[ 459 ] A VIII. Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field. By J. Clerk Maxwell, F.B.S. — Received October 27, Read December 8, 1864. PART I.—INTRODUCTORY. (1) The most obvious mechanical phenomenon in electrical and magnetical experiments is the mutual action by which bodies in certain states set each other in motion while still at a sensible distance from each other. The first step, therefore, in reducing these phenomena into scientific form, is to ascertain the magnitude and direction of the force acting between the bodies, and when it is found that this force depends in a certain way upon the relative position of the bodies and on their electric or magnetic condition, it seems at first sight natural to explain the facts by assuming the existence of something either at rest or in motion in each body, constituting its electric or magnetic state, and capable of acting at a distance according to mathematical laws. In this way mathematical theories of statical electricity, of magnetism, of the mechanical action between conductors carrying currents, and of the induction of currents have been formed. In these theories the force acting between the two bodies is treated with reference only to the condition of the bodies and their relative position, and without any express consideration of the surrounding medium. These theories assume, more or less explicitly, the existence of substances the particles of which have the property of acting on one another at a distance by attraction or repulsion. The most complete development of a theory of this kind is that of % M. W. Weber*, who has made the same theory include electrostatic and electromagnetic phenomena. In doing so, however, he has found it necessary to assume that the force between two electric particles depends on their relative velocity, as well as on their distance. This theory, as developed by MM. W. Weber and C. Neumann f, is exceedingly ingenious, and wonderfully comprehensive in its application to the phenomena of statical electricity, electromagnetic attractions, induction of currents apd diamagnetic phenomena ; and it comes to us with the more authority, as it has served to guide the speculations of one who has made so great an advance in the practical part of electric science, both by introducing a consistent system of units in electrical measurement, and by actually determining electrical quantities with an accuracy hitherto unknown. * Electrodynamische Maassbestimnmngen. Leipzic Trans, vol. i. 1849, and Taylor's Scientific Memoirs, vol.r. art. xiv. . f " Explicare tentatur quomodo fiat ut lucis planum polarizationis per vires electricas vel magneticas decli- netur."—Halis Saxomim, 1858. MDCCCLXV. 3E 460 PEOEESSOE CLERK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD. (2) The mechanical difficulties, however, which are involved in the assumption of particles acting at a distance with forces which depend on their velocities are such as to prevent me from considering this theory as an ultimate one, though it may have been, and may yet be useful in leading to the coordination of phenomena. I have therefore preferred to seek an explanation of the fact in another direction, by supposing them to be produced by actions which go on in the surrounding medium as well as in the excited bodies, and endeavouring to explain the action between distant bodies without assuming the existence of forces capable of acting directly at sensible distances. (3) The theory I propose may therefore be called a theory of the Electromagnetic Field), because it has to do with the space in the neighbourhood of the electric or magnetic bodies, and it may be called a Dynamical Theory, because it assumes that in that space there is matter in motion, by which the observed electromagnetic phenomena are produced. (4) The electromagnetic field is that part of space which contains and surrounds bodies in electric or magnetic conditions. It may be filled with any kind of matter, or we may endeavour to render it empty of all gross matter, as in the case of Geisslbr's tubes and other so-called vacua. There is always, however, enough of matter left to receive and transmit the undulations of light and heat, and it is because the transmission of these radiations is not greatly altered when transparent bodies of measurable density are substituted for the so-called vacuum, that we are obliged to admit that the undulations are those of an eethereal substance, and not of the gross matter, the presence of which merely modifies in some way the motion of the aether. We have therefore some reason to believe, from the phenomena of light and heat, that there is an sethereal medium filling space and permeating bodies, capable of being set in motion and of transmitting that motion from one part to another, and of com- municating that motion to gross matter so as to heat it and affect it in various ways. (5) Now the energy communicated to the body in heating it must have formerly existed in the moving medium, for the undulations had left the source of heat some time before they reached the body, and during that time the energy must have been half in the form of motion of the medium and half in the form of elastic resilience. From these considerations Professor W. Thomson has argued *, that the medium must have a density capable of comparison with that of gross matter, and has even assigned an infe- rior limit to that density. We (6) may therefore receive, as a datum derived from a branch of science inde- pendent of that with which we have to deal, the existence of a pervading medium, of small but real density, capable of being set in motion, and of transmitting motion from one part to another with great, but not infinite, velocity. Hence the parts of this medium must be so connected that the motion of one part * " On the Possible Density of the Luminiferous Medium, and on the Mechanical Yalue of a Cubic Mile of Sunlight/' Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1854), p. 57. PEOFESSOE CLEKK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD. 461 depends in some way on the motion of the rest; and at the same time these connexions must be capable of a certain kind of elastic yielding, since the communication of motion is not instantaneous, but occupies time. The medium is therefore capable of receiving and storing up two kinds of energy, namely, the "actual" energy depending on the motions of its parts, and "potential" energy, consisting of the work which the medium will do in recovering from displace- ment in virtue of its elasticity. . The propagation of undulations consists in the continual transformation of one of these forms of energy into the other alternately, and at any instant the amount of energy in the whole medium is equally divided, so that half is energy of motion, and half is elastic resilience. A (7) medium having such a constitution may be capable of other kinds of motion and displacement than those which produce the phenomena of light and heat, and some of these may be of such a kind that they may be evidenced to our senses by the phenomena they produce. (8) Now we know that the luminiferous medium is in certain cases acted on by magnetism; for Faraday f discovered that when a plane polarized ray traverses a transparent diamagnetic medium in the direction of the lines of magnetic force produced by magnets or currents in the neighbourhood, the plane of polarization is caused to rotate. This rotation is always in the direction in which positive electricity must be carried round the diamagnetic body in order to produce the actual magnetization of the field. M. VEEDETf has since discovered that if a paramagnetic body, such as solution of perehloride of iron in ether, be substituted for the diamagnetic body, the rotation is in the opposite direction. Now Professor W. Thomson^ has pointed out that no distribution of forces acting between the parts of a medium whose only motion is that of the luminous vibrations, is sufficient to account for the phenomena, but that we must admit the existence of a motion in the medium depending on the magnetization, in addition to the vibratory motion which constitutes light. It is true that the rotation by magnetism of the plane of polarization has been observed only in media of considerable density ; but the properties of the magnetic field are not so much altered by the substitution of one medium for another, or for a vacuum, as to allow us to suppose that the dense medium does anything more than merely modify We the motion of the ether. have therefore warrantable grounds for inquiring whether there may not be a motion of the ethereal medium going on wherever magnetic elects are observed, and we have some reason to suppose that this motion is one of rotation, having the direction of the magnetic force as its axis. We (9) may now consider another phenomenon observed in the electromagnetic * Experimental Besearches, Series 19. f Comptes Bendus (1856, second half year, p. 529, and 1857, first half year, p. 1209). % Proceedings of the Boyal Society, June 1856 and June 1861. 3b2 462 PEOEESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC FIELD. field. When a body is moved across the lines of magnetic force it experiences what is called an electromotive force ; the two extremities of the body tend to become oppo- When sitely electrified, and an electric current tends to flow through the body. the electromotive force is sufficiently powerful, and is made to act on certain compound bodies, it decomposes them, and causes one of their components to pass towards one extremity of the body, and the other in the opposite direction. Here we have evidence of a force causing an electric current in spite of resist- ance; electrifying the extremities of a body in opposite ways, a condition which is sustained only by the action of the electromotive force, and which, as soon as that force is removed, tends, with an equal and opposite force, to produce a counter current through the body and to restore the original electrical state of the body ; and finally, if strong enough, tearing to pieces chemical compounds and carrying their components in oppo- site directions, while their natural tendency is to combine, and to combine with a force which can generate an electromotive force in the reverse direction. This, then, is a force acting on a body caused by its motion through the electro- magnetic field, or by changes occurring in that field itself; and the effect of the force is either to produce a current and heat the body, or to decompose the body, or, when it — can do neither, to put the body in a state of electric polarization, a state of constraint in which opposite extremities are oppositely electrified, and from which the body tends to relieve itself as soon as the disturbing force is removed. (10) According to the theory which I propose to explain, this "electromotive force" is the force called into play during the communication of motion from one part of the medium to another, and it is by means of this force that the motion of one part causes motion in another part. When electromotive force acts on a conducting circuit, it pro- duces a current, w7hich, as it meets with resistance, occasions a continual transformation of electrical energy into heat, which is incapable of being restored again to the form of electrical energy by any reversal of the process. (11) But when electromotive force acts on a dielectric it produces a state of polari- zation of its parts similar in distribution to the polarity of the parts of a mass of iron under the influence of a magnet, and like the magnetic polarization, capable of being described as a state in which every particle has its opposite poles in opposite con- ditions *. In a dielectric under the action of electromotive force, we may conceive that the electricity in each molecule is so displaced that one side is rendered positively and the other negatively electrical, but that the electricity remains entirely connected with the molecule, and does not pass from one molecule to another. The effect of this action on the whole dielectric mass is to produce a general displacement of electricity in a cer- tain direction. This displacement does not amount to a current, because when it has attained to a certain value it remains constant, but it is the commencement of a current, and its variations constitute currents in the positive or the negative direction according * Faraday, Exp. Ees. Series XI. ; Mossom, Mem. della Soc. Italiana (Modena), vol. xxiy. part 2. p. 49. PEOFESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC FIELD. 