectura. Gracias deantemano. ... Read more

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This is an awesome book!
Maxwell does a great job of explaining thermodynamics in a manner that is clear to anyone with a term of physics.This was written at a time when people took the time to show all of the steps.

Maxwell is one of the brightest stars of the physics universe and everything we do in our current culture is based on his work. ... Read more

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Chemistry: Foundations and Application is an accessible four-volume set that covers chemistrys laws, processes, applications and sub-disciplines, reviews the history of the field, including modern research and practical applications, and includes biographies of scientists past and present. Varied topics that examine and explain chemistry's many branches, including inorganic, industrial, atmospheric and computational chemistry, and biotechnology allow students and general-interest readers alike to explore the myriad ways in which chemistry plays an important role in daily life.

Book Description
JAMES CLERK MAXWELL AND MODERN PHYSICS R T. QLAZEBROOK, F. RS. Trinity College, Cambridge University Lecturer in Mathematics, and Assistant Director of the MACMILLAN CO. PKEFACE. THE task of giving some account of Maxwells work of describing the share that he has taken in the advance of Physical Science during the latter halt of this nineteenth century has proved no light labour. The problems which he attacked are of such magnitude and complexity, that the attempt to explain them and their importance, satisfactorily, without the aid of symbols, is almost foredoomed to failure. However, the attempt has been made, in the belief that there are many who, though they cannot follow the mathematical analysis of Maxwells work, have sufficient general knowledge of physical ideas and principles to make an account of Maxwell and of the development of the truths that he dis covered, subjects of intelligent interest. Maxwells life was written in 1882 by two of those who were most intimately connected with him, Pro fessor Lewis Campbell and Dr. Garnett. Many of the biographical details of the earlier part of this book are taken from their work. My thanks are due to VI PREFACE. them and to their publishers, Messrs. Macmillan, for permission to use any of the letters which appear in their biography. I trust that my brief account may be sufficient to induce many to read Professor Campbells Life and Letters, with a view of learn ing more of the inner thoughts of one who has left so strong an imprint on all he undertook, and was so deeply loved by all who knew him. R. T. G. Cambridge, December, 1895. CONTENTS. PACK On AFTER I. EARLY LIFE 9 II. UNDERGRADUATE LIFE AT CAMBRIDGE ... 28 III. EARLY RESEARCHES-PROFESSOR AT ABERDEEN . 38 ,, IV. PROFESSOR AT KINGS COLLEGE, LONDON LIFE AT GLENLAIR 54 V. CAMBRIDGE PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS ... CO ,, VI. CAMBRIDGE THE CAVENDISH LABORATORY . . 73 VII. SCIENTIFIC WORK COLOUR VISION . . .93 VIII. SCIENTIFIC WORK MOLECULAR THEORY . . 108 j, IX. SCJEXTIFIC WORK ELECTRICAL THEORIES . .148 X. DEVELOPMENT OF MAXWELLS THEORY . . 202 JAMES CLERK MAXWELL AND MODERN PHYSICS. CHAPTER I. EARLY LIFE. ONE who has enriched the inheritance left by Newton and has consolidated the work of Faraday one who impelled the mind of Cambridge to a fresh course of real investigation has clearly earned his place in human memory. It was thus that Professor Lewis Campbell and Mr. Garnett began in 1882 their life of James Clerk Maxwell. The years which have passed, since that date, have all tended to strengthen the belief in the greatness of Maxwells work and in the fertility of his genius, which has inspired the labours of those who, not in Cambridge only, but throughout the world, have aided in de veloping the seeds sown by him. My object in the following pages will be to give some very brief account of his life and writings, in a form which may, I hope, enable many to realise what Physical Science owes to one who was to me a most kind friend as well as a revered master. The Clerks of Penicuik, from whom Clerk Maxwell was descended, were a distinguished family. Sir John Clerk, the great-great-grandfather of Clerk Maxwell, 10 JAMES CLERK MAXWELL was a Baron of the Exchequer in Scotland from 1707 to 1755 he was also one of the Commissioners of the Union, and was in many ways an accomplished scholar. His second son George married a first cousin, Dorothea Maxwell, the heiress of Middlebie in Dum friesshire, and took the name of Maxwell. By the death of his elder brother . Tames in 1782 George Clerk Maxwell succeeded to the baronetcy and the property of Penicuik, Before this time ho, had become involved in mining and manufacturing specu lations, and most of the Middlebio property had been sold to pay his debts. The property of Sir George Clerk Maxwell de scended in 1798 to his two grandsons, Sir George Clerk and Mr, John Clerk Maxwell... ... Read more

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This book provides an introductory yet comprehensive account of James Clerk Maxwell's (1831-79) physics and world view. The argument is structured by a focus on the fundamental themes that shaped Maxwell's science: analogy and geometry, models and mechanical explanation, statistical representation and the limitations of dynamical reasoning, and the relation between physical theory and its mathematical description. This approach, which considers his physics as a whole, bridges the disjunction between Maxwell's greatest contributions: the concept of the electromagnetic field and the kinetic theory of gases. Maxwell's work and ideas are viewed historically in terms of his indebtedness to scientific and cultural traditions, of Edinburgh experimental physics, and of Cambridge mathematics and philosophy of science, which nurtured his career.Peter M. Harman is Professor of the History of Science at Lancaster University.He has published primarily on the history of physics and natural philosophy in the 18th and 19th centuries, the period from Newton to Maxwell. His previous books include Energy, Force, and Matter (Cambridge, 1982), The Investigation of Difficult Things (Cambridge, 1992), After Newton:Essays on Natural Philosophy (Variorum, 1993), The Scientific Letters and Papers of James Clerk Maxwell, volume 1 (Cambridge, 1990), volume 2 (Cambridge, 1995). ... Read more

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From the first time they were dimly sighted through Galileo's telescope to the recent spectacular pictures beamed back by Voyager, Saturn's rings have fascinated generations of observers. The scientific problems associated with them have also attracted the attention of successive generations of theoreticians.

James Clerk Maxwell's 1856 Adams Prize Essay, "On the Stability of the Motion of Saturn's Rings," forms the central body of this book and is the work that first established his reputation as one of the greatest mathematical physicists of any generation. It is surrounded by previously unpublished materials written both before and after the essay was completed. The former group consists of sixteen letters - to William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin), George Gabriel Stokes, Peter Guthrie Tait, and other friends and colleagues - written while Maxwell was working out the problems and preparing the essay for publication, and they reveal both the sureness of his approach and false starts and errors. The post-essay documents include a review of the work by George Biddell Airy, the Astronomer Royal, and correspondence with the Harvard astronomer George Bond in 1863. Here Maxwell attempts to extend his analysis to include the effects of collisions among the particles of the ring, employing his own newly developed kinetic theory of gases.

The editors' introduction provides a historical context for Maxwell's contribution. Stephen G. Brush is affiliated with the University of Maryland at College Park, C. W. F. Everitt with Stanford University, and Elizabeth Garber with SUNY at Stony Brook. ... Read more