Maxwell's equations are a set of equations that describe how electric and magnetic fields are generated and how they change and interact with each other and with electric charges and currents. They were developed by the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, who in a series of papers beginning in 1861 combined the earlier laws of Gauss, Faraday and Ampere and added a term for the displacement current. From the equations he showed that electromagnetic disturbances travel as waves at a speed matching the speed of light, and he concluded that light is an electromagnetic wave. In the 1880s Oliver Heaviside gave them the compact form of four equations now in use. They form the basis of classical electromagnetism and led to radio, and also paved the way for Einstein's theory of relativity.
Before and after
- 21 September 1860Death of Arthur Schopenhauer
- 2 October 1860Construction of Mariinsky Theatre
- 1861Founding of Crystal Palace F.C.
- 1861Rise of Narodniks
- 1861Maxwell's equations
- 1861Discovery of rubidium
- 1861Discovery of thallium
- 1861The first Archaeopteryx skeleton is found
- 1861Pasteur disproves spontaneous generation
More in Science & technology
- 1774Discovery of chlorine
- 1789Discovery of uranium
- 30 June 1808Discovery of boron
- 6 March 1869Periodic table
- 1884Car
- 1894Discovery of argon
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.