Maxwell 183 1 was born in Edinburgh, England in June. His father is a lawyer, but his main interests are making all kinds of machinery and studying scientific problems. His keen interest in science had a profound influence on Maxwell's life. Maxwell/Kloc entered Edinburgh Middle School at the age of 0/0, and published his first scientific paper "On Mechanical Drawing of Elliptic Curves" at the age of 0/4, which reflected his rich knowledge of geometry and algebra. /kloc-entered the university of Edinburgh to study physics at the age of 0/6. Three years later, he transferred to Trinity College, Cambridge University. When he was studying in Cambridge, he laid a solid foundation in mathematics, which created conditions for him to closely combine mathematical analysis with experimental research. He read W. Thomson's scientific works, and he quite agreed with Faraday's new ideas, and carefully studied Faraday's book "Experimental Research on Electricity". Under the guidance of Faraday's concept of magnetic field lines, through these seemingly chaotic experimental records, he saw that there were actually some simple laws running through it. So, he published the first electromagnetic paper "On Faraday's Magnetic Field Lines". In this paper, Faraday's concept of magnetic field lines is expressed accurately mathematically, and Coulomb's law and Gauss's law are derived from it. This paper is only limited to translating Faraday's thought into mathematical language, and has not yet led to new achievements. 1862, he published his second paper "On the Lines of Physical Force", which not only further developed Faraday's thought and extended it to the point that the change of magnetic field produced an electric field, but also obtained a new result: the change of electric field produced a magnetic field, which predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves, proved that the speed of this wave was equal to the speed of light, and revealed the electromagnetic essence of light. This article includes the main achievements of Maxwell's electromagnetic theory research. 1864, his third paper, electromagnetic field dynamics theory, based on several basic experimental facts, established a systematic electromagnetic theory from the point of view of field theory through deduction. The book Electricity and Magnetism, published in 1873, is an epoch-making work, which has made great achievements in electromagnetism, comprehensively summarized the research achievements on electromagnetic phenomena before the middle of 19 century, and established a complete theoretical system of electromagnetism. This is a landmark work comparable to Newton's mathematical principles of natural philosophy, Darwin's Origin of Species and Ryle's Principles of Geology.
On the basis of summarizing the previous work, Maxwell introduced the concept of displacement current and established a set of differential equations. This set of equations determines the general relationship among charge, current (moving charge), electric field and magnetic field, and is the basic equation of electromagnetism. Maxwell's equations show that as long as there is a changing magnetic field somewhere in space, the eddy electric field can be excited, and the changing electric field can excite the eddy magnetic field. Alternating electric and magnetic fields excite each other to form continuous electromagnetic oscillation, that is, electromagnetic waves. Maxwell's equation also shows that the speed of electromagnetic wave only changes with the electrical and magnetic properties of the medium, which proves that the propagation speed of electric microwave in ether (vacuum) is equal to that of light in vacuum. This is not an accidental coincidence, but because light and electromagnetic waves are essentially the same. Light is an electromagnetic wave with a certain wavelength, which is the electromagnetic theory of light founded by Maxwell.
Maxwell was regarded by most modern physicists as a scientist in the19th century, but he had a great influence on physics in the 20th century. He is as famous as Newton and Einstein. 193 1 year, Einstein pointed out at Maxwell's centenary birthday that Maxwell's work was "the most profound and fruitful work in physics since Newton", which changed the concept of physical reality. Maxwell's concept of electromagnetic radiation and his field equation are based on Faraday's experimental observation of electricity and magnetic field lines, which leads to Einstein's special theory of relativity and establishes the principle of mass-energy equivalence. The work that made Maxwell one of the greatest scientists in history was his study of electromagnetism. Maxwell said that his most important job is to express Faraday's physical views by mathematical methods. Maxwell once said that electromagnetic waves can be generated in the laboratory. This possibility was first realized by Hertz in 1887, when Maxwell had been dead for 8 years. Therefore, the radio industry with wide application value actually comes from Maxwell's works. Besides electromagnetic theory, Maxwell has also made great contributions in other fields of physics. Maxwell wrote a paper about Saturn in his twenties, which confirmed that all the changes around Saturn are made up of pieces of non-viscous substances. 100 years later, this theory was confirmed when a navigator and space speculator arrived around Saturn. 187 1 year, Maxwell was elected as Professor Cavendish. He designed the Cavendish laboratory and personally supervised the construction.
Maxwell's main scientific contribution is in electromagnetism, and he has also made outstanding achievements in astrophysics, gas molecular motion theory, thermodynamics and statistical physics. As Max Planck (Max Plank L858- 1947), the founder of quantum theory, pointed out: "Maxwell's glorious name will be engraved on the door of classical physicists forever and shine forever. From his native place, he belongs to Edinburgh; Personally, he belongs to Cambridge University; As far as merits are concerned, he belongs to the whole world. "