463 as the displacement is increasing or decreasing. In the interior of the dielectric there is no indication of electrification, because the electrification of the surface of any molecule is neutralized by the opposite electrification of the surface of the molecules in contact with it; but at the bounding surface of the dielectric, where the electrification is not neutralized, we find the phenomena which indicate positive or negative electrification. The relation between the electromotive force and the amount of electric displacement it produces depends on the nature of the dielectric, the same electromotive force pro- ducing generally a greater electric displacement in solid dielectrics, such as glass or sulphur, than in air. (12) Here, then, we perceive another effect of electromotive force, namely, electric displacement, which according to our theory is a kind of elastic yielding to the action of the force, similar to that which takes place in structures and machines owing to the want of perfect rigidity of the connexions. (13) The practical investigation of the inductive capacity of dielectrics is rendered difficult on account of two disturbing phenomena. The first is the conductivity of the dielectric, which, though in many cases exceedingly small, is not altogether insensible. The second is the phenomenon called electric absorption *, in virtue of which, when the dielectric is exposed to electromotive force, the electric displacement gradually increases, and when the electromotive force is removed, the dielectric does not instantly return to its primitive state, but only discharges a portion of its electrification, and when left to itself gradually acquires electrification on its surface, as the interior gradually becomes depolarized. Almost all solid dielectrics exhibit this phenomenon, which gives rise to the residual charge in the Leyden jar, and to several phenomena of electric cables described by Mr. F. Jenkin f. We (14) have here two other kinds of yielding besides the yielding of the perfect dielectric, which we have compared to a perfectly elastic body. The yielding due to conductivity may be compared to that of a viscous fluid (that is to say, a fluid having great internal friction), or a soft solid on which the smallest force produces a permanent alteration of figure increasing with the time during which the force acts. The yielding due to electric absorption may be compared to that of a cellular elastic body containing a thick fluid in its cavities. Such a body, when subjected to pressure, is compressed by degrees on account of the gradual yielding of the thick fluid ; and when the pressure is removed it does not at once recover its figure, because the elasticity of the substance of the body has gradually to overcome the tenacity of the fluid before it can regain com- plete equilibrium. Several solid bodies in which no such structure as we have supposed can be found, seem to possess a mechanical property of this kind J; and it seems probable that the * Faraday, Exp. Ees. 1233-1250. t Eeports of British. Association, 1859, p. 248 ; and Eeport of Committee of Board of Trade on Submarine & Cables, pp. 136 464. $ As, for instance, the composition of glue, treacle, &c, of which small plastic figures are made, which after being distorted gradually recover their shape. 464 PBOFESSOE CLERK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD, same substances, if dielectrics, may possess the analogous electrical property, and if magnetic, may have corresponding properties relating to the acquisition, retention, and loss of magnetic polarity. (15) It appears therefore that certain phenomena in electricity and . magnetism lead to the same conclusion as those of optics, namely, that there is an sethereal medium pervading "all bodies, and modified only in degree by their presence; that the parts of this medium are capable of being set in motion by electric currents and magnets ; that this motion is communicated from one part of the medium to another by forces arising from the connexions of those parts; that under the action of these forces there is a certain yielding depending on the elasticity of these connexions ; and that therefore energy in two different forms may exist in the medium, the one form being the actual energy of motion of its parts, and the other being the potential energy stored up in the connexions, in virtue of their elasticity. . (16) Thus, then, we are led to the conception of a complicated mechanism capable of a vast variety of motion, but at the same time so connected that the motion of one part depends, according to definite relations, on the motion of other parts, these motions being communicated by forces arising from the relative displacement of the connected parts, in virtue of their elasticity. Such a mechanism must be subject to the general laws of Dynamics, and we ought to be able to work out all the consequences of its motion, provided we know the form of the relation between the motions of the parts. We (17) know that when an electric current is established in a conducting circuit, the neighbouring part of the field is characterized by certain magnetic properties, and that if two circuits are in the field, the magnetic properties of the field due to the two currents are combined. Thus each part of the field is in connexion with both currents, and the two currents are put in connexion with each other in virtue of their connexion with the magnetization of the field. The first result of this connexion that I propose to examine, is the induction of one current by another, and by the motion of conductors in the field. The second result, which is deduced from this, is the mechanical action between conductors carrying currents. The phenomenon of the induction of currents has been deduced from their mechanical action by Helmholtz* and Thomson f . I have followed the reverse order, and deduced the mechanical action from the laws of induction. I have then described experimental methods of determining the quantities L, M,.N, on which these phenomena depend. (18) I then apply the phenomena of induction and attraction of currents to the exploration of the electromagnetic field, and the laying down systems of lines of magnetic force which indicate its magnetic properties. By exploring the same field with a magnet, I show the distribution of its equipotential magnetic surfaces, cutting the lines of force at right angles. * "Conservation of Force," Physical Society of Berlin, 1847; and Taylok's Scientific Memoirs, 1853, p. 114. f Beports of the British Association, 1848; Philosophical Magazine, Dec. 1851. — PROFESSOR CLERK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD. 465 In order to bring these results within the power of symbolical calculation, I then express them in the form of the General Equations of the Electromagnetic Field. These equations express (A) The relation between electric displacement, true conduction, and the total current, compounded of both. (B) The relation between the lines of magnetic force and the inductive coefficients of a circuit, as already deduced from the laws of induction. (G) The relation between the strength of a current and its magnetic effects, according to the electromagnetic system of measurement. (D) The value of the electromotive force in a body, as arising from the motion of the body in the field, the alteration of the field itself, and the variation of electrio potential from one part of the field to another. (E) The relation between electric displacement, and the electromotive force which produces it. (F) The relation between an electric current, and the electromotive force which pro- duces it. (G) The relation between the amount of free electricity at any point, and the electric displacements in the neighbourhood. (H) The relation between the increase or diminution of free electricity and the elec- tric currents in the neighbourhood. There are twenty of these equations in all, involving twenty variable quantities. (19) I then express in terms of these quantities the intrinsic energy of the Electromagnetic Field as depending partly on its magnetic and partly on its electric polarization at every point. From this I determine the mechanical force acting, 1st, on a moveable conductor carrying an, electric current ; 2ndly, on a magnetic pole ; 3rdly, on an electrified body. The last result, namely, the mechanical force acting on an electrified body, gives rise to an independent method of electrical measurement founded on its electrostatic effects. The relation between the units employed in the two methods is shown to depend on what I have called the " electric elasticity" of the medium, and to be a velocity, which has been experimentally determined by MM. Weber and Kohlrausch. I then show how to calculate the electrostatic capacity of a condenser, and the specific inductive capacity of a dielectric. The case of a condenser composed of parallel layers of substances of different electric resistances and inductive capacities is next examined, and it is shown that the phenomenon called electric absorption will generally occur, that is, the condenser, when suddenly discharged, will after a short time show signs of a residual charge. (20) The general equations are next applied to the case of a magnetic disturbance propagated through a non-conducting field, and it is shown that the only disturbances which can be so propagated are those which are transverse to the direction of propagation, and that the velocity of propagation is the velocity v, found from experiments such 466 PBOFESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD. as those of Weber, which expresses the number of electrostatic units of electricity which are contained in one electromagnetic