"Annenberg Media" "¶" "oÑ @LOJcñ?" "ñ]ññw[[ n?" "+[/ñ"t ?" "WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE, AS YOU ARE NOW," "I TOOK A COURSE IN MODERN HISTORY." "ONE DAY DURING THIS COURSE, THE PROFESSOR SAID," ""THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY."" "I TIMIDLY RAISED MY LITTLE HAND." "I SAID, "PROFESSOR, SIR."" "WE WERE VERY RESPECTFUL IN THOSE DAYS." "I SAID, "SIR, YOU SPENT TWO WEEKS TEACHING US" ""ABOUT THE THEORY OF 19th-CENTURY WARFARE," ""AND YOU NEVER SAID ONE WORD" ""ABOUT THE THEORIES OF JAMES CLERK MAXWELL." ""THE THEORY OF 19th-CENTURY WARFARE" ""IS A MATTER OF NO LASTING SIGNIFICANCE," ""WHILE WHAT MAXWELL DID" ""AFFECTS EVERY DAY OF OUR LIVES." ""DON'T YOU THINK" ""THAT'S A BIZARRE DISTORTION" "OF WHAT'S IMPORTANT ABOUT HISTORY?"" "MAYBE WE WEREN'T SO RESPECTFUL AFTER ALL." "TO HIS CREDIT," "HE WAS EMBARRASSED BY MY QUESTION." "HE DID KNOW WHO MAXWELL WAS." "HE BRIEFLY EXPLAINED WHAT HE HAD DONE." "THE POINT IS THAT THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE" "IS THE STEPCHILD OF THE HISTORICAL PROFESSION." "MOST HISTORIANS JUST IGNORE IT" "BECAUSE THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND IT." "THEY'RE LIKE THE FELLOW WHO SEARCHED FOR HIS KEYS" "UNDER THE LAMPPOST BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE LIGHT IS," "EVEN THOUGH HE'D LOST THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE." "I'M NOT GOING TO SAY A WORD" "ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THEORIES OF 19th-CENTURY WARFARE." "I WILL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT" "THE BEAUTIFUL THEORIES OF JAMES CLERK MAXWELL." "ELEGANT MATHEMATICAL THEORIES" "WEREN'T THE ONLY THINGS OF BEAUTY" "WITH WHICH JAMES CLERK MAXWELL SURROUNDED HIMSELF." "THERE WERE HIS PRECIOUS BOOKS, OF COURSE," "AND OUTSIDE HIS WELL-APPOINTED STUDY" "WERE THE ROLLING HILLS OF GLENLAIR," "THE MAXWELL FAMILY ESTATE," "TWO DAYS' JOURNEY FROM EDINBURGH." "EVERY MORNING, EVEN NEARER TO HIS HEART," "THERE WAS KATHERINE." "GOOD MORNING, JAMES." "YOU'RE A BONNY LASS." "YOU BROUGHT MY TEA?" "THEY'D MET IN ABERDEEN," "AT MARISCHAL COLLEGE, WHERE HE'D BEGUN TEACHING IN 1856." "TWO YEARS LATER," "JAMES WROTE HIS AUNT CAY," ""THIS COMES TO TELL YOU THAT I AM GOING TO HAVE A WIFE."" "HE PREDICTED A NEW BRIDE" ""CERTAINLY WON'T STOP MATHEMATICS."" "CHARACTERISTIC OF MAXWELL'S SCIENTIFIC PREDICTIONS," "THIS ONE PROVED ACCURATE INDEED." "OF COURSE, MAXWELL WASN'T THE FIRST" "TO MAKE ACCURATE PREDICTIONS" "ABOUT THE DEEP MYSTERIES OF NATURAL FORCES." "TWO CENTURIES EARLIER," "ISAAC NEWTON HAD WRITTEN A BOOK ON THE SUBJECT," "BUT HE'D HAD TO EXPRESS HIMSELF" "IN TERMS OF "ACTION AT A DISTANCE."" "THAT IDEA WOULD COME TO BE APPLIED" "NOT ONLY TO GRAVITY," "BUT ALSO TO ELECTRICITY AND TO MAGNETISM." "AND THEN, IN THE 1830s," "ON THE HEELS OF THE FRENCHMEN COULOUMB AND AMPERE" "AND ESPECIALLY ON THE TRAIL OF HANS CHRISTIAN OERSTED," "ALONG CAME MICHAEL FARADAY." "HE'D BEEN INCREASINGLY DRAWN" "TOWARD ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM," "AND