James Clerk Maxwell's Scottish chair.

نویسنده

  • John S Reid
چکیده

This account of Maxwell as professor of natural philosophy at Marischal College, Aberdeen, fills in many details that have been left out of Maxwell's biographies. It discusses the degree programme that Maxwell taught on, the nature of his colleagues, the type of student he had in his classes and the range of activities involved in his teaching. Evidence is cited that Maxwell was an enthusiastic and effective teacher, contrary to the often repeated but thinly supported view to the contrary. Following a brief summary of Maxwell's research interests while at Aberdeen, the myth that Maxwell was sacked from the University of Aberdeen is exploded and the detail of why he moved on is spelt out.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

James Clerk Maxwell 150 years on.

This paper is the preface to a special Issue of Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A reporting selected proceedings of the international conference marking the 150th anniversary of James Clerk Maxwell's professorial debut at Marischal College, Aberdeen. Following an introduction to Marischal College, a brief historical note summarizes Maxwell's life prior to his entering the college as professor of natural p...

متن کامل

Knots in the Nursery : ( Cats ) Cradle Song of James Clerk Maxwell Daniel

A field of mathematics can acquire energy from a notable paper. I will wager that knot theory is the only field that was both propelled by a paper and heralded by a poem. The paper, “On knots,” was written by the Scottish mathematician and physicist Peter Guthrie Tait in 1877. The poem, (Cats) Cradle Song, was a witty response by James Clerk Maxwell, another Scottish mathematician as well as a ...

متن کامل

Computing Entropy: Understanding Maxwell's Demon

In 1871, James Clerk Maxwell proposed that a being, able to measure the microscopic parameters of a physical system and act accordingly, might be able to violate the Laws of Thermodynamics. The being became known as Maxwell's Demon. Investigations conducted over the course of a century have placed well-de ned thermodynamic bounds upon the action of Maxwell's demon. It is the purpose of this wor...

متن کامل

James Clerk Maxwell and the dynamics of astrophysical discs.

Maxwell's investigations into the stability of Saturn's rings provide one of the earliest analyses of the dynamics of astrophysical discs. Current research in planetary rings extends Maxwell's kinetic theory to treat dense granular gases of particles undergoing moderately frequent inelastic collisions. Rather than disrupting the rings, local instabilities may be responsible for generating their...

متن کامل

Demons, Engines and the Second Law

O ne manifestation of the sec­ ond law of thermodynamics is that such devices as refrigera­ tors, which create inequalities of tem­ perature, require energy in order to operate. Conversely, an existing in­ equality of temperature can be ex­ ploited to do useful work-for exam­ ple by a steam engine, which exploits the temperature difference between its hot boiler and its cold condenser. Yet in 1...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:
  • Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences

دوره 366 1871  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2008