unit. This velocity is so nearly that of light, that it seems we have strong reason to con- clude that light itself (including radiant heat, and other radiations if any) is an electromagnetic disturbance in the form of waves propagated through the electromagnetic field according to electromagnetic laws. If so, the agreement between the elasticity of the medium as calculated from the rapid alternations of luminous vibrations, and as found by the slow processes of electrical experiments, shows how perfect and regular the elastic properties of the medium must be when not encumbered with any matter denser than air. If the same character of the elasticity is retained in dense transparent bodies, it appears that the square of the index of refraction is equal to the product of the specific dielectric capacity and the specific magnetic capacity. Conducting media are shown to absorb such radiations rapidly, and therefore to be generally opaque. The conception of the propagation of transverse magnetic disturbances to the exclusion of normal ones is distinctly set forth by Professor Faraday* in his "Thoughts on Eay Vibrations/' The electromagnetic theory of light, as proposed by him, is the same in substance as that which I have begun to develope in this paper, except that in 1846 there were no data to calculate the velocity of propagation. (21) The general equations are then applied to the calculation of the coefficients of mutual induction of two circular currents and the coefficient of self-induction in a coil. The want of uniformity of the current in the different parts of the section of a wire at the commencement of the current is investigated, I believe for the first time, and the consequent correction of the coefficient of self-induction is found. These results are applied to the calculation of the self-induction of the coil used in the experiments of the Committee of the British Association on Standards of Electric Eesistance, and the value compared with that deduced from the experiments. PART II.—ON ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION. Electromagnetic Momentum of a Current. We (22) may begin by considering the state of the field in the neighbourhood of an We electric current. know that magnetic forces are excited in the field, their direction and magnitude depending according to known laws upon the form of the conductor When carrying the current. the strength of the current is increased, all the magnetic effects are increased in the same proportion. Now, if the magnetic state of the field depends on motions of the medium, a certain force must be exerted in order to increase or diminish these motions, and when the motions are excited they continue, so that the effect of the connexion between the current and the electromagnetic field surrounding it, is to endow the current with a kind of momentum, just as the connexion between the driving-point of a machine and a fly-wheel endows the driving-point with an addi- * Philosophical Magazine, May 1846, or Experimental Researches, iii. p. 447. PB0EES30B CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAaKETIC EIELD. 467 tional momentum, which may be called the momentum of the fly-wheel reduced to the driving-point. The unbalanced force acting on the driving-point increases this momentum, and is measured by the rate of its increase. In the case of electric currents, the resistance to sudden increase or diminution of strength produces effects exactly like those of momentum, but the amount of this momentum depends on the shape of the conductor and the relative position of its different parts. Mutual Action of two Currents. (23) If there are two electric currents in the field, the magnetic force at any point is that compounded of the forces due to each current separately, and since the two currents are in connexion with every point of the field, they will be in connexion with each other, so that any increase or diminution of the one will produce a force acting with or contrary to the other. Dynamical Illustration of Beduced Momentum. (24) As a dynamical illustration, let us suppose a body C so connected with two A B A independent driving-points and p that its velocity is times that of together with q times that of B. Let u be the velocity of A, v that of B, and w that of C, and let &f, hy, iz be their simultaneous displacements, then by the general equation of dynamics*, X Y A where and are the forces acting at and B. But dw du dv and }>z=.phw-{-qly. Substituting, and remembering that Ix and ly are independent, (1) Y= 5(Qp2W+C2H We may call Cp*u+Opqv the momentum of C referred to A, and Cpqu+Ctfv its X momentum referred B to ; then we may say that the effect of the force is to increase the Y momentum of C referred to A, and that of to increase its momentum referred to B. A If there are many bodies connected with and B in a similar way but with different values of p and q, we may treat the question in the same way by assuming L=2(qp»), M=2(CJp2), and N=2(C22), MDCCCLXV. * Lagkakge, Mec. Anal. ii. 2. § 5. 3S 468 PEOFESSOK CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGKETIC FIELD. where the summation is extended to all the bodies with their proper values of C, p, and q. A Then the momentum of the system referred to is and referred to B, \m +M#, and we shall have X=j (Lu+Mv), i (2) Y = |(M„+N,), X Y A where and are the external forces acting on and B. (25) To make the illustration more complete we have only to suppose that the A motion of is resisted by a force proportional to its velocity, which we may call Rw, B and that of by a similar force, which we may call St;, R, and S being coefficients of A resistance. Then if f and n are the forces on and B (3) A If the velocity of be increased at the rate —^ then in order to prevent B from moving (a/v d a force, *7=-^(Mw) must be applied to it. This effect on B, due to an increase of the velocity of A, corresponds to the electromotive force on one circuit arising from an increase in the strength of a neighbouring circuit. This dynamical illustration is to be considered merely as assisting the reader to under- stand what is meant in mechanics by Reduced Momentum. The facts of the induction of currents as depending on the variations of the quantity called Electromagnetic Momentum, or Electrotonic State, rest on the experiments of Faraday*, FELicif, &c. Coefficients of Induction for Two Circuits. N (26) In the electromagnetic field the values of L, M, depend on the distribution of the magnetic effects due to the two circuits, and this distribution depends only on N the form and relative position of the circuits. Hence L, M, are quantities depending on the form and relative position of the circuits, and are subject to variation with the N motion of the conductors. It will be presently seen that L, M, are geometrical quantities of the nature of lines, that is, of one dimension in space ; L depends on the N form of the first conductor, which we shall call A, on that of the second, which we M A shall call B, and on the relative position of and B. (27) Let | be the electromotive force acting on A, x the strength of the current, and * Experimental Researches, Series I., IX. f Annales de Chimie, ser. 3. xxxiv. (1852) p. 64. PEOEESSOB CLEKK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD. 469 E the resistance, then Hx will be the resisting force. In steady currents the electro- motive force just balances the resisting force, but in variable currents the resultant force |=Eo? is expended in increasing the " electromagnetic momentum," using the word momentum merely to express that which is generated by a force acting during a time, that is, a velocity existing in a body. In the case of electric currents, the force in action is not ordinary mechanical force, at least we are not as yet able to measure it as common force, but we call it electromotive force, and the body moved is not merely the electricity in the conductor, but something outside the conductor, and capable of being affected by other conductors in the neighbour- hood carrying currents. In this it resembles rather the reduced momentum of a drivings- point of a machine as influenced by its mechanical connexions, than that of a simple moving body like a cannon ball, or water in a tube. Electromagnetic Relations of two Conducting Circuits. A (28.) In the case of two conducting circuits, and B, we shall assume that the A electromagnetic momentum belonging to is and that belonging to B, La? +My, . Mar + %, N where L, M, correspond to the same quantities in the dynamical illustration, except A that they are supposed to be capable of variation when the conductors or B are moved. A Then the equation of the current x in will be and that of y in B g=Ea?+^(La?+My), . ^=Sj/ + ^d (M#+%), . (4) (5) E where I and q are the electromotive forces, x and y the currents, and and S the A B resistances in and respectively, Induction of one Current by another. (29) Case 1st. Let there be no electromotive force on B, except that which arises A from the action of A, and let the current of increase from to the value x, then S^+^d (M^+%)=0, whence Y= ydt=—-gX) j that is, a quantity of electricity Y, being the total induced current, will flow through B when x rises from to x. This is induction by variation of the current in the primary 3s2 470 PEOFESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC HELD. M conductor. When is positive, the induced current due to increase of the primary current is negative. Induction by Motion of Conductor. M M (30) Case 2nd. Let x remain constant, and let change from to M', then — M'-M X y, Xmmy M so that if is increased, which it will be by the primary and secondary circuits approaching each other, there will be a negative induced current, the total quantity of electricity passed through B being Y. This is induction by the relative motion of the primary and secondary conductors. Equation of Work and Energy. (31) To form the equation between work done and energy produced, multiply (1) by x and (2) by y, and add ^+^=B^+%2+^(I^ + My)+y^(Mo;+%) (8) Here %x is the work done in unit of time by the electromotive force § acting on the current x and maintaining it, and ny is the work done by the electromotive force q. Hence the left-hand side of the equation represents the work done by the electromotive forces in unit of time. Heat produced by the Current. (32) On the other side of the equation we have, first, E^+S^=H, ........... (9) which represents the work done in overcoming the resistance of the circuits in unit of time. This is converted into heat. The remaining terms represent work not converted into heat. They may be written Intrinsic Energy of the Currents. N (33) If L, M, are constant, the whole work of the electromotive forces which is not spent against resistance will be devoted to the development of the currents. The whole intrinsic energy of the currents is therefore |I^2 +M^+i%2 =E (10) This energy exists in a form imperceptible to our senses, probably as actual motion, the seat of this motion being not merely the conducting circuits, but the space surrounding them. PKOEESSOR CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC EIELD, 471 