BY AUGUST OF 1831, HIS PATH WAS REASONABLY CLEAR." "PICKING UP WHERE OERSTED LEFT OFF," "FARADAY CONFIRMED THAT AN ELECTRIC CURRENT" "CAN PRODUCE A MAGNETIC FIELD," "AND THEN, GOING FAR BEYOND," "FARADAY DEMONSTRATED THAT A CHANGING MAGNETIC FLUX" "CAN CREATE AN ELECTRIC CURRENT..." "AND THAT A CHANGING ELECTRIC CURRENT IN ONE CIRCUIT" "CAN INDUCE CURRENT TO FLOW IN ANOTHER." "IS THIS THE RIGHT BOOK, JAMES?" "RIGHT." "THE FARADAY BOOK." "THEREAFTER, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF SIMILAR DISCOVERIES" "BY AMERICA'S JOSEPH HENRY," "THE PRINCIPLE OF INDUCTION" "IN THE NATURE OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM" "WAS THERE FOR THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD TO BEHOLD," "AND CERTAINLY WITHIN THE MAXWELL HOUSE," "FARADAY'S EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHESINELECTRICITY" "WAS CONSIDERED THE DEFINITIVE TEXT." "BUT BY THE TIME HE GOT HOLD OF FARADAY'S WORK," "MAXWELL WAS READY TO DRAW NEW CONCLUSIONS," "AN ABILITY WHICH HE DEVELOPED EARLY ON." "AS A STUDENT AT CAMBRIDGE," "MAXWELL'S MATHEMATICS TEACHER OBSERVED," ""IT APPEARS IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM TO THINK INCORRECTLY" "ON PHYSICAL SUBJECTS."" "SOON AFTER THAT," "AS A GRADUATE STUDENT," "HE WROTE A PAPER" "THAT GAVE THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY REASON TO AGREE." "IT WAS CALLED ON FARADAY'S LINES OF FORCE," "AND IN PREPARATION FOR THAT WORK," "JAMES CLERK MAXWELL HAD DONE HIS HOMEWORK." "IN THE SPRING OF 1846," "MICHAEL FARADAY HAD PENNED A PAPER" "CALLED THOUGHTSONRAYVIBRATIONS." "IN THAT PROPHETIC PUBLICATION," "HE SPECULATED THAT LIGHT IS A TYPE OF VIBRATION" "IN THE LINES OF FORCE." ""THE LINES OF FORCE," HE WROTE," ""ARE KNOWN TO CONNECT PARTICLES" "AND ALSO MASSES OF MATTER TOGETHER."" "IN OTHER WORDS, IN FARADAY'S IMAGINATION," "ELECTRIC CHARGES WERE LINKED TOGETHER" "BY LINES OF FORCE IN EMPTY SPACE." "HOWEVER, EVEN THOUGH HIS IDEA" "WAS EASY TO SEE IN THE MIND'S EYE," "IT INTRODUCED AN INTRIGUING SCIENTIFIC QUESTION" "WOULD A VIBRATING CHARGE" "SET THE LINES OF FORCE INTO VIBRATION?" "AT THIS POINT," "FARADAY MIGHT HAVE PICTURED EACH LINE BEHAVING" "AS IF IT WERE A LINKED ROW OF MECHANICAL OSCILLATORS." "AND IN THAT CASE," "HE WOULD'VE SEEN A DISTURBANCE PROPAGATE ALONG THE ROW," "EITHER AS A LONGITUDINAL WAVE" "OR AS A TRANSVERSE WAVE." "NO MATTER HOW THEY MIGHT HAVE TAKEN SHAPE IN HIS MIND," "THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THOSE VIBRATIONS" "WAS IN THE FACT THAT FARADAY HAD SEEN THEM." "AND SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE LINES" "OF MICHAEL FARADAY'S THOUGHTSONRAYVIBRATIONS," "JAMES CLERK MAXWELL WOULD DISCOVER" "HIS ELECTROMAGNETIC THEORY OF LIGHT." "HOWEVER, BEFORE HE COULD READ" "FARADAY'S HANDWRITING ON THE WALL," "TO REFINE AND POLISH IT WITH HIS ELEGANT MATHEMATICS," "MAXWELL NEEDED TO DECIPHER A CRUCIAL CLUE." "WITHIN THE FORCES OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM," "HE FOUND A VERY SIGNIFICANT SPEED." "ANY WAVE HAS A DEFINITE