James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) had a relatively brief, 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 aspects of Victorian natural philosophy. He was one of the most important mathematical physicists of all time, coming only after Newton and Einstein.
In scientific terms his immortality is enshrined in electromagnetism and Maxwell's equations, but as this book shows, there was much more to Maxwell than electromagnetism, both in terms of his science and his wider life. Maxwell's life and contributions to science are so rich that they demand the expertise of a range of academics - physicists, mathematicians, and historians of science and literature - to do him justice. The various chapters will enable Maxwell to be seen from a range of perspectives. Chapters 1 to 4 deal with wider aspects of his life in time and place, at Aberdeen, King's College London and the Cavendish Laboratory. Chapters 5 to 12 go on to look in more detail at his wide ranging contributions to science: optics and colour, the dynamics of the rings of Saturn, kinetic theory, thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism and electromagnetism with the concluding chapters on Maxwell's poetry and Christian faith.
Life 1: Raymond Flood: Introductory Biography 2: John Reid: Maxwell at Aberdeen 3: John Reid: Maxwell at King's College, London 4: Isobel Falconer: Cambridge and Building the Cavendish Laboratory Science 5: Malcolm Longair: Maxwell and the Science of Colour 6: Andrew Whitaker: Maxwell and the Rings of Saturn 7: Elizabeth Garber: Maxwell's Kinetic Theory 1859-1870 8: John Rowlinson: Maxwell and the Theory of Liquids 9: Andrew Whitaker: Maxwell's Famous (or Infamous) Demon 10: Dan Siegel: Maxwell's Contribution to Electricity and Magnetism 11: Chen-Pang Yeang: 1. The Maxwellians: The Reception and Further Development of Maxwell's Electromagnetic Theory 12: Keith Moffatt: The Fluid Dynamics of James Clerk Maxwell Poetry, Religion and Conclusions 13: Stella Pratt-Smith: Boundaries of Perception: James Clerk Maxwell's Poetry of Self, Senses and Science 14: Philip Marston: Maxwell, Faith and Physics 15: Mark McCartney: I Remember Years and Labours as a Tale that I have Read
Raymond Flood, Gresham Professor of Geometry, Gresham College, Mark McCartney, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, University of Ulster, Andrew Whitaker, Professor of Physics, Queen's University of Belfast Raymond Flood is Gresham Professor of Geometry. He was Vice President of Kellogg College, Oxford and is an Emeritus fellow of Kellogg College. His main research interests are in the history of mathematics, and he was formerly President of the British Society for the History of Mathematics. Mark McCartney is Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at the University of Ulster. His research interests include nonlinear dynamics, the history of science and maths education. Andrew Whitaker is Emeritus Professor of Physics at Queen's University Belfast. His main research interest has been in the foundations of quantum theory and he also has an interest in the history of physics, having had The New Quantum Age published by Oxford University Press in 2011.
Reviews for James Clerk Maxwell: Perspectives on his Life and Work
The same editorial team produced a wonderful book on another great Scottish Victorian mathematician, Lord Kelvin, and this new collection of essays looks equally enticing. * Tony Mann, Times Higher Education * This selection of highly detailed essays from academic physicists, mathematicians and historians of science seeks to do justice to Maxwell from many perspectives, looking at his life, his science, his mathematical abilities, his poetry and his religious faith. * Christine Evans-Pughe, Engineering & Technology, * ... a wonderfully holistic tour of Maxwell's life and impact ... This work is highly recommended. It will be of interest to researchers and most certainly will enhance a library collection or serve as an anchor for a seminar in British history and/or the history of science. * Kenneth E. Hendrickson, Sam Houston State University *
