Hundreds of IPL fans were surprised when Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, sent out a tweet praising ‘Maxwell.’ Royal Challengers Bangalore had just defeated Rajasthan Royals, courtesy Aussie all-rounder Glenn Maxwell’s spectacular performance.
As it turns out, Musk was praising James Clerk Maxwell, one of the greatest physicists ever. Musk was replying to a tweet from Space.com, which had shared an article about James Clerk.
Maxwell was incredible
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 29, 2021
Yes sir. We all just saw the RCB match too. 🔥😁
— Chloe-Amanda Bailey (@ChloeAmandaB) September 29, 2021
Since when Americans started watching Cricket match‼‼🤣😁
— Rajkishor Pachani🇮🇳 (@Raj_Pachani) September 29, 2021
A Scottish mathematician and scientist, James Clerk was born in 1831. James Clerk was one of the first scientists who figured out that electric and magnetic fields existed as tangible carriers and mediums of the same forces and that both forces were deeply interconnected.
“He realised that electric and magnetic fields are two sides of the same coin: Electricity and magnetism weren't two separate, distinct forces, but merely two expressions of the same, unified electromagnetic force. You can't think about electricity without also thinking about magnetism, and vice versa,” wrote Space.com.
Perhaps, even more importantly, James Clerk realised that electric and magnetic fields travel through space as waves moving at the speed of light, and predicted the existence of radiowaves. His 20 equations on electricity and magnetism were considered to be the "second great unification in physics" after Isaac Newton’s contributions.
From establishing the classical theories for electromagnetic radiation, developing the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution and even making the first durable colour photograph, James Clerk has been held as the third most influential physicist of all time, only behind Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein.
While the other two are much more famous for their contributions, many tend to forget about the revelations that James Clerk brought to physics, and all the discoveries and breakthroughs made by standing on his shoulders.
It is no wonder that when Einstein visited the University of Cambridge in 1922 and was told by his host that he had done great things because he stood on Newton's shoulders; Einstein had replied, "No I don't. I stand on the shoulders of Maxwell."
(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
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