SPEED," "DEPENDING ON WHAT MAKES IT GO." "FOR EXAMPLE, IN DEEP WATER," "THE SPEED OF WAVES DEPENDS ON THE ACCELERATION OF GRAVITY" "AND THE LENGTH OF THE WAVE." "IN AIR, THE SPEED OF SOUND" "DEPENDS ON THE AIR PRESSURE" "AS WELL AS THE DENSITY OF THE MEDIUM." "AND FOR LINKED OSCILLATORS," "THE SPEED IS GIVEN BY THE SPRING CONSTANT," "THE MASS," "AND THE DISTANCE BETWEEN OSCILLATORS." "SO IT WAS TIME FOR MAXWELL TO GET DOWN TO DETERMINING" "THE SPEED OF WAVES IN FARADAY'S LINES OF FORCE." "FROM MAXWELL'S MATHEMATICAL PERSPECTIVE," "FARADAY'S LINES WERE AN EXPRESSION" "OF THE 1/r-SQUARED NATURE" "OF THE FORCES OF GRAVITY," "OF ELECTRICITY," "AND OF MAGNETISM." "AT THE SAME TIME," "EACH OF THOSE" "HAS A SPECIFIC CONSTANT." "IN THE RIGHT SCIENTIFIC HANDS," "THOSE FACTS GOT AROUND TO THIS" "SINCE THE FUNDAMENTAL FORCES" "OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM AREN'T INDEPENDENT," "THE ELECTRIC CONSTANT, K SUB e," "AND THE MAGNETIC CONSTANT, K SUB m," "SHOULD BE RELATED," "BUT THE QUESTION IS HOW." "THE RATIO, K SUB e DIVIDED BY K SUB m," "HAS THE UNITS METERS-SQUARED OVER SECONDS-SQUARED." "IN OTHER WORDS, THE SQUARE OF A SPEED," "BUT WHAT SPEED?" "ITS SQUARE IS 9 TIMES 10 TO THE 16th METERS-SQUARED PER SECOND-SQUARED." "DIVIDE THE ELECTRIC CONSTANT BY THE MAGNETIC CONSTANT." "AND THERE IT IS, THE SPEED OF LIGHT." "IT WAS AN AMAZING DISCOVERY." "AFTER 50 YEARS" "OF THE CLOSEST SCIENTIFIC SCRUTINY ELSEWHERE," "JAMES CLERK MAXWELL SAW THE LIGHT" "AND FOUND ITS SPEED" "IN THE FORCES OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM." "BUT THE FUNDAMENTAL FORCES" "WEREN'T ALL THAT OCCUPIED MAXWELL'S MIND." "AROUND 1857, AN ACADEMIC PRIZE WAS OFFERED" "TO ANYONE WHO COULD EXPLAIN THE SOLID NATURE" "OF THE RINGS OF SATURN" "AND THEIR STEADY MOVEMENT AROUND THE PLANET." "MAXWELL'S ANSWER WAS RIGHT ON THE MARK." "THE ONLY STRUCTURE THAT COULD ACCOUNT FOR SUCH STABILITY," "MAXWELL WROTE," "WAS ONE MADE UP OF CLUSTERS OF DISCONNECTED PARTICLES." "MAXWELL'S ESSAY NOT ONLY WON THE CAMBRIDGE PRIZE," "IT WON THE PRAISE" "OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY AT LARGE." "SIR GEORGE AIRY, BRITAIN'S ROYAL ASTRONOMER," "CALLED IT A MOST REMARKABLE APPLICATION OF MATHEMATICS." "PERHAPS BECAUSE ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER," "MAXWELL IMMEDIATELY SET HIS SIGHTS" "ON MOVING PARTICLES OTHER THAN THOSE OF SATURN'S RINGS." "HE DEVELOPED A KINETIC THEORY OF GASES" "IN WHICH GAS MOLECULES ARE SMALL, ELASTIC PARTICLES" "THAT COLLIDE WITH ONE ANOTHER" "AS THEY MOVE ABOUT WITH VARIOUS VELOCITIES." "MAXWELL BELIEVED ALL PHYSICS RESEARCH" "SHOULD ADVANCE ON, IN HIS WORDS," ""STRICT MECHANICAL PRINCIPLES."" "THAT BELIEF LED NOT ONLY TO MAXWELL'S THEORY OF GASES," "IT LED TO HIS GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS" "IN ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM." "TO PURSUE HIS RESEARCH," "THE MAXWELLS MOVED TO KENSINGTON, LONDON, IN 1860." "FOR FIVE YEARS AT KING'S COLLEGE," "HE WAS PRODUCTIVE" "IN KINETIC THEORY AND ELECTRICITY ALIKE." "AND