A Treatise On Magnetism

Albert Einstein characterized the work of James Clerk Maxwell as the "most profound and the most fruitful that physics has experienced since the time of Newton." Max Planck went even further, declaring that "he achieved greatness unequalled," and Richard Feynman asserted that "From a long view of the history of mankind — seen from, say, ten thousand years from now — there can be little doubt that the most significant event of the nineteenth century will be judged as Maxwell's discovery of the laws of electrodynamics." Maxwell made numerous other contributions to the advancement of science, but the greatest work of his life was devoted to electricity. An Elementary Treatise on Electricity appeared at a time when very few books on electrical measurements were available to students, and its compact treatment not only elucidates the theory of electricity but also serves to develop electrical ideas in readers' minds. The author describes experiments that demonstrate the principal facts relating an electric charge as a quantity capable of being measured, deductions from these facts, and the exhibition of electrical phenomena. This volume, published posthumously from Maxwell's lecture notes at the Cavendish Laboratory — which he founded at the University of Cambridge — is supplemented by a selection of articles from his landmark book, Electricity and Magnetism. A classic of science, this volume is an eminently suitable text for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students.

James Clerk Maxwell published the Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism in 1873. At his death, six years later, his theory of the electromagnetic field was neither well understood nor widely accepted. By the mid-1890s, however, it was regarded as one of the most fundamental and fruitful of all physical theories. Bruce J. Hunt examines the joint work of a group of young British physicists—G. F. FitzGerald, Oliver Heaviside, and Oliver Lodge—along with a key German contributor, Heinrich Hertz. It was these "Maxwellians" who transformed the fertile but half-finished ideas presented in the Treatise into the concise and powerful system now known as "Maxwell's theory."

Reprint of the original, first published in 1873.

A unique resource for physicists and engineers working with magnetic fields An understanding of magnetic phenomena is essential for anyone working on the practical application of electromagnetic theory. Magnetic Fields: A Comprehensive Theoretical Treatise for Practical Use provides physicists and engineers with a thorough treatment of the magnetic aspects of classical electromagnetic theory, focusing on key issues and problems arising in the generation and application of magnetic fields. From magnetic potentials and diffusion phenomena to magnetohydrodynamics and properties of matter-topics are carefully selected for their relevance to the theoretical framework as well as current technologies. Outstanding in its organization, clarity, and scope, Magnetic Fields: * Examines a wide range of practical problems, from magnetomechanical devices to magnetic acceleration mechanisms * Opens each chapter with reference to pertinent engineering examples * Provides sufficient detail enabling readers to follow the derivation of the results * Discusses solution methods and their application to different problems * Includes more than 300 graphs, 40 tables, 2,000 numbered formulas, and extensive references to the professional literature * Reviews the essential mathematics in the appendices

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