Mechanical Action between Conductors. (34) The remaining terms, ....... + ^+2 — X 2 (it ^ ^ y yy . (1.1 J represent the work done in unit of time arising from the variations of L, M, and N, or, what is the same thing, alterations in the form and position of the conducting circuits A and B. Now if work is done when a body is moved, it must arise from ordinary mechanical force acting on the body while it is moved. Hence this part of the expression shows that there is a mechanical force urging every part of the conductors themselves in that N direction in which L, M, and will be most increased. The existence of the electromagnetic force between conductors carrying currents is therefore a direct consequence of the joint and independent action of each current on A B the electromagnetic field. If and are allowed to approach a distance ds> so as to M M M increase from to f while the currents are x and y, then the work done will be (M'— M)xy, and the force in the direction of ds will be M and this will be an attraction if x and y are of the same sign, and if is increased as A and B approach. It appears, therefore, that if we admit that the unresisted part of electromotive force goes on as long as it acts, generating a self-persistent state of the current, which we may call (from mechanical analogy) its electromagnetic momentum, and that this momentum depends on circumstances external to the conductor, then both induction of currents and electromagnetic attractions may be proved by mechanical reasoning. What I have called electromagnetic momentum is the same quantity which is called by Faraday* the electrotonic state of the circuit, every change of which involves the action of an electromotive force, just as change of momentum involves the action of mechanical force. If, therefore, the phenomena described by Faraday in the Ninth Series of his Experimental Eesearches were the only known facts about electric currents, the laws of Ampere relating to the attraction of conductors carrying currents, as well as those of Faraday about the mutual induction of currents, might be deduced by mechanical reasoning. In order to bring these results within the range of experimental verification, I shall next investigate the case of a single current, of two currents, and of the six currents in the electric balance, so as to enable the experimenter to determine the values of L, M, N. * Experimental Researches, Series I. 60, &c. 472 PROEESSOE -CLERK MAXWELL OF THE ELECTEOMAGNBTIO FIELD. Case of a single Circuit. (35) The equation of the current x in a circuit whose resistance is R, and whose coefficient of self-induction is L, acted on by an external electromotive force fj, is d ' £5 " XY^V T~" J± J-it.t' » * a « * • • e » • IJLOJ When 5 is constant, the solution is of the form x=b-\-(a—b)e ^L-t where a is the value of the current at the commencement, and b is its final value. The total quantity of electricity which passes in time £, where t is great, is .......... ocdt^=^bt Jr(a—b)-n . (14) JLV The value of the integral of x2 with respect to the time is ^dt=m+{a-b)h^^j (15) The actual current changes gradually from the initial value a to the final value #, but the values of the integrals of x and x2 are the same as if a steady current of intensity — \(a+b) were to flow for a time 2 and were then succeeded by the steady current 6. , ~ The time 2 is generally so minute a fraction of a second, that the effects on the galvano- meter and dynamometer may be calculated as if the impulse were instantaneous. If the circuit consists of a battery and a coil, then, when the circuit is first completed, the effects are the same as if the current had only half its final strength during the time 2 ~. This diminution of the current, due to induction, is sometimes called the counter- R current. (36) If an additional resistance r is suddenly thrown into the circuit, as by breaking contact, so as to force the current to pass through a thin wire of resistance r, then the b= original current is #==JR>5 and the final current is R+r — The current of induction is then ^2 %^R(TR^--fr^).' and continues for a time 2^R- + -. r This R current is greater than that which the battery can maintain in the two wires and r, and may be sufficient to ignite the thin wire r. When contact is broken by separating the wires in air, this additional resistance is given by the interposed air, and since the electromotive force across the new resistance is very great, a spark will be forced across. PBOEESSOE. CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELEOTEOMAGNBTIO FIELD. 478 E If the electromotive force is of the form sinj?£, as in the case of a coil revolving in a magnetic field, then — ar=- sin (jp#—-a), =R where 2 g 2 +I/p9 and tana=-j£' , Case of two Circuits. (37) Let It be the primary circuit and S the secondary circuit, then we have a case similar to that of the induction coil. A The equations of currents are those marked and B, and we may here assume N L, M, as constant because there is no motion of the conductors. The equations then become E*+ L S+M J=& (13*) Sy+Mg+Nt=o. To find the total quantity of electricity which passes, we have only to integrate these equations with respect to t; then if o? , y be the strengths of the currents at time 0, Y and x x, yx at time t, and if X, be the quantities of electricity passed through each circuit during time #, — X=:s {g*4-L(^o— ^i)4-M(y yj}, (14*) Y=^{M(d? -o? )+N(y 1 -y1 )}. E When the circuit is completed, then the total currents up to time t, when t is great, are found by making y #* =:U, 0C l :=: -^^, ^o^U, zzz\) l \ then — K/ JSl. (h j I v wmmm "zr I , \ X — ""-"* "7™" 0u . oi . . • • • • • ^ y J- y E The value of the total counter-current in is therefore independent of the secondary circuit, and the induction current in the secondary circuit depends only on M, the coefficient of induction between the coils, S the resistance of the secondary coil, and x the final strength of the current in R. x When the electromotive force g ceases to act, there is an extra current in the pri- mary circuit, and a positive induced current in the secondary circuit, whose values are equal and opposite to those produced on making contact. (38) All questions relating to the total quantity of transient currents, as measured by the impulse given to the magnet of the galvanometer, may be solved in this way without the necessity of a complete solution of the equations. The heating effect of 474 PKOFESSOB CLEEK MAXWELL OH THE ELECTBOMAQKETIC EIELD. the current, and the impulse it gives to the suspended coil of Weber's dynamometer, depend on the square of the current at every instant during the short time it lasts. Hence we must obtain the solution of the equations, and from the solution we may find the effects both on the galvanometer and dynamometer ; and we may then make use of the method of Weber for estimating the intensity and duration of a current uniform while it lasts which would produce the same effects, (39) Let n19 n2 be the roots of the equation (LN~-M>2 +(EN+LS>+ES=0 5 (16) and let the primary coil be acted on by a constant electromotive force Ke, so that c is the constant current it could maintain ; then the complete solution of the equations for ^L-^ ^ making contact is 2 {(l+ N)^-(|+ N)^+ s? m • • • • y=T^^-^> as) From these we obtain for calculating the impulse on the dynamometer, £*»=(* V oL M2 a R"*RN+LSf' 19 () —— iWydt-c%2 S(RN+LS) (l 20)' The effects of the current in the secondary coil on the galvanometer and dynamometer are the same as those of a uniform current for a time MR ~*i C RN+LS 9 /L N' (40) The equation between work and energy may be easily verified. by the electromotive force is %§xdt=c2(Rt— L). The work done Work done in overcoming resistance and producing heat, Energy remaining in the system, TL$tfdt+&Sfdt=. (21) Gs=D-E B(#+y)=-A+C+F. Solving these equations for -z9 we find 4p+ a+s4+B (F+!)(<3+^ MDCCCLXV. 3T (22 > 476 PBOFESSOE CEEKK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAaNETIC FIELD. In this expression F is the electromotive force of the battery, z the current through the galvanometer when it has become steady. P, Q, E, S the resistances in the four G B arms. that of the battery and electrodes, and that of the galvanometer. (44) If PS=QR, then £=0, and there will be no steady current, but a transient current through the galvanometer may be produced on making or breaking circuit on account of induction, and the indications of the galvanometer may be used to determine the coefficients of induction, provided we understand the actions which take place. We shall suppose PS=QR, so that the current z vanishes when sufficient time is allowed, and + x(P+Q)=y(B, S)= (p + Q)( ft + S ) +B (P + cj)(R + sy E Let the induction coefficients between P, Q, S, be given by the following Table, the coefficient of induction of P on itself being p, between P and Q, A, and so on. Let g be the coefficient of induction of the galvanometer on itself, and let it be out of the reach of the inductive influence of P, Q, R, S (as it must be in order to avoid P QES pP h & I Qh mn 9. m K Jc r SIn s direct action of P, Q, R, S on the needle). Let X, Y, Z be the integrals of #, y, z with respect to t. At making contact #, y, z are zero. After a time z disappears, and s and y reach constant values. The equations for each conductor will therefore be PX +(p+h )x+{k +1 )y=SAdt-$T)dt, ) Q(X-Z)+(h+q )x+(m+n)y=§Ddt~lCdt, RY +(k+m)x+(r +o)y=]Adt-]Edt, (24) S(Y-f Z) +(l +n )w+(o +s)y=$Edt-§Cdt, GZ=$Dtd-~$Edt. Solving these equations for Z, we find 1 F PS p-Q-i+l+A (p-a) +*(i-p) +*(i+i) -m (p+|) (25) +w (i-s)+°(i-!t)} (45) Now let the deflection of the galvanometer by the instantaneous current whose intensity is Z be «. Let the permanent deflection produced by making the ratio of PS to QR, ? instead of unity, be 6, Also let the time of vibration of the galvanometer needle from rest to rest be T. PEOFESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC FIELD. 477 Then calling the quantity we find Z 2sml9 *T z tau 9 7T — 1 g ,. Z ( i) In determining r by experiment, it is best to make the alteration of resistance in one of the arms by means of the arrangement described by Mr. Jenkin in the Report of the British Association for 1863, by which any value off from 1 to 1*01 can be accurately measured. We observe (a) the greatest deflection due to the impulse of induction when the galvanometer is in circuit, when the connexions are made, and when the resistances are so adjusted as to give no permanent current. We then observe (j3) the greatest deflection produced by the permanent current when the resistance of one of the arms is increased in the ratio of 1 to g, the galvanometer not being in circuit till a little while after the connexion is made with the battery. = In order to eliminate the effects of resistance of the air, it is best to vary g till /3 2& nearly; then 2sini* /oon 7r^ *' tan |/3 P If all the arms of the balance except consist of resistance coils of very fine wire of no great length and doubled before being coiled, the induction coefficients belonging to these coils will be insensible, and r will be reduced to £ . The electric balance there- fore affords the means of measuring the self-induction of any circuit whose resistance is known. (46) It may also be used to determine the coefficient of induction between two m circuits, as for instance, that between P and S which we have called ; but it would be more convenient to measure this by directly measuring the current, as in (37), without We £ using the balance. may also ascertain the equality of ^ and by there being no current of induction, and thus, when we know the value of p, we may determine that of q by a more perfect method than the comparison of deflections. Exploration of the Electromagnetic Field. A (47) Let us now suppose the primary circuit to be of invariable form, and let us explore the electromagnetic field by means of the secondary circuit B, which we shall suppose to be variable in form and position. We may begin by supposing B to consist of a short straight conductor with its extre- mities sliding on two parallel conducting rails, which are put in connexion at some distance from the sliding-piece. 