CPB - The Mechanical Universe…and Beyond (1986) Part 39 Maxwells Equations

The Mechanical Universe…and Beyond

This series helps teachers demystify physics by showing students what it looks like. Field trips to hot-air balloon events, symphony concerts, bicycle shops, and other locales make complex concepts more accessible. Inventive computer graphics illustrate abstract concepts such as time, force, and capacitance, while historical re-enactments of the studies of Newton, Leibniz, Maxwell, and others trace the evolution of theories. The Mechanical Universe helps meet different students' needs, from the basic requirements of liberal arts students to the rigorous demands of science and engineering majors. This series is also valuable for teacher professional development.

Part 39: Maxwells Equations

By the 1860s all the pieces of the electricity and magnetism puzzle were in place, except one. The last piece, discovered by James Clerk Maxwell and called (unfortunately) the displacement current was just what was needed to produce electromagnetic waves called (among other things) light.