Thomas K. Simpson

This volume reproduces major portions of the text of Maxwell's classic papers on concepts that are key to both modern physics and the modern world. Through Simpson's engaging commentaries and notes and Anne Farrell's illustrations, readers with limited knowledge of math or physics as well as scientists and historians of science will be able to follow the emergence of Maxwell's ideas and to appreciate the magnitude of his achievement. This book includes a long biographical introduction that explores the personal, historical, and scientific context of Maxwell's book.