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British physicist (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879). Known mainly for developing a series of equations for expressing the fundamental laws of electricity and magnetism. After Newton, he was the second scientist to move toward the unification of natural forces.
An enthusiast of storms, Maxwell knew that if you are close enough to an electrical storm and have a compass in hand, when lightening strikes the needle of the compass will begin to point in all directions. This suggested a relationship between both physical forces: the electricity of the bolt of lightening and the magnetism detected by the compass.
Newtonian physics could not explain this new phenomenon. In the West, the discovery as well as subsequent research in this new direction led to the introduction of the concept of “field.” Many scientists who had previously researched electromagnetic interactions were helpful to Maxwell. Some of them, such as André-Marie Ampère, Hans Christian Ørsted and Michael Faraday, had discovered that every electric charge affects a change in the space around it in such a way that when there is another charge nearby, this charge feels a force.
It is essential to understand that like the electromagnetic fields of the earth, our bodies are also electro-magnets. Nowadays, more and more people sense these subtle energy fields. For example, we can feel the presence of someone in a room without having seen or heard that person. We feel things that please or displease us. Sometimes, depending on the occasion, we can even know what someone else is thinking. This type of knowledge is possible due to the interactions of our electromagnetic fields.
Maxwell’s influence on modern science is unquestionable. Such revolutionary theories as Einstein’s theory of relativity and theories of modern quantum mechanics are based on his ideas.