Abstract
In this chapter, we discuss the Maxwell equations that completely describe all electric and magnetic phenomena. Maxwell found, in particular, that the equation of the curl of the magnetic field valid under time-independent conditions cannot hold in dynamics, being incompatible with electric charge conservation. Maxwell solved the problem by introducing a new term. This term not only predicts the existence of electromagnetic waves, the waves we use for our radio, television and cellular phones, but also that light is an electromagnetic wave. Electricity, magnetism and optics became unified under a single theory.
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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
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Bettini, A. (2016). Maxwell Equations. In: A Course in Classical Physics 3 — Electromagnetism. Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40871-2_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40871-2_10
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Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-40870-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-40871-2
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