In this volume Pierre Duhem first gives an overview of 19th century electricity and magnetism. Next, he applies his keen historical, philosophical, and physical intuition to critiquing Maxwell’s theories, especially his electromagnetic theory of light and the ad hoc introduction of displacement current, which he considers too much a product of the “esprit de géométrie” than the “esprit de finesse,” as Pascal calls it. In this book, Duhem is guided by the principle that a theory that offers contradictions, even if the theory is posed by a genius, needs to be analysed and discussed until a clear distinction can be made between the propositions likely to be logically demonstrated and statements that offend logic and which must be transformed or rejected. Furthermore, Duhem felt, in criticizing such a theory one must guard against narrowness of mind and petty corrections which would make one forget the merit of the inventor; and, more importantly, one must guard against the blind superstition which, for admiration of the author, would hide the serious defects of the work. He is not so great a genius that he surpasses the laws of reason. Pierre Duhem (1861-1916), chairman of theoretical physics at Bordeaux in 1984-1916, is well-known for his works in the history and philosophy of science.

In 1865 James Clerk Maxwell (1831 - 1879) published this work, "A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field" demonstrating that electric and magnetic fields travel through space as waves moving at the speed of light. He proposed that light is an undulation in the same medium that is the cause of electric and magnetic phenomena. The unification of light and electrical phenomena led him to predict the existence of radio waves. Maxwell is also regarded as the founding scientist of the modern field of electrical engineering. His discoveries helped usher in the era of modern physics, laying the foundation for such fields as special relativity and quantum mechanics. Many physicists regard Maxwell as the 19th-century scientist having the greatest influence on 20th-century physics. His contributions to physics are considered by many to be of the same magnitude as the ones of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. In this original treatise Maxwell introduces the best of his mind in seven parts, to include: Part i. introductory. Part ii. on electromagnetic induction. Part iii. general equations of the electromagnetic field. Part iv. mechanical actions in the field. Part v. theory of condensers. Part vi. electromagnetic theory of light. Part vii. calculation of the coefficients of electromagnetic induction

James Clerk Maxwell published the Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism in 1873. At his death, six years later, his theory of the electromagnetic field was neither well understood nor widely accepted. By the mid-1890s, however, it was regarded as one of the most fundamental and fruitful of all physical theories. Bruce J. Hunt examines the joint work of a group of young British physicists--G. F. FitzGerald, Oliver Heaviside, and Oliver Lodge--along with a key German contributor, Heinrich Hertz. It was these "Maxwellians" who transformed the fertile but half-finished ideas presented in the Treatise into the concise and powerful system now known as "Maxwell's theory."

This book contains around 80 articles on major writings in mathematics published between 1640 and 1940. All aspects of mathematics are covered: pure and applied, probability and statistics, foundations and philosophy. Sometimes two writings from the same period and the same subject are taken together. The biography of the author(s) is recorded, and the circumstances of the preparation of the writing are given. When the writing is of some lengths an analytical table of its contents is supplied. The contents of the writing is reviewed, and its impact described, at least for the immediate decades. Each article ends with a bibliography of primary and secondary items. - First book of its kind - Covers the period 1640-1940 of massive development in mathematics - Describes many of the main writings of mathematics - Articles written by specialists in their field

What is that strange and mysterious force that pulls one magnet towards another, yet seems to operate through empty space? This is the elusive force of magnetism. Stephen J. Blundell considers early theories of magnetism, the discovery that Earth is a magnet, and the importance of magnetism in modern technology.

This mathematics based book has the purpose of explaining Faraday's lines of force in mathematical terms. One would need a good grasp Faraday's theories, basic physics, and mathematical algebra to fully comprehend the arguments put forth.

Maxwell's Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism brought about what Einstein called "the greatest change in the axiomatic basis of physics since Newton." But Maxwell's aim was never to construct an axiomatic theory. Instead, the Treatise presents an argument which, beginning with the most characteristic electrical and magnetic phenomena, and interpreting them as manifestations of continuous fields of electric and magnetic energy, culminates in Maxwell's theory of light as a wave motion within those fields. The argument of the Treatise is not straightforwardly demon­strative but is a dialectical one that can be challenging to discern among the many topics presented. This book undertakes to extract and expound the principal path of Maxwell's dialectical thinking.

"We owe Clerk Maxwell the precise formulation of the space-time laws of electromagnetic fields. Imagine his own feelings when the partial differential equations he formulated spread in the form of polarized waves with the speed of light! This change in the understanding of the structure of reality is the most profound and fruitful that has come to physics since Newton."--Albert Einstein

Gauss's law for electric fields, Gauss's law for magnetic fields, Faraday's law, and the Ampere–Maxwell law are four of the most influential equations in science. In this guide for students, each equation is the subject of an entire chapter, with detailed, plain-language explanations of the physical meaning of each symbol in the equation, for both the integral and differential forms. The final chapter shows how Maxwell's equations may be combined to produce the wave equation, the basis for the electromagnetic theory of light. This book is a wonderful resource for undergraduate and graduate courses in electromagnetism and electromagnetics. A website hosted by the author at www.cambridge.org/9780521701471 contains interactive solutions to every problem in the text as well as audio podcasts to walk students through each chapter.