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BIOGRAPHIES OF GREAT SCIENTISTS
Maxwell James Clerk. Biography of a scientist
Directory / Biographies of great scientists
James Clerk Maxwell was born in Edinburgh on June 13, 1831. Shortly after the birth of the boy, his parents took him to their estate Glenlar. Since that time, the "lair in a narrow gorge" has firmly entered the life of Maxwell. Here his parents lived and died, here he himself lived and was buried for a long time. When James was eight years old, misfortune came to the house: his mother became seriously ill and soon died. Now the only educator of James was his father, to whom he retained a feeling of tender affection and friendship for the rest of his life. John Maxwell was not only the father and educator of his son, but also his most faithful friend. Soon the time came when the boy had to start studying. At first, teachers were invited to the house. But the Scottish home teachers were just as rude and ignorant as their English counterparts, described with such sarcasm and hatred by Dickens. Therefore, it was decided to send James to a new school, which bore the loud name of the Edinburgh Academy. The boy gradually became involved in school life. He became more interested in the lessons. He especially liked geometry. She remained one of Maxwell's strongest hobbies for the rest of his life. Geometric images and models played a huge role in his scientific work. Maxwell's scientific path began with her. Maxwell graduated from the academy in one of the first graduations. At parting with the beloved school, he composed the anthem of the Edinburgh Academy, which was sung in unison and with enthusiasm by its pupils. Now the doors of the University of Edinburgh were flung open before him. As a student, Maxwell carried out serious research on the theory of elasticity, which was highly appreciated by specialists. And now he was faced with the question of the prospect of his further studies at Cambridge. Founded in 1284, St. Peter's (Peterhouse), and the most famous is the College of St. Trinity College (Trinity College), founded in 1546. The glory of this college was created by his famous pupil Isaac Newton. Peterhouse and Trinity College were successively the Cambridge sojourn of the young Maxwell. After a short stay at Peterhouse, Maxwell transferred to Trinity College. The volume of Maxwell's knowledge, the power of his intellect and independence of thought allowed him to achieve a high place in his release. He took second place. The young bachelor was left at Trinity College as a teacher. But he was concerned about scientific problems. In addition to his old fascination with geometry and the problem of colors, which he began to study as early as 1852, Maxwell became interested in electricity. On February 20, 1854, Maxwell informs Thomson of his intention to "attack electricity". The result of the "attack" was the essay "On Faraday's Lines of Force" - the first of Maxwell's three main works devoted to the study of the electromagnetic field. The word "field" first appeared in that same letter to Thomson, but neither in this nor in a later work on lines of force. Maxwell does not use it. This concept reappears only in 1864 in the work "Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field". In the autumn of 1856 Maxwell took up the post of professor of natural philosophy at Marischal College, Aberdeen. The department of natural philosophy, that is, the department of physics in Aberdeen, did not exist before Maxwell, and the young professor had to organize educational and scientific work in physics. Staying in Aberdeen was marked by an important event in Maxwell's personal life: he married the daughter of the head of Marishal College Daniel Dewar, Katherine Mary Dewar. This event took place in 1858. From that time until the end of their lives, the Maxwells walked their life path hand in hand. In 1857-1859, the scientist carried out his calculations of the movement of Saturn's rings. He showed that the liquid ring during rotation will be destroyed by the waves arising in it and will break into separate satellites. Maxwell considered the motion of a finite number of such satellites. The most difficult mathematical research brought him the Adams Prize and fame as a first-class mathematician. The prized essay was published in 1859 by the University of Cambridge. From the study of the rings of Saturn, it was quite natural to move on to the consideration of the motions of gas molecules. The Aberdeen period of Maxwell's life ended with his speech at the meeting of the British Association in 1859 with a report "On the dynamical theory of gases". This document marked the beginning of Maxwell's many years of fruitful research in the field of the kinetic theory of gases and statistical physics. Since the department where Maxwell worked was closed, the scientist had to look for a new job. In 1860, Maxwell was elected professor of natural philosophy at King's College London. The London period was marked by the publication of a large article "Explanations to the Dynamic Theory of Gases", which was published in the leading English physics journal, the Philosophical Journal, in 1860. With this article, Maxwell made a huge contribution to a new branch of theoretical physics - statistical physics. The founders of statistical physics in its classical form are Maxwell, Boltzmann and Gibbs. The Maxwells spent the summer of 1860 at the Glenlar family estate before the start of the autumn semester in London. However, Maxwell failed to rest and gain strength. He fell ill with smallpox in a severe form. The doctors feared for his life. But the extraordinary courage and patience of Catherine, who was devoted to him, who did everything to get her sick husband out, helped them defeat the terrible disease. Such a difficult test began his life in London. During this period of his life, Maxwell published a large article on colors, as well as the work "Explanations to the dynamic theory of gases." But the main work of his life was devoted to the theory of electricity. He publishes two main works on the electromagnetic field theory he created: "On Physical Lines of Force" (1861-1862) and "Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field" (1864-1865). For ten years, Maxwell has grown into a prominent scientist, the creator of the fundamental theory of electromagnetic phenomena, which, along with mechanics, thermodynamics and statistical