James Clerk Maxwell: Perspectives on his Life and Work

375 Pages·2014·11.055 MB·English

by  Raymond Flood, Mark McCartney, Andrew Whitaker

JamesClerkMaxwell

JAMES CLERK
MAXWELL
Perspectives on his Life and Work
Editedby
raymond flood
mark m cartney
c
and
andrew whitaker
3
3
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FOREWORD
ThenamesofArchimedes,Newton,EinsteinandCrickhaveenteredintolegendbecause
fragments of their achievements and evidence of their personalities have captured the
public’simagination.However,anotherverygreatscientist,whosefundamentalresearch
todaypervadesallthephysicalsciencesandengineeringandenablesthetechnologythatmakes
advancesinthelifesciencespossible,remainsvirtuallyunknownoutsidescientificcircleswhere
heisrightlyregardedasagiant.
Accordingtoeveryonewhoknewhim,Maxwellwaspractical,modest,kindandhadastrong
sense of humour. For him, science was seemingly effortless, a gentleman landowner’s hobby
ratherthananobsessiondrivenbyambitionandrivenwithrivalry,aswasthecasewithNewton.
Hewashumaneandsensitivewhilepossessingextraordinarypowerandvirtuosityinscience,and
seemstohavebeendevoidofanyshredofpomposity.Hewasveryfondofdogsandalwayshad
onewhichhealwayscalledToby.
Maxwell was born in Edinburgh, in 1831, to a landed family, and many of his ancestors on
bothsideswereintellectuallyaccomplished,membersoftheRoyalSociety,ortheRoyalSocietyof
Edinburgh,orboth.AfteraprecociouschildhoodonthefamilyestateanduniversityatEdinburgh
andCambridge,andauniversitypositioninAberdeen,whereheexplainedtheringsofSaturnin
aprize-winningessayandwasmaderedundant,hemovedtoKing’sCollege,London,in1860.
Therefollowedfiveannimirabilesduringwhichheconsolidatedhisworkonelectromagnetism,
foundedthetheoryofstatisticalmechanicsanddevelopedhisworkoncolourvision,producing,
in1861,thefirstcolourphotograph(appropriatelyofatartanribbon)attheRoyalInstitution,
where he came into regular contact with Michael Faraday, by then a much older man. While
atKing’shewasawardedtheRoyalSociety’s1860RumfordMedalforhisworkoncolourand
electedFRSayearlater.
However,in1865(theyearinwhichheproposedthatradiantheatandlightarebothexamples
ofelectromagneticwaves),heresignedhispositionatKing’storunthefamilyestatewhilecon-
tinuing to do research in his own time. There he remained until 1871, when he was prevailed
upontobethefirstCavendishProfessorinCambridge.Hediedtherein1879,aged48,andwas
buriedinthegraveyardoftheOldKirkinParton,closetothefamilyhome.
If he had lived as long as Archimedes or Einstein (76) he would have seen Marconi receive
transatlanticradiosignals,learnedofEinstein’stheoriesofspecialrelativity,ofthephotoelectric
effectandofBrownianmotion,onallofwhichhisownworkhadexertedaprofoundinfluence.
foreword | v
If he had lived as long as Crick (88) he would have seen Einstein’s theory of general relativity
andMaxPlanckwintheNobelPrizeforquantumtheory.Maxwellwastheequalofthesegreat
scientistsandhisearlydeathwasahugeloss.
HowcansomeonewithMaxwell’spresenceandachievementbesouncelebratedinhisown
timeandplaceandlater?Whenthepopularhistoricalnovelist,SirWalterScott,diedin1832,
a61-metrehightowertohismemorywaserectedonPrincessStreet,Edinburghin1846.When
Bobby,adogmuch-lovedforhisfidelity,diedin1872,astatuetohismemorywasunveiledat
GreyfriarsChurchyardinEdinburgh a yearlater.Bobby’slegendhassurvived andhislifewas
madeintoaWaltDisneyfilmin1961.Maxwellmighthaveapproved.
