At the March meeting of the Stewartry U3A members heard of one of the world’s greatest scientists, James Clerk Maxwell.
Captain Duncan Ferguson described the young Maxwell’s days at Glenlair. Maxwell was born in Edinburgh in 1831 but moved to Glenlair when it was built by his father in the same year. Even as a child at Glenlair it was clear from his interest in his surroundings and the world around him and the many questions which the adults found difficult to answer that he had a brilliant mind. He was taught by his mother until she died when he was eight years old and then at age ten he went to Edinburgh Academy. Because of his unconventional clothing his fellow pupils unkindly referred to him as “Daftie”. However at the age of 14 he read a paper to the Royal Society of Edinburgh and had by then developed a deep interest in physics. He set up his own laboratory at Glenlair where he conducted experiments including work on conduction. At the age of 16 he entered Edinburgh University and three years later went to Cambridge University to continue his studies in mathematics.
John Simpson told members of Maxwell’s deep faith and of his ability as a poet, reading excerpts from some of his poems. During his academic career he wrote over 100 papers covering a wide range of subjects writing most of them during his thirties. In one of his papers published in 1856 he acknowledged the significance of Farraday’s work. Many of his later papers related to magnetism, electricity and related sciences; John showed his equations known as the four “Beautiful Equations”.
In 1854 he graduated from Cambridge and was elected a Fellow of Trinity College. In 1856 he took up a Chair of Natural Philosophy at Marischal College Aberdeen and in 1860 moved to London when he was granted the Chair of Natural Philosophy at King’s College. In 1868 he was invested as the first Director of the Cavendish Laboratory.
Maxwell contracted smallpox but was fortunately nursed through it by his wife and died due to abdominal cancer at the relatively young age of 48 and is buried in Parton Kirkyard.
Much of Maxwell’s contribution to the advancement of knowledge and understanding in the fields of electricity and magnetism was only recognised and appreciated posthumously. Fortunately he is now acknowledged as one of the greatest physicists of all time. The 2015 International Year of Light had celebrated the 150th anniversary of his work. For the Festival the Maxwell Torch had been created. John illuminated the torch which he had collected specially from Glasgow for his talk.