Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory and special （麦克斯韦电磁理论和特殊）.pdf

Downloaded from / on August 2, 2017 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A (2008) 366, 1849–1860 doi:10.1098/rsta.2007.2192 Published online 24 January 2008 Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory and special relativity BY GRAHAM HALL * Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, UK This paper presents a brief history of electromagnetic theory from ancient times up to the work of Maxwell and the advent of Einstein’s special theory of relativity. It is divided into five convenient periods and the intention is to describe these developments for the benefit of a lay scientific audience and with the minimum of technical detail. Keywords: Maxwell; electromagnetism; special relativity 1. Introduction This paper is written in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of James Clerk Maxwell’s taking up, in 1856, the chair of natural philosophy in Marischal College, Aberdeen (later, in 1860, to merge with King’s College to form the University of Aberdeen). It is the text of a lecture given by the author at a meeting held in Maxwell’s honour in Aberdeen in September 2006. It should be added that this latter year is also the 175th anniversary of his birth, on 13 June 1831, in Edinburgh. Maxwell’s theory of the electromagnetic field is one of the main pillars of modern theoretical physics and, of course, played a key role in the formulation and the development of Einstein’s special theory of relativity. The purpose of this article is to give a brief description of the events that