Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell was born #OTD in 1831.
His most significant contribution is his formulation of the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation. In 1861-1862, he published a series of papers culminating in "A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field," in which he presented Maxwell's equations. He made substantial contributions to the kinetic theory of gases as well as to the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution
"Velocity of transverse undulations in our hypothetical medium, calculated from the electromagnetic experiments of 'MM'. Kohlrausch and Weber, agrees so exactly with the velocity of light calculated from the optical experiments of M. Fizeau, that we can scarcely avoid the conclusion that light consists in the transverse undulations of the same medium which is the cause of electric and magnetic phenomena."
Lecture at Kings College (1862)
~James Clerk Maxwell (1831 – 1879)
@gutenberg_org Gotta love that displacement current: conserving electric charge for 13.7 billion years and counting.
Molecular Evolution
BY JAMES CLERK MAXWELL
"At quite uncertain times and places,
The atoms left their heavenly path,
And by fortuitous embraces,
Engendered all that being hath.
...
Soon, all too soon, the chilly morning,
This flow of soul will crystallize,
Then those who Nonsense now are scorning,
May learn, too late, where wisdom lies."
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45777/molecular-evolution
