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| Carl Sagan's COSMOS is one of the most influential science programs ever made.
Q. Does the moon have a dark side?
A. The moon does have a far side which is impossible to see from the earth, but it doesn't mean that it's always dark. Each side of the moon is dark for no longer than 15 days at a time.
Q. Where does sound come from?
A. The air is always filled with sound waves. All things give off vibrations, but some have a low frequency which most cannot hear. The reason: it may take 3 minutes to make a single vibration. They may be caused by earthquakes and storms.
Did You Know?
The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
Coke-a-Cola was originally green.
Rubberbands last longer when refrigerated.
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Maxwell, James Clerk - 1831 to 1879
One of the greatest mathematicians and physicists in Britain during the 1800's. His studies included electricity in motion and the kinetic theory of
gases.
James Clerk Maxwell was born in 1831 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His parents were wealthy, but his mother died when he was nine years of age. At the age of sixteen he entered and was educated
at the University of Edinburgh and at Trinity College in Cambridge. William Hopkins, one of the best mathematics teachers of that time, was Maxwell's teacher at Cambridge. In 1856 at Marischal
College in Aberdeen, Scotland, Maxwell taught natural philosophy.
At King's College in London, Maxwell served as professor of natural philosophy from 1860 to 1865. Maxwell was also an experimental and theoretical physicist. In 1865 on the basis of Michael Faraday's
experimental work, he developed the theory into a physical concept, which soon proved to be of great value. Maxwell's theory predicted that light must exert pressure when falling upon or striking a
surface. This theory also included other forms of radiant energy. Maxwell's theory was demonstrated in 1901 by Lebedev in Russia and Nichols and Hull in the United States. It is now called the
electromagnetic theory of radiation. This simply means that radio waves, radiant heat, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet and x-radiation are essentially alike. The difference occurs
in wave length or frequency.
From Faraday's work Maxwell found the exact mathematical descriptions of electric and magnetic fields. He considered that electric and magnetic fields act together to produce a new type of energy
called radiant energy. This allowed Maxwell to predict the existence of electromagnetic waves moving through space at the speed of light in 1864. From Maxwell's discovery, Heinrich Hertz, in
1887, led the development of radio, television, and radar.
His conclusions of light waves being electromagnetic and not mechanical in nature caused the physical optics field to become a subdivision of electricity. These findings laid the framework for
later studies of the nature of x-rays and ultraviolet rays. Maxwell's theory of gases in motion works advanced the area of thermodynamics. With the aid of statistical methods, he could predict
the number of molecules of a gas at a certain speed at any given moment.
Maxwell's Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism is his best known work and the foundation of today's electromagnetic theory. He published many of Henry Cavendish's works. Cavendish was a
physicist who had lived about sixty years before. Maxwell, Kelvin, Joule, Boyle and many other investigators developed the thermal and mechanical sides of the doctrine of particles into kinetic
molecular hypothesis.(For more information see electromagnetism and Henry Cavendish.
Maxwell retired, but in 1871 returned to install the Cavendish Laboratory. He became the first teacher of experimental physics at Cambridge University. Interested in the theories of color and
vision, Maxwell investigated the eye disorder of color blindness. He died in 1879.
Works Cited
Kennon, William L. Astronomy: A Textbook for Colleges. Ginn and Company : Boston. 1968.
Barnhart, Clarence L. Thorndike-Barnhart Comprehensive Desk Dictionary Doubleday and Company, Inc: NY. 1965
Editors. The World Book Encyclopedia. World Book-Childcraft International, Inc: Chicago. 1990
Further Study
James Clerk Maxwell - Demons
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