HERE AT LONDON'S ROYAL INSTITUTION," "MAXWELL FINALLY MET FARADAY." "FARADAY, REMEMBER, HAD SEEN ELECTRICITY" "IN MECHANICAL TERMS," "NOT MERELY AS AN IDEA" "IN KEEPING WITH NEWTON'S "ACTION AT A DISTANCE,"" "BUT AS A THING OF PHYSICAL LINES," "A SOLID STRUCTURE OF FORCE THAT RADIATED THROUGH SPACE." "MAXWELL WOULD STATE WITH GREAT ADMIRATION" "THAT FARADAY HAD SEEN A MEDIUM" "WHERE THE STRICT NEWTONIANS SAW NOTHING BUT DISTANCE." "PERCEPTIVELY, MAXWELL ADDED," ""FARADAY SOUGHT THE SEAT OF THE PHENOMENA" "IN REAL ACTIONS GOING ON IN THE MEDIUM."" "OF COURSE, AS IT WOULD LATER BE SEEN," "THE MEDIUM IS THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD," "AND THAT'S WHERE THE ACTION REALLY IS," "BUT BEFORE MAXWELL COULD GET THE MESSAGE FROM THE MEDIUM," "HE HAD TO DETERMINE WHETHER WAVES COULD TRAVEL" "THROUGH THE ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELDS" "AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT." "IF SO, THEY WOULD HAVE TO OBEY" "THE FOUR LAWS OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM." "THEELECTRICFLUX THROUGHANYCLOSEDSURFACE" "ISEQUALTO 4PIK SUBE  TIMESq" "ORq /EPSILON-0," "WHEREq ISTHETOTALCHARGE ENCLOSEDBYTHESURFACE." "ANDTHEMAGNETICFLUX THROUGHANYCLOSEDSURFACE" "ISALWAYSEQUALTO0 ." "THESEAREGAUSS'LAWS FORELECTRICITYANDMAGNETISM." "THECIRCULATION OFMAGNETICFIELD" "AROUNDANYCLOSEDPATH" "ISEQUALTO MU-0" "TIMESTHEELECTRICCURRENT PASSINGTHROUGHTHATPATH." "THISISAMPERE'SLAW ." "THECIRCULATION OFELECTRICFIELD" "AROUNDANYCLOSEDPATH" "ISEQUALTO MINUSTHE RATE OFCHANGEOF MAGNETICFLUX" "THROUGHTHATPATH." "THISISFARADAY'SLAW  OF ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION." "SO SUPPOSE THAT THERE CAN BE A WAVE" "IN THE INTENSITY OF THE ELECTRIC FIELD." "THIS ONE'S A TRANSVERSE PLANE WAVE," "AND IT TRAVELS, OF COURSE, AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT," "BUT CONSIDER THE FIELD AT ANY ONE INSTANT." "SINCE IT'S UP IN ONE REGION" "AND DOWN IN THE NEXT," "IT HAS A CIRCULATION ABOUT THIS PATH." "ACCORDING TO FARADAY'S LAW," "THAT MEANS THAT THERE MUST BE MAGNETIC FLUX" "THROUGH THAT SAME PATH," "AND FURTHERMORE," "THAT IT MUST BE CHANGING IN TIME." "AND THAT CAN ONLY MEAN ONE THING" "A MAGNETIC WAVE MUST TAG ALONG WITH THE ELECTRIC WAVE" "EVERYWHERE IT GOES." "BUT--AND HERE'S THE CRUX OF THE PROBLEM" "THAT IN TURN MEANS, AT ANY INSTANT," "THERE'S A CIRCULATION OF THE MAGNETIC FIELD" "ABOUT THIS PATH." "AND ACCORDING TO AMPERE'S LAW," "THAT CAN ONLY BE TRUE" "IF THERE'S CURRENT FLOWING THROUGH IT." "BUT IN EMPTY SPACE," "THERE'S NO MATTER AND NO ELECTRIC CURRENTS," "SO THERE'S NO WAY AROUND THE FACT" "THAT ACCORDING TO THE LAWS OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM" "IN MAXWELL'S TIME," "THERE COULD BE ABSOLUTELY NO ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES IN SPACE." "THE POINT WAS THIS" "IF THE LAWS OF PHYSICS STATED" "THAT WAVES COULDN'T EXIST IN EMPTY SPACE," "COULD IT HAVE BEEN THAT FUNDAMENTAL AS THEY WERE," "THOSE LAWS WERE SOMEHOW INCOMPLETE?" "MAXWELL'S TASK WAS TO EXAMINE" "THE FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF HIS ERA," "AND HIS TRIUMPH WAS TO FIND THE MISSING PIECE," "AND HE DID SO, BY LOOKING INTO" "A SIMPLE AND ALTOGETHER CONVENTIONAL APPARATUS," "THE CAPACITOR." "THE MAGNETIC CIRCULATION AROUND ANY PATH" "DEPENDS ON THE ELECTRIC CURRENT LINKED THROUGH THE PATH." "THE ONLY WAY TO BE SURE" "THAT THE CURRENT GOES THROUGH THE PATH" "IS TO IMAGINE A MEMBRANE BOUNDED BY THE PATH." "THEN THE SAME CURRENT MUST PASS THROUGH THE MEMBRANE" "NO MATTER WHAT SHAPE THE MEMBRANE TAKES." "BUT THAT'S NO LONGER TRUE" "IF THE CURRENT FLOWS INTO A CAPACITOR." "THEN, EVEN THOUGH CURRENT IS FLOWING," "THERE MAY BE NONE THROUGH THE MEMBRANE." "IF SO, WHAT IS THE MAGNETIC CIRCULATION EQUAL TO?" "SEEKING AN ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION," "MAXWELL TOOK A PAGE FROM FARADAY'S BOOK" "CHANGING MAGNETIC FLUX CREATES ELECTRIC CIRCULATION" "AND THEN, AS USUAL," "HE LOOKED AT THINGS THE OTHER WAY AROUND." "COULD CHANGING ELECTRIC FLUX, HE WONDERED," "CREATE MAGNETIC CIRCULATION?" "THE ANSWER PROMISED TO SOLVE THE CAPACITOR PROBLEM." "ASCURRENTFLOWS INTOTHECAPACITOR," "CHARGEBUILDSUP ," "WHICHCREATES AN INCREASING ELECTRIC FIELD" "BETWEENTHEPLATES." "THEELECTRICFLUX THROUGHTHEMEMBRANE" "CANBEDEDUCED FROMGAUSS'LAW" "BYIMAGINING ACLOSEDSURFACE." "ALLTHEFLUXGOESTHROUGH THEDOME-SHAPEDMEMBRANE," "AND IT'S EQUAL TO THE CHARGE ONTHECAPACITORPLATE" "OVEREPSILON-0." "THERATEOF CHANGE OFELECTRICFLUX" "CANBEFOUND BYDIFFERENTIATING" "BOTHSIDES OFTHEEQUATION." "IT'SGIVENSIMPLY" "BYTHECURRENT FLOWINGINTHEWIRE." "INOTHERWORDS," "EPSILON-0TIMES THERATEOF CHANGE" "OFELECTRICFLUXTHROUGH THEDOME-SHAPEDMEMBRANE" "ISTHESAME ASTHEELECTRICCURRENT" "THROUGHTHEFLATMEMBRANE." "THIS WAS MAXWELL'S CRUCIAL DISCOVERY" "THE PRECISE MANNER IN WHICH CHANGING ELECTRIC FLUX" "CAN GENERATE A MAGNETIC FIELD" "AS IF IT WERE A KIND OF ELECTRIC CURRENT." "IN FACT, MAXWELL HIMSELF CALLED THIS MATHEMATICAL TERM" "THE DISPLACEMENT CURRENT." "IN OTHER WORDS, THE MAGNETIC CIRCULATION" "AROUND A CLOSED PATH IS GIVEN" "NOT ONLY BY THE ELECTRIC CURRENT THROUGH IT," "BUT ALSO BY THE RATE OF CHANGE" "OF ELECTRIC FLUX THROUGH IT." "THIS WAS HOW JAMES CLERK MAXWELL" "COMPLETED THE LAWS OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM." "AND WITH THESE LAWS, MAXWELL COULD SHOW" "THAT ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES OF EVERY FREQUENCY AND WAVELENGTH" "WOULD PROPAGATE THROUGH EMPTY SPACE" "AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT." "MAXWELL'S DISCOVERY," "WHICH SEEMED PURELY THEORETICAL AT THE TIME," "WOULD LEAD TO THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS" "OF THE 20th CENTURY," "RADIATING THROUGH SPACE NOT ONLY AS VISIBLE LIGHT," "BUT ALSO AS RADIO WAVES, MICROWAVES," "AND THE ENTIRE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM." "IT WAS A DISCOVERY" "THAT WOULD LEAD FAR BEYOND THE EARTH" "INTO THE DEEPEST REACHES OF SPACE," "WHERE A WAVE IN THE INTENSITY OF THE ELECTRIC FIELD" "IMPLIES THE EXISTENCE OF A CHANGING MAGNETIC FLUX." "THAT MEANS A WAVE IN THE