3t2 478 PEOFESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC FIELD. Then, if sliding the moveable conductor in a given direction increases the value of M, a negative electromotive force will act in the circuit B, tending to produce a negative current in B during the motion of the sliding-piece. If a current be kept up in the circuit B, then the sliding-piece will itself tend to M move in that direction, which causes to increase. At every point of the field there will always be a certain direction such that a conductor moved in that direction does not experience any electromotive force in whatever direction its extremities are turned. A conductor carrying a current will experience no mechanical force urging it in that direction or the opposite. This direction is called the direction of the line of magnetic force through that point. Motion of a conductor across such a line produces electromotive force in a direction perpendicular to the line and to the direction of motion, and a conductor carrying a current is urged in a direction perpendicular to the line and to the direction of the current. We (48) may next suppose B to consist of a very small plane circuit capable of being M placed in any position and of having its plane turned in any direction. The value of will be greatest when the plane of the circuit is perpendicular to the line of magnetic B force. Hence if a current is maintained in it will tend to set itself in this position, and will of itself indicate, like a magnet, the direction of the magnetic force. On Lines of Magnetic Force. (49) Let any surface be drawn, cutting the lines of magnetic force, and on this surface let any system of lines be drawn at small intervals, so as to lie side by side without cutting each other. Next, let any line be drawn on the surface cutting all these lines, and let a second line be drawn near it, its distance from the first being such that the M value of for each of the small spaces enclosed between these two lines and the lines of the first system is equal to unity. In this way let more lines be drawn so as to form a second system, so that the value of M for every reticulation formed by the intersection of the two systems of lines is unity. Finally, from every point of intersection of these reticulations let a line be drawn through the field, always coinciding in direction with the direction of magnetic force. (50) In this way the whole field will be filled with lines of magnetic force at regular intervals, and the properties of the electromagnetic field will be completely expressed by them. M For, 1st, If any closed curve be drawn in the field, the value of for that curve will be expressed by the number of lines of force which pass through that closed curve. 2ndly. If this curve be a conducting circuit and be moved through the field, an electromotive force will act in it, represented by the rate of decrease of the number of lines passing through the curve. 3rdly. If a current be maintained in the circuit, the conductor will be acted on by forces tending to move it so as to increase the number of lines passing through it, and ; PEOFESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC FIELD. 479 the amount of work done by these forces is equal to the current in the circuit multi- plied by the number of additional lines. 4thly. If a small plane circuit be placed in the field, and be free to turn, it will place A its plane perpendicular to the lines of force. small magnet will place itself with its axis in the direction of the lines of force. 5thly. If a long uniformly magnetized bar is placed in the field, each pole will be acted on by a force in the direction of the lines of force. The number of lines of force passing through unit of area is equal to the force acting on a unit pole multiplied by a coefficient depending on the magnetic nature of the medium, and called the coefficient of magnetic induction. In fluids and isotropic solids the value of this coefficient p is the same in whatever direction the lines of force pass through the substance, but in crystallized, strained, and organized solids the value of p may depend on the direction of the lines of force with respect to the axes of crystallization, strain, or growth. In all bodies \h is affected by temperature, and in iron it appears to diminish as the intensity of the magnetization increases. On Magnetic Equipotential Surfaces. (51) If we explore the field with a uniformly magnetized bar, so long that one of its poles is in a very weak part of the magnetic field, then the magnetic forces will perform work on the other pole as it moves about the field. If we start from a given point, and move this pole from it to any other point, the work performed will be independent of the path of the pole between the two points provided that no electric current passes between the different paths pursued by the pole. Hence, when there are no electric currents but only magnets in the field, we may draw a series of surfaces such that the work done in passing from one to another shall be constant whatever be the path pursued between them. Such surfaces are called Equipotential Surfaces, and in ordinary cases are perpendicular to the Lines of mag- netic force. If these surfaces are so drawn that, when a unit pole passes from any one to the next in order, unity of work is done, then the work done in any motion of a magnetic pole will be measured by the strength of the pole multiplied by the number of surfaces which it has passed through in the positive direction. (52) If there are circuits carrying electric currents in the field, then there will still be equipotential surfaces in the parts of the field external to the conductors carrying the currents, but the work done on a unit pole in passing from one to another will depend on the number of times which the path of the pole circulates round any of these currents. Hence the potential in each surface will have a series of values in arithmetical progression, differing by *the work done in passing completely round one of the currents in the field. The equipotential surfaces will not be continuous closed surfaces, but some of them 480 PROFESSOR CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD. will be limited sheets, terminating in the electric circuit as their common edge or boundary. The number of these will be equal to the amount of work done on a unit = pole in going round the current, and this by the ordinary measurement 4sry, where y is the value of the current. These surfaces, therefore, are connected with the electric current as soap-bubbles are connected with a ring in M. Plateau's experiments. Every current y has 4 » * • * »• » * « . (C) dB dx . , We may call these the Equations of Currents. PEOFESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC FIELD. 483 Electromotive Force in a Circuit. (63) Let | be the electromotive force acting round the circuit A, then 5=J(*£+Q|+b£)*» .......... (32) where ds is the element of length, and the integration is performed round the circuit. A Let the forces in the field be those due to the circuits and B, then the electromagnetic momentum of A is J(F§+at+H£)&=I*+M«, A where u and v are the currents in and B, and %=-§ (Lu+M.v) t Hence, if there is no motion of the circuit A, (33) (34) dt dx dG dV dt ~~ dy' ' _ dR dW '™~MO " dt ' dz (35) T where is a function of #, y^ z 9 and £, which is indeterminate as far as regards the solution of the above equations, because the terms depending on it will disappear on integrating round the circuit. The quantity *¥* can always, however, be determined in any particular case when we know the actual conditions of the question. The physical interpretation of **¥ is, that it represents the electric potential at each point of space. Electromotive Force on a Moving Conductor. (64) Let a short straight conductor of length &, parallel to the axis of #, move with a velocity whose components are -^, -^, ~, and let its extremities slide along two 7 ~ parallel conductors with a velocity . tit Let us find the alteration of the electro- magnetic momentum of the circuit of which this arrangement forms a part. ~ In unit of time the moving conductor has travelled distances ~, -^, along the O/Z ttz az directions of the three axes, and at the same time the lengths of the parallel conductors ds included in the circuit have each been increased by ^- Hence the quantity foJ+Gj+H*)*. MDCCCLXV. 3U — , 485 PROFESSOR CLERK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC MELD. will be increased by the following increments, ® fd¥ \dtx- dx , d¥ -7-+-,dt dy dy d¥ -r+, T- dt dz dz\ -r h dt/ d-, ue , to • mot,ion n i , ot conductor, — ds fd¥ dx . dG dy , —a-r-l -r -T-+-T- -r-H dt \dx ds dx ds dH dz\ r- dx -r )? ds/ di ue , to i ,*, len°gthenin°g £. . ot circuit. The total increment will therefore be /d¥ dGyly % \ dx J dt /dR \ dx d¥\dz # dz J dt ' or, by the equations of Magnetic Force (8), / dy n dz' If P is the electromotive force in the moving conductor parallel to x referred to unit of length, then the actual electromotive force is Ya ; and since this is measured by the decrement of the electromagnetic momentum of the circuit, the electromotive force due to motion will be (65) The complete equations of electromotive force on a moving conductor may now be written as follows : Equations of Electromotive Force. v^ =tA / dy n dz\ dF d"^ {y^-Pdt)-w-'te' „ ( dz dx\ dG d^t dt r dt J dt dy (D) E / n dx (*{PTt- a dyy\\ dt) dft^dW dt dz The first term on the right-hand side of each equation represents the electromotive force arising from the motion of the conductor itself. This electromotive force is perpendicular to the direction of motion and to the lines of magnetic force ; and if a parallelogram be drawn whose sides represent in direction and magnitude the velocity of the conductor and the magnetic induction at that point of the field, then the area of the parallelogram will represent the electromotive force due to the motion of the con- ductor, and the direction of the force is perpendicular to the plane of the parallelogram. The second term in each equation indicates the effect of changes in the position or strength of magnets or currents in the field. The third term shows the effect of the electric potential Y. It has no effect in causing a circulating current in a closed circuit. It indicates the existence of a force urging the electricity to or from certain definite points in the field. PBOFESSOB CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC EIELD. 