Abstract
The overall development of Physics in 19th century is described. Maxwell showed that various experimental results about electric and magnetic phenomena can be seen as consequences of field equations - Maxwell’s equations. The law of conservation of energy and the second law of thermodynamics were established. Solar and hydrogen spectrum studies laid the foundations of spectroscopy. The challenge of finding the spectral function of black body radiation led Planck towards the quantum theory.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
R. Purrington, Physics in Nineteenth Century (Rutgers University Press, New Jersey, 1997)
A. Pais, Niels Bohr’s Times: In Physics, Philosophy and Polity (Oxford University Press, New York 1991)
J. C. Maxwell, in The Scientific papers of James Clerk Maxwell, Vol. 2, ed. by W. D. Niven (Cambridge University Press, London, 1890) p. 528
A. A. Michelson, Am. J. Sci. 22, 110 (1881)
R. Clausius, Phil. Mag. series 4, 17, 81–91 (1859)
J. C. Maxwell, Phil. Mag. 19, 19–32 (1860); 20 21–37 (1860)
T. H. Kuhn, in History of Science, ed. by M. Clagett (The University of Wisconsin Press, London 1959)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Naik, P.V. (2017). The Nineteenth Century. In: Meghnad Saha. Springer Biographies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62102-9_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62102-9_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-62101-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-62102-9
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)