However,whenJamesClerkMaxwell,arguablythegreatestscientistofthenineteenthcentury,
died in 1879, no statue in Edinburgh was erected to his memory for 129 years. Today there is
a statuedepicting Maxwell, looking down George Streetwith hisback to St.Andrew’s Square,
sitting,withTobyloyallyathisfeet,holdinghiscolourwheel,withhisfamousequationsforthe
electricandmagneticfieldswrittenontheplinth.Hemighthavehadmisgivings,butonehopes
thatMaxwell would havebeenpersuaded of thegood intentionsof hisadmirersinhonouring
himforhisachievements.
Thatalsoistheintentionofthisbook.
JohnToland
IsaacNewtonInstituteforMathematicalSciences
Cambridge
vi | foreword
PREFACE
Onehundredandfiftyyearsago,intheautumnof1863,JamesClerkMaxwellwasliving
at8PalaceGardensTerrace,Kensington,London,andwasprofessoratKing’sCollege.
Itwasthesecondofthreeprofessorialappointments(thefirstbeingatMarischalCollege,
Aberdeen, the last at Cambridge). He was 31, a fellow of the Royal Societies of both London
and Edinburgh, and had an established reputation within the Victorian scientific community.
However,thoughhecouldnotknowitatthetime,hewasmidwaythrough,ratherthanearlyon,
inhisscientificcareer.Bytheautumnof1879,aged48,hewouldbedead.Itwasarelativelybrief,
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
aspectsofVictoriannaturalphilosophy.
Inscientificterms,hisimmortalityisenshrinedinelectromagnetismandMaxwell’sequations
but,asthisbookseekstoshow,therewasmuchmoretoMaxwellthanelectromagnetism,both
intermsofhisscienceandhiswiderlife.Indeed,aseditorsofthisbookweareoftheviewthat
Maxwell’slifeandcontributionstosciencearesorichastodemandtheexpertiseofarangeofaca-
demics–physicists,mathematiciansandhistoriansofscienceandliterature–todohimjustice.
WehopethatthevariouschapterswillenableMaxwelltobeseenfromarangeofperspectives.
Chapters1to4dealwithwideraspectsofhislifeintimeandplace,beforeChapters5to12goon
tolookinmoredetailathiswide-rangingcontributionstoscience,withconcludingchapterson
Maxwell’spoetryandChristianfaith.Eachchapterisself-containedandcanbereadindepend-
entlyoftheothers,andthoughthishasinevitablyledtosomerepetitionandoverlap,wetrust
thatthiswillnotbeaburdentothereader.
Wewishtothankeachofthecontributorsfortheirchapters,theirexpertise,andtheirenthu-
siasmforbothMaxwellandthisbook.Theyhavesubmittedtooureditorialrequestsandqueries
alongthewaywithgoodhumouredcompliance.WealsowishtothankthestaffatOUP(includ-
ingClareCharles,KeithMansfield,CarolineMcPherson,VictoriaMortimerandHemalackshmi
Niranjan)fortheirhelp,adviceandpatienceontheoccasionallywindingroutewhichthisbook
tookfromcommissioningtofinalproduction.
RaymondFlood
MarkMcCartney
AndrewWhitaker
November,2013
preface | vii

CONTENTS
PartI:Life
1. Introduction 3
raymond flood
2. MaxwellatAberdeen 17
john s. reid
3. MaxwellatKing’sCollege,London 43
john s. reid
4. CambridgeandBuildingtheCavendishLaboratory 67
isobel falconer
PartII:Science
5. MaxwellandtheScienceofColour 101
malcolm longair
6. MaxwellandtheRingsofSaturn 115
andrew whitaker
7. Maxwell’sKineticTheory1859–70 139
elizabeth garber
8. MaxwellandtheTheoryofLiquids 154
john s. rowlinson
9. Maxwell’sFamous(orInfamous)Demon 163
andrew whitaker
10. Maxwell’sContributionstoElectricityandMagnetism 187
daniel m. siegel
11. TheMaxwellians:TheReceptionandFurtherDevelopmentofMaxwell’s
ElectromagneticTheory 204
chen-pang yeang
contents | ix