MAGNETIC FIELD," "AND THAT'S MADE POSSIBLE BY CHANGING ELECTRIC FLUX," "AND IT'S MADE CLEAR ONLY BECAUSE MAXWELL UNDERSTOOD" "THAT ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELDS CREATE EACH OTHER" "IF THEY MOVE IN A WAVE TOGETHER AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT." "AND SO IT GOES, IN LOCK STEP THROUGH ETERNITY," "BOTH FIELDS PROPAGATING THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE." "AND IN THAT LIGHT," "ALWAYS AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT," "ONE CAN FINALLY SEE" "THE POWER AND THE GLORY" "OF MAXWELL'S EQUATIONS." "JUST AS NEWTON WAS BORN THE YEAR GALILEO DIED," "MAXWELL WAS BORN IN 1831," "THE YEAR FARADAY DISCOVERED ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION," "AND HE DIED IN 1879," "THE YEAR OF ALBERT EINSTEIN'S BIRTH." "WHAT COULD BE MORE FITTING?" "FOR BETWEEN NEWTON AND EINSTEIN," "NO MEN IN SCIENTIFIC HISTORY MADE A DEEPER MARK." "MAXWELL WENT AHEAD TO REFINE AND REDEFINE" "THE FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF NATURE," "AND IN THE PROCESS," "TO BUILD A BRIDGE TO MODERN PHYSICS." "THE FACT IS THAT MAXWELL WAS ENDOWED" "WITH ONE OF THE FINEST MINDS" "THAT THE HUMAN RACE PRODUCED DURING THE 19th CENTURY." "THAT, COMBINED WITH HIS CAMBRIDGE EDUCATION," "ENABLED HIM TO DO ANYTHING HE WANTED TO." "I HAVEN'T TOLD YOU ABOUT HIS SENSE OF HUMOR," "ALTHOUGH ONCE I READ TO YOU ONE OF HIS COMIC POEMS" "ABOUT THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH COMPANY." "I'D LIKE TO READ TO YOU A LITTLE BIT TODAY" "FROM ANOTHER OF HIS COMIC VERSES." "THE POEM IS IN THIS BOOK," "WHICH IS VERY OLD AND RARE AND VALUABLE." "I DON'T WANT TO HANDLE IT, SO I'LL TEAR OUT SOME PAGES" "SO THAT I CAN READ IT TO YOU." "THIS IS A HOMEWORK PROBLEM." "IN THE FIRST VERSE, HE SETS OUT THE PROBLEM." ""AN INEXTENSIBLE HEAVY CHAIN LIES ON A HORIZONTAL PLANE." ""AN IMPULSIVE FORCE IS APPLIED AT A," "REQUIRED, THE INITIAL MOTION AT K."" "THERE'S A CHAIN LYING ON A TABLE," "AND SOMEBODY JERKS IT AT ONE END." "THE QUESTION IS, HOW DOES THE OTHER END OF THE CHAIN" "BEGIN TO MOVE?" "THAT IS TYPICAL OF THE KIND OF DIFFICULT" "AND UTTERLY USELESS PROBLEM" "THAT CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS HAVE TRADITIONALLY BEEN TRAINED ON." "HAVING SET OUT THE PROBLEM," "HE SHOWS HOW TO SOLVE IT IN GREAT DETAIL." "I'D LIKE YOU TO GO HOME TONIGHT" "AND WORK OUT YOUR HOMEWORK PROBLEMS IN VERSE" "AND BRING THEM BACK WITH YOU" "WHEN YOU COME HERE NEXT TIME." "CAPTIONING IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE ANNENBERG/CPB PROJECT" "CAPTIONING PERFORMED BY THE NATIONAL CAPTIONING INSTITUTE, INC." "CAPTIONS COPYRIGHT 1987 CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY," "THE CORPORATION FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE TELEVISION, THE ANNENBERG/CPB PROJECT" "PUBLIC PERFORMANCE OF CAPTIONS PROHIBITED WITHOUT PERMISSION OF NATIONAL CAPTIONING INSTITUTE" "Annenberg Media" "¶" "For information about this and other Annenberg Media programs call 1-800-LEARNER and visit us at"