485 Electric Elasticity. When (66) an electromotive force acts on a dielectric, it puts every part of the dielectric into a polarized condition, in which its opposite sides are oppositely electri- fied. The amount of this electrification depends on the electromotive force and on the nature of the substance, and, in solids having a structure defined by axes, on the direc- tion of the electromotive force with respect to these axes. In isotropic substances, if k is the ratio of the electromotive force to the electric displacement, we may write the Equations of Electric Elasticity, Q=h/, V (E) E = Mi. Electric Resistance. (67) When an electromotive force acts on a conductor it produces a current of elec- tricity through it. This effect is additional to the electric displacement already considered. In solids of complex structure, the relation between the electromotive force and the current depends on their direction through the solid. In isotropic substances, which alone we shall here consider, if £ is the specific resistance referred to unit of volume, we may write the Equations of Electric Resistance, •••(F) • Electric Quantity. (68) Let e represent the quantity of free positive electricity contained in unit of volume at any part of the field, then, since this arises from the electrification of the different parts of the field not neutralizing each other, we may write the Equation of Free Electricity, (69) If the medium conducts electricity, then we shall have another condition, which may be called, as in hydrodynamics, the Equation of Continuity, ^4.^ + ^4 *==() dt dx dy dz (70) In these equations of the electromagnetic field we have assumed twenty variable 3 u2 486 PEOPESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL OK THE ELECTROMAGNETIC MELD. quantities, namely, For Electromagnetic Momentum Magnetic Intensity . . Electromotive Force Current due to true conduction Electric Displacement Total Current (including variation of displacement) Quantity of free Electricity . Electric Potential ¥GH a, a 7 PQR P1 r f9 h 4 p' /yJ e "\Tf Between these twenty quantities we have found twenty equations, viz. Three equations of Magnetic Force (B) Electric Currents (C) Electromotive Force (D) Electric Elasticity (E) Electric Resistance (F) ......... Total Currents (A) One equation of Free Electricity (G) „ Continuity (H) These equations are therefore sufficient to determine all the quantities which occur in them, provided we know the conditions of the problem. In many questions, how- ever, only a few of the equations are required. Intrinsic Energy of the Electromagnetic Field. We (71) have seen (33) that the intrinsic energy of any system of currents is found by multiplying half the current in each circuit into its electromagnetic momentum. This is equivalent to finding the integral E=i2(Fp'+G#'+Hr')dV (37) over all the space occupied by currents, where p, %, r are the components of currents, H and F, G, the components of electromagnetic momentum. Substituting the values of p\ q\ rf from the equations of Currents (C), this becomes 1 8?r Kg-f)+«(£-£)+ H (l4;)h Integrating by parts, and remembering that a, /3, y vanish at an infinite distance, the expression becomes i x r / -prf, (J) These are the equations which determine the mechanical force acting on a conductor carrying a current. The force is perpendicular to the current and to the lines of force, and is measured by the area of the parallelogram formed by lines parallel to the current and lines of force, and proportional to their intensities. Mechanical Force on a Magnet. (77) In any part of the field not traversed by electric currents the distribution of magnetic intensity may be represented by the differential coefficients of a function which may be called the magnetic potential. When there are no currents in the field, When this quantity has a single value for each point. there are currents, the potential has a series of values at each point, but its differential coefficients have only one value, namely, ££— „ ^_« **—„ Substituting these values of «, /3, y in the expression (equation 38) for the intrinsic energy of the field, and integrating by parts, it becomes The expression \j 8t \ doc ' dy ' dz •dY. indicates the number of lines of magnetic force which have their origin within the space V. Now a magnetic pole is known to us only as the origin or termination of lines of magnetic force, and a unit pole is one which has 4 but in other media the force acting between two given magnetic poles is inversely proportional to the coefficient of magnetic induction for the medium. This may be explained by the magnetization of the medium induced by the action of the poles. Mechanical Force on an Electrified Body. (79) If there is no motion or change of strength of currents or magnets in the field, the electromotive force is entirely due to variation of electric potential, and we shall have (§ 65) — vx== dW '-arx" 5 \4= dW -y-9 ^lt= dy dV drz~" Integrating by parts the expression (I) for the energy due to electric displacement, and E remembering that P, Q, vanish at an infinite distance, it becomes *s{*(i+i+s)h, or by the equation of Free Electricity (G), p. 485, PEOFESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC FIELD. 491 By the same demonstration as was used in the case of the mechanical action on a magnet, it may be shown that the mechanical force on a small body containing a quantity e2 of free electricity placed in a field whose potential arising from other electrified bodies is lf x , has for components dx P) So that an electrified body is urged in the direction of the electromotive force with a force equal to the product of the quantity of free electricity and the electromotive force. If the electrification of the field arises from the presence of a small electrified body containing e of free electrity, the only solution of If is x x *>=s£' where r is the distance from the electrified body. The repulsion between two electrified bodies e19 e2 is therefore «**!=*!$. (43) (44) Measurement of Electrical Phenomena by Electrostatic Effects. (80) The quantities with which we have had to do have been hitherto expressed in terms of the Electromagnetic System of measurement, which is founded on the mechanical action between currents. The electrostatic system of measurement is founded on the mechanical action between electrified bodies, and is independent of, and incom- patible with, the electromagnetic system ; so that the units of the different kinds of quantity have different values according to the system we adopt, and to pass from the one system to the other, a reduction of all the quantities is required. According to the electrostatic system, the repulsion between two small bodies charged with quantities qx , tj2 of electricity is where r is the distance between them. Let the relation of the two systems be such that one electromagnetic unit of elec- tricity contains v electrostatic units ; then ^=1;^ and q2 =ve2 , and this repulsion becomes ....... =^!A ff "£A by equation (44), (45) whence #, the coefficient of "electric elasticity " in the medium in which the experi- ments are made, i. e. common air, is related to v, the number of electrostatic units in one ........... electromagnetic unit, by the equation k=4:vv2 . (46) mdccclxv. 3x 492 PEOFESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC FIELD. The quantity v may be determined by experiment in several ways. According)to the experiments of MM. Weber and Kohlrausch, #=310,740,000 metres per second. (81) It appears from this investigation, that if we assume that the medium which constitutes the electromagnetic field is, when dielectric, capable of receiving in every part of it an electric polarization, in which the opposite sides of every element into which we may conceive the medium divided are oppositely electrified, and if we also assume that this polarization or electric displacement is proportional to the electro- motive force which produces or maintains it, then we can show that electrified bodies in a dielectric medium will act on one another with forces obeying the same laws as are established by experiment. The energy, by the expenditure of which electrical attractions and repulsions are pro- duced, we suppose to be stored up in the dielectric medium which surrounds the electri- fied bodies, and not on the surface of those bodies themselves, which on our theory are merely the bounding surfaces of the air or other dielectric in which the true springs of action are to be sought. Note on the Attraction of Gravitation. (82) After tracing to the action of the surrounding medium both the magnetic and the electric attractions and repulsions, and finding them to depend on the inverse square of the distance, we are naturally led to inquire whether the attraction of gravitation, which follows the same law of the distance, is npt also traceable to the action of a surrounding medium. Gravitation differs from magnetism and electricity in this ; that the bodies concerned are all of the same kind, instead of being of opposite signs, like magnetic poles and electrified bodies, and that the force between these bodies is an attraction and not a repulsion, as is the case between like electric and magnetic bodies. The lines of gravitating force near two dense bodies are exactly of the same form as the lines of magnetic force near two poles of the same name; but whereas the poles are E repelled, the bodies are attracted. Let be the intrinsic energy of the field surrounding M two gravitating bodies Mj , 2 , and let E' be the intrinsic energy of the field surrounding m M M X two magnetic poles m,, 2 , equal in numerical value to 2 , 2 , and let be the gravi- tating force acting during the displacement he, and X' the magnetic force, 3&F=.aE, X&r=SE',; X now and X' are equal in numerical value, but of opposite signs; so that XE=-&E', or E=C-E' PE0FESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC FIELD. 493 R where «, j3, y are the components of magnetic intensity. If be the resultant gravi- tating force, and R! the resultant magnetic force at a corresponding part of the field, Hence =R R=~R', and +y a2 +/32 2 2 =R'2. R Iij=z:C— 2rT~ d v (4») The intrinsic energy of the field of gravitation must therefore be less wherever there is a resultant gravitating force. As energy is essentially positive, it is impossible for any part of space to have nega- tive intrinsic energy. Hence those parts of space in which there is no resultant force, such as the points of equilibrium in the space between the different bodies of a system, and within the substance of each body, must have an intrinsic energy per unit of volume greater than JLpa R where is the greatest possible value of the intensity of gravitating force in any part of the universe. The assumption, therefore, that gravitation arises from the action of the surrounding medium in the way pointed out, leads to the conclusion that every part of this medium possesses, when undisturbed, an enormous intrinsic energy, and that the presence of dense bodies influences the medium so as to diminish this energy wherever there is a resultant attraction. As I am unable to understand in what way a medium can possess such properties, I cannot go any further in this direction in searching for the cause of gravitation. PART Y.