James Clerk Maxwell (BSHM–Gresham Lecture 2012)

Abstract

The following article is the text of the 2012 BSHM–Gresham Lecture, delivered at Gresham College, London, on 31 October 2012. This and other BSHM–Gresham Lectures can be seen in full on the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk. James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879) was one of the most important mathematical physicists of all time, coming only after Newton and Einstein. Within a relatively short lifetime he made enormous contributions to science which this lecture will survey. Foremost among these was the formulation of the theory of electromagnetism with light, electricity, and magnetism all shown to be manifestations of the electromagnetic field. He also made major contributions to the theory of colour vision and optics, the kinetic theory of gases and thermodynamics, and the understanding of the dynamics and stability of Saturn’s rings.