The Natural Philosophy of James Clerk Maxwell

This book examines James Clerk Maxwell, creator of the electromagnetic theory of light and kinetic theory of gases.

P. M. Harman (Author)

9780521561020, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 April 1998

248 pages, 10 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.54 kg

'James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879) belonged to the 'golden age' of classical physics and contributed to many of its great achievements … In addition to the philosophical focus of the text, the book is full of interesting historical detail, and is very fully annotated; it would be enjoyed by anyone with a scholarly interest in the history of physics in the 'golden age'. C. W. P. Palmer, Contemporary Physics

This book provides an introductory yet comprehensive account of James Clerk Maxwell's (1831–79) physics and worldview. The argument is structured by a focus on the fundamental themes which shaped Maxwell's science: analogy and geometry, models and mechanical explanation, statistical representation and the limitations of dynamical reasoning, and the relation between physical theory and its mathematical description. This approach, which considers his physics as a whole, bridges the disjunction between Maxwell's greatest contributions: the concept of the electromagnetic field and the kinetic theory of gases. Maxwell's work and ideas are viewed historically in terms of his indebtedness to scientific and cultural traditions, of Edinburgh experimental physics, and of Cambridge mathematics and philosophy of science, which nurtured his career.

Preface
1. Introduction: Maxwell and the history of physics
2. Formative influences
3. Edinburgh physics and Cambridge mathematics
4. Physical and geometrical analogy
5. Models and mechanisms
6. Dynamical and statistical explanation
7. Geometry and physics
8. Physical reality: ether and matter
9. Physics and metaphysics.

Subject Areas: Electricity, electromagnetism & magnetism [PHK], Physics [PH], History of science [PDX]