physics, has become one of the foundations of classical theoretical physics. During the same period of his life, Maxwell began work on electrical measurements. He was especially interested in a rational system of electrical units, since the electromagnetic theory of light he created was based only on the coincidence of the ratio of electrostatic and electromagnetic units of electricity with the speed of light. It is quite natural that he became one of the active members of the "Commission of Units" of the British Association. In addition, Maxwell deeply understood the close connection between science and technology, the importance of this union both for the progress of science and for technical progress. Therefore, from the sixties until the end of his life, he tirelessly worked in the field of electrical measurements. The stressful London life had taken a toll on the health of Maxwell and his wife, and they decided to live on their family estate of Glenlar. This decision became inevitable after Maxwell's serious illness at the end of his summer vacation in 1865, which he spent as usual at his estate. Maxwell left the service in London and lived for five years (from 1866 to 1871) in Glenlare, occasionally traveling to Cambridge for examinations, and only in 1867, on the advice of doctors, he traveled to Italy. Being engaged in economic affairs in Glenlar, Maxwell did not leave scientific studies. He worked hard on the main work of his life, A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, wrote the book The Theory of Heat, an important work on regulators, a number of articles on the kinetic theory of gases, and participated in meetings of the British Association. Maxwell's creative life in the countryside continued as intensely as in the university city. In 1871, Maxwell published The Theory of Heat in London. This textbook has been very popular. The scientist wrote that the purpose of his book "The Theory of Heat" was to present the doctrine of heat "in the sequence in which it developed." Shortly after the publication of The Theory of Heat, Maxwell received an offer to take the newly organized chair of experimental physics at Cambridge. He agreed and on 8 March 1871 was appointed Cavendish Professor at the University of Cambridge. In 1873, the Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism (in two volumes) and the book Matter and Motion were published. "Matter and Motion" is a small book devoted to the presentation of the fundamentals of mechanics. "Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism" - the main work of Maxwell and the pinnacle of his scientific work. In it, he summed up the results of many years of work on electromagnetism, which began as early as the beginning of 1854. The preface to the "Treatise" is dated February 1, 1873. Nineteen years Maxwell worked on his fundamental work! Maxwell reviewed the entire amount of knowledge on electricity and magnetism of his time, starting with the basic facts of electrostatics and ending with the electromagnetic theory of light he created. He summed up the struggle between the theories of long-range and short-range action, which began during Newton's lifetime, devoting the last chapter of his book to consideration of theories of action at a distance. Maxwell did not openly speak out against the theories of electricity that existed before him; he presented the Faraday concept as equal to the mainstream theories, but the whole spirit of his book, his approach to the analysis of electromagnetic phenomena, was so new and unusual that contemporaries refused to understand the book. In the famous preface to the Treatise, Maxwell characterizes the purpose of his work as follows: to describe the most important of electromagnetic phenomena, to show how they can be measured, and "to trace the mathematical relationships between the measured quantities." He indicates that he will try "as far as possible to shed light on the connection between the mathematical form of this theory and general dynamics, in order to be prepared to a certain extent for the definition of those dynamic laws, among which we should look for illustrations or explanations of electromagnetic phenomena." Maxwell considers the laws of mechanics to be the basic laws of nature. It is no coincidence that, therefore, as a fundamental prerequisite to his basic equations of electromagnetic theory, he sets out the basic provisions of dynamics. But at the same time, Maxwell understands that the theory of electromagnetic phenomena is a qualitatively new theory, not reducible to mechanics, although mechanics facilitates penetration into this new field of natural phenomena. Maxwell's main conclusions boil down to the following: an alternating magnetic field excited by a changing current creates an electric field in the surrounding space, which in turn excites a magnetic field, etc. Changing electric and magnetic fields, mutually generating each other, form a single alternating electromagnetic field is an electromagnetic wave. He derived equations showing that the magnetic field created by a current source propagates from it at a constant speed. Having arisen, the electromagnetic field propagates in space at the speed of light of 300 km/s, occupying a larger and larger volume. D. Maxwell argued that the waves of light are of the same nature as the waves that arise around a wire in which there is an alternating electric current. They differ from each other only in length. Very short wavelengths is visible light. In the mid-seventies, Maxwell's work "On the Dynamic Proof of the Molecular Structure of Bodies" was published, representing an important addition to his "Theory of Heat" and his work on the kinetic theory of gases. In 1874, he begins a major historical work: the study of the scientific heritage of the eighteenth-century scientist Henry Cavendish and prepares it for publication. After Maxwell's research, it became clear that long before Faraday, Cavendish discovered the influence of a dielectric on the magnitude of the electric capacitance, and 15 years before Coulomb discovered the law of electrical interactions. Cavendish's works on electricity, describing experiments, took up a large volume, published in 1879 under the title "Papers on Electricity of the Honorable Henry Cavendish." This was Maxwell's last book published during his lifetime. On November 5, 1879, he died in Cambridge. Author: Samin D.K.
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