—THEORY OF CONDENSERS. Capacity of a Condenser. (83) The simplest form of condenser consists of a uniform layer of insulating matter bounded by two conducting surfaces, and its capacity is measured by the quantity of electricity on either surface when the difference of potentials is unity. Let S be the area of either surface, a the thickness of the dielectric, and k its coeffi- ^„ cient of electric elasticity; then on one side of the condenser the potential is and on the other side ^,+1, and within its substance -~^=2~=Jcf. (48) Since -^ and therefore /is zero outside the condenser, the quantity of electricity on its = — first surface Sf, and on the second +S/. The capacity of the condenser is there- = fore Sf in electromagnetic measure. jjjjj 3x2 494 PEOEESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC FIELD. Specific Capacity of Electric Induction (D). (84) If the dielectric of the condenser be air, then its capacity in electrostatic mea- —S sure is - (neglecting corrections arising from the conditions to be fulfilled at the edges). If the dielectric have a capacity whose ratio to that of air is D, then the capa- —DS city of the condenser will be -• Hence D=^, .. (49) where k is the value of Tc in air, which is taken for unity. Electric Absorption. (85) When the dielectric of which the condenser is formed is not a perfect insulator, the phenomena of conduction are combined with those of electric displacement. The condenser, when left charged, gradually loses its charge, and in some cases, after being discharged completely, it gradually acquires a new charge of the same sign as the original charge, and this finally disappears. These phenomena have been described by Professor Faeaday (Experimental Researches, Series XI.) and by Mr. F. Jenkin (Report of Committee of Board of Trade on Submarine Cables), and may be classed under the name of "Electric Absorption." We (86) shall take the case of a condenser composed of any number of parallel layers of different materials. If a constant difference of potentials between its extreme surfaces is kept up for a sufficient time till a condition of permanent steady flow of electricity is established, then each bounding surface will have a charge of electricity depending on the nature of the substances on each side of it. If the extreme surfaces be now discharged, these internal charges will gradually be dissipated, and a certain charge may reappear on the extreme surfaces if they are insulated, or, if they are connected by a conductor, a certain quantity of electricity may be urged through the con- ductor during the reestablishment of equilibrium. Let the thickness of the several layers of the condenser be ax , #2, &c. Let the values of k for these layers be respectively k„ Tc^ #3, and let a l fc2 -\-a2k2 -{-8tc.=ak, . (50) where Jc is the " electric elasticity" of air, and a is the thickness of an equivalent con- denser of air. + =r Let the resistances of the layers be respectively r 19 r2 , &c, and let f\+r2 &c. be the resistance of the whole condenser, to a steady current through it per unit of surface. Let the electric displacement in each layer be f„ f<2 , &c. Let the electric current in each layer be p x^p^ &c. ^„ Let the potential on the first surface be and the electricity per unit of surface ex . Let the corresponding quantities at the boundary of the first and second surface be ty% and &,, and so on. Then by equations (G) and (H), —f PROFESSOR CLERK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC EIELD. 495 e, /» e*=fi-f» de x ~dt "JP 13 a\ dt -Pl-P» r . . (51) &c. &C. But by equations (E) and (F), =—r kf •a l l pl l9 x2 x3 &C. &C. &C. (52) After the electromotive force has been kept up for a sufficient time the current becomes the same in each layer, and \p ^ We where is the total difference of potentials between the extreme layers. have then and "'' /. r ajc^ — — &,=: ( . ), &C. 53 • ( ) These are the quantities of electricity on the different surfaces. (87) Now let the condenser be discharged by connecting the extreme surfaces through a perfect conductor so that their potentials are instantly rendered equal, then the electricity on the extreme surfaces will be altered, but that on the internal surfaces will not have time to escape. The total difference of potentials is now f =4^1+42(4+^+43(^+^2+4 &c « = ' ..... (54) whence if d is what e becomes at the instant of discharge, x x >Jr \jr e\ r a k ak xt 1 ak (55) The instantaneous discharge is yfr therefore —-, or the quantity which would be dis- dK charged by a condenser of air of the equivalent thickness #, and it is unaffected by the want of perfect insulation. (88) Now let us suppose the connexion between the extreme surfaces broken, and the condenser left to itself, and let us consider the gradual dissipation of the internal charges. Let *¥"' be the difference of potential of the extreme surfaces at any time t ; then ........ ^=ajc fl l f +ajc2 2 +&cc.; (56) but ~ ai Jcifi"=z r^~i: ^2^2/2 ~~ r * dt ;; ) 496 PEOFESSOE CEBRK MAXWELL OF THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC FIELD. f =A ^ f =A Hence 1 e"~: 1 , 2 2e~ r* , &c. ; and by referring to the values of dl9 e2 , &c.. we find 1 r a k ak xx M* r ^p • r a2kq ak Sec. • (^ ' so that we find for the difference of extreme potentials at any time, *=»{(5-^)«-*'+(?-*)^, + *-} (58) (89) It appears from this result that if all the layers are made of the same sub-, H stance, 1 will be zero always. If they are of different substances, the order in which the} are placed is indifferent, and the effect will be the same whether each substance consists of one layer, or is divided into any number of thin layers and arranged in any order among thin layers of the other substances. Any substance, therefore, the parts of which are not mathematically homogeneous, though they may be apparently so, may exhibit phenomena of absorption. Also, since the order of magnitude of the coefficients V is the same as that of the indices, the value of can never change sign, but must start from zero, become positive, and finally disappear. (90) Let us next consider the total amount of electricity which would pass from the first surface to the second, if the condenser, after being thoroughly saturated by the current and then discharged, has its extreme surfaces connected by a conductor of p resistance R. Let be the current in this conductor ; then, during the discharge, ........ y +p l==p r l1 2r2 +&c.=p'R. (59) Integrating with respect to the time, and calling ql , q2 , q the quantities of electricity which traverse the different conductors, q i r l +q2rt+&c.=giR The quantities of electricity on the several surfaces will be (60) + — ^S ft ft, &c. and since at last all these quantities vanish, we find whence =e q, f 1 ~q, q2 =£+61—4; ^ ?R=_(^ + + &c/)-^, or 2 ?=^{«A^(^-^) +«A^8 (-^-^r)V&c.}, . . . (61) PEOFESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL OW THE ELECTEOMAGNEKC FIELD. 19(7 a quantity essentially positive; so that, when the primary electrification is in one direction, the secondary discharge is always in the same direction as the primary discharge*. PAET VL—ELECTROMAGNETIC THEORY OF LIGHT. (91) At the commencement of this paper we made use of the optical hypothesis df an elastic medium through which the vibrations of light are propagated, in order to^ show that we have warrantable grounds for seeking, in the same medium, the cause of We other phenomena as well as those of light. then examined electromagnetic pheno- mena, seeking for their explanation in the properties of the field which surrounds the electrified or magnetic bodies. In this way we arrived at certain equations expressing We certain properties of the electromagnetic field. now proceed to investigate whether these properties of that which constitutes the electromagnetic field, deduced from electro- magnetic phenomena alone, are sufficient to explain the propagation of light through the same substance. (92) Let us suppose that a plane wave whose direction cosines are Z, m, n is propagated through the field with a velocity V. Then all the electromagnetic functions will be functions of 7 . , v. The equations of Magnetic Force (B), p. 482, will become dR dG dF dn 7 dQ dF 7 ri duo aw If we multiply these equations respectively by l,m, n, and add, ,we find ......... Zfi»a+wiffcjS+W|Bi»y==0, (§2) which shows that the direction of the magnetization must be in the plane of the wave. (93) If we combine the equations of Magnetic Force (B) with those of Electric Currents (C), and put for brevity ..... d* + dj+lF~J> md a^dy*+d^-- V > [bd) dJ (64) * Since this paper was communicated to the Eoyal Society, I have seen a paper by M. Gatoain in the Annales de Chimie for 1864, in which he has deduced the phenomena of electric absorption and secondary discharge from the theory of compound condensers. I 498 PEOEESSO& CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC EIELD, If the medium in the field is a perfect dielectric there is no true conduction, and the currents p\ q\ rf are only variations in the electric displacement, or, by the equations of Total Currents (A), r>'- df dff 2 dt m dh ••••••• I vU dt' But these electric displacements are caused by electromotive forces, and by the equations of Electric Elasticity (E), P=Af, Q=%, TH=kh. (66) These electromotive forces are due to the variations either of the electromagnetic or the electrostatic functions, as there is no motion of conductors in the field; so that the equations of electromotive force (D) are at ax Q= — dG dW , y•' • • : • • • » • • • l^'y dt dy dt dz (94) Combining these equations, we obtain the following :- dJ d*F d*¥ dt 3 ~r' )=o, dxdt d^G d*P dt % )=o, ~^dydt dm . d*v dt% ^~dzdt =0. . . . . (68) If we differentiate the third of these equations with respect to y, and the second with respect to z, and subtract, J and "V disappear, and by remembering the equations (B) of magnetic force, the results may be written V = d* k (*u 45Tj& -jp (Ace, AV»3= 4*^6 ^j/^3, . . . (69) W>y = 4^^^y. (95) If we assume that a, /3^ y are functions of lw-}-my-{-nZ'—Yt=w, the first equa- tion becomes 2 flfw or V= ±\/ • •' (71) 4*tjx The other equations give the same value for V, so that the wave is propagated in either direction with a velocity V. PEOFESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC HELD- 499 This wave consists entirely of magnetic disturbances, the direction of magnetization being in the plane of the wave. No magnetic disturbance whose direction of magneti- zation is not in the plane of the wave can be propagated as a plane wave at all. Hence magnetic disturbances propagated through the electromagnetic field agree with light in this, that the disturbance at any point is transverse to the direction of propaga- tion, and such waves may have all the properties of polarized light, (96) The only medium in which experiments have been made to determine the value of k is air, in which ^=1, and therefore, by equation (46), V=v. (72) By the electromagnetic experiments of MM. Webee and Kohlrausch *, v= 310,740,000 metres per second is the number of electrostatic units in one electromagnetic unit of electricity, and this, according to our result, should be equal to the velocity of light in air or vacuum. The velocity of light in air, by M. FiZEAu'sf experiments, is V=314,858,000; according to the more accurate experiments of M. Foucault J, V=298,000 000. ? The velocity of light in the space surrounding the earth, deduced from the coefficient of aberration and the received value of the radius of the earth's orbit, is V= 308,000,000. (97) Hence the velocity of light deduced from experiment agrees sufficiently well with the value of v deduced from the only set of experiments we as yet possess. The value of v was determined by measuring the electromotive force with which a condenser of known capacity was charged, and then discharging the condenser through a galvanometer, so as to measure the quantity of electricity in it in electromagnetic measure. The only use made of light in the experiment was to see the instruments. The value V of found by M. Foucault was obtained by determining the angle through which a revolving mirror turned, while the light reflected from it went and returned along a measured course. No use whatever was made of electricity or magnetism. The agreement of the results seems to show that light and magnetism are affections of the same substance, and that light is an electromagnetic disturbance propagated through the field according to electromagnetic laws. (98) Let us now go back upon the equations in (94), in which the quantities J and *¥" occur, to see whether any other kind of disturbance can be propagated through the medium depending on these quantities which disappeared from the final equations. * Leipzig Transactions, vol. v. (1857), p. 260, or Poggendobff's c Annalen/ Aug. 1856, p. 10. t Comptes Eendus, vol. xxix. (1849), p. 90. % Ibid. vol. lv. (1862), pp. 501, 792. MDCCCLXY. 3Y , 500 PROFESSOR CLERK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC EIELD. If we determine % from the equation Vv V^~-^due24+-^%24^-^^2-"J^ (73) ^ ' and F, G', H' from the equations F'=F-^, cy=G—$£, H'=H-^, .... (74) then dy dz 1 /d*F d*V d'X dp ~T~dxdt (83) V (104) If £, m, n are the direction-cosines of the wave, and its velocity, and if — lx-\-my-\-nz Vt=w 9 (84) Y w then F, G, H, and will be functions of ; and if we put F, G', H', "¥' for the second differentials of these quantities with respect to w, the equations will be V2-^(^+?))G'+^H'+^F-mV^=0, v. . . (85) V If we now put e+3) H'+cq^nlF+^cqfnmff-nV^O. P + + + £» Z*Ji(J*/» &v) m>(^» 2A) n*v(a\ we shall find + (a+m>+^)= /P m 2 cfib^c . 2 m + 3 Aftv V«52 +'6«3 u > FV2U-Z^'VU=0, . . with two similar equations for G' and H'. Hence either V=0, ....... u=o or VF=W, VG'=m^' and YU.'=nV. (86) (87) (88) (89) (90) The third supposition indicates that the resultant of F, G', H' is in the direction normal to the plane of the wave ; but the equations do not indicate that such a disturbance, if possible, could be propagated, as we have no other relation between ty! and F', G', H'. V = The solution refers to a case in which there is no propagation. U=0 V The solution gives two values for 2 corresponding to values of F', G', H', which PEOFESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC FIELD. 503 are given by the equations M at -f- , % (j -J- o U, c%v (105) The velocities along the axes are as follows:- (91) , . (92) Direction of propagation . » • # y 2 # —a2 —«2 • V f* 62 62 Direction of the electric displacements < y V A s —c2 —c2 A f* Now we know that in each principal plane of a crystal the ray polarized in that plane obeys the ordinary law of refraction, and therefore its velocity is the same in whatever direction in that plane it is propagated. If polarized light consists of electromagnetic disturbances in which the electric displacement is in the plane of polarization, then If, on the contrary, the electric displacements are perpendicular to the plane of pola- rization, •k=p=v. , # . (94) We know, from the magnetic experiments of Faraday, Plucker, &c, that in many crystals X, ^, v are unequal. The experiments of Knoblauch * on electric induction through crystals seem to show that a, b and e, may be different. The inequality, however, of X, ^, v is so small that great magnetic forces are required to indicate their difference, and the differences do not seem of sufficient magnitude to account for the double refraction of the crystals. On the other hand, experiments on electric induction are liable to error on account of minute flaws, or portions of conducting matter in the crystal. Further experiments on the magnetic and dielectric properties of crystals are required before we can decide whether the relation of these bodies to magnetic and electric forces is the same, when these forces are permanent as when they are alternating with the rapidity of the vibrations of light. * Philosophical Magazine, 1852, 504 PKOEE8SOB CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC FIELD. Relation between Electric Resistance and Transparency. (106) If the medium, instead of being a perfect insulator, is a conductor whose resistance per unit of volume is g>, then there will bid not only electric displacements, but true currents of conduction in which electrical energy is transformed into heat, and the undulation is thereby weakened. To determine the coefficient of absorption, let us investigate the propagation along the axis of x of the transverse disturbance G. By the former equations = - 4*?6 (f+2) A b y( )> ^=+M^4^) rf2Cr /I fl^Cr 1 flCr\ by(E)and(F) ' • • G If is of the form 0=6'^ cos (qx+nt), we find that « = ^2=?^V gq g i V where is the velocity of light in air, and i is the index of refraction. of incident light transmitted through the thickness x is < 95) (96) (K 97)J The proportion e~^x . . . . (98) R Let be the resistance in electromagnetic measure of a plate of the substance whose thickness is x, breadth #, and length 7, then OX 2px=^l±.- (99) (107) Most transparent solid bodies are good insulators, whereas all good conductors are very opaque. We Electrolytes allow a current to pass easily and yet are often very transparent. may suppose, however, that in the rapidly alternating vibrations of light, the electro- motive forces act for so short a time that they are unable to effect a complete separation between the particles in combination, so that when the force is reversed the particles oscillate into their former position without loss of energy. Gold, silver, and platinum are good conductors, and yet when reduced to sufficiently thin plates they allow light to pass through them. If the resistance of gold is the same for electromotive forces of short period as for those with which we make experiments, the amount of light which passes through a piece of gold-leaf, of which the resistance was determined by Mr. C. Hockin, would be only 10~~ 50 of the incident light, a totally ^^ imperceptible quantity. I find that between and y r being the distance from the axis of the cylinder. Let one term of the value of F be of the form IV", where T is a function of the time, then the term of p which produced it is of the form Hence if we write l+ PZ-\ dt) r e dt* dl 2 2 l 2 2 dfi ^ ' 2 1 d8T 1 2 .2 2 dt3 / —— ^£,\_,# The total counter current of self-induction at any point is j W + + J {" -PJ *t- - 1 + -#1 y~ f222 2/ &c* from £=0 to £=oo . When £=0, ^=0, (^l .\ l-^-j =P, ^O* &c. (^=0. = When t=co 9J? =j> (f ... )^ 9 &c * n ^ ^ r /P \ 1 ^T 1 2 jU/TT |A3 1 T2 rf 2*(j-p)«Z«Ztf= -T*r2 + 2 + -pr 1^73 T^°+ &c' from t=0 to =oc* When £=0, J9=0 throughout the section, =P? .*. (-^A ( *^i" ) ^O? &c* /dT\ /d q T\ When t=oo p=0 throughout , . . * . .% [-$) =0, (-^2) =0, &c. \ / 00 \ / 00 R Also if I be the length of the wire, and its resistance, R=-% C= P/ and if C be the current when established in the wire, -g« The total counter current may be written i(T„-T.)-!4c=-^by§(86). — PEOFESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC FIELD. 511 Now if the current instead of being variable from the centre to the circumference of the section of the wire had been the same throughout, the value of F would have been F=T+^y(l~2 ), where y is the current in the wire at any instant, and the total countercurrent would have been n'ldF ^ -T , ^^2«-rfr== Z s (/rTp w )-- 3 if 6 l g nC==- L'C s-,say. Hence = — 1j 1j •4^6, or the value of L which must be used in calculating the self-induction of a wire for variable currents is less than that which is deduced from the supposition of the current being constant throughout the section of the wire by ^pl, where I is the length of the wire, and p is the coefficient of magnetic induction for the substance of the wire. (116) The dimensions of the coil used by the Committee of the British Association in their experiments at King's College in 1864 were as follows : ....... Mean radius Depth of each coil .... Breadth of each coil Distance between the coils . . . Number of windings . . . . ..... Diameter of wire metre. =#='158194 =# = '01608 = =c *01841 =-02010 %z=313 =-00126 The value of L derived from the first term of the expression is 437440 metres. The correction depending on the radius not being infinitely great compared with the section of the coil as found from the second term is —7345 metres. The correction depending on the diameter of the wire is per unit of length Correction of eight neighbouring wires "] .44007 J +*0236 For sixteen wires next to these Correction for variation of current in different parts of section +-0008 — -2500 Total correction per unit of length Length Sum of corrections of this land L Final value of by calculation . -22437 311*236 metres. . 70 430165 This value of L was employed in reducing the observations, according to the method explained in the Eeport of the Committee*. The correction depending on L varies as the square of the velocity. The results of sixteen experiments to which this correction had been applied, and in which the velocity varied from 100 revolutions in seventeen seconds to 100 in seventy-seven seconds, were compared by the method of * British Association Beports, 1863, p. 169. 512 PEOEESSOE CLEEK MAXWELL ON THE ELECTEOMAGNETIC FIELD. least squares to determine what further correction depending on the square of the velocity should be applied to make the outstanding errors a minimum. The result of this examination showed that the calculated value of L should be multiplied by 1*0618 to obtain the value of L, which would give the most consistent results. .......... We have therefore L by calculation 430165 metres. ...... Probable value of L by method of least squares 456748 „ Eesult of rough experiment with the Electric Balance (see § 46) 410000 „ The value of L calculated from the dimensions of the coil is probably much more accurate than either of the other determinations.