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A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism

Title page from volume I of Maxwell's masterwork
Author	James Clerk Maxwell
Country	England
Language	English
Subject	Electromagnetism Mathematical physics
Genre	Non-fiction treatise scientific writing
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Publication date	1873
Text	A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism at Wikisource

A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism is a two-volume treatise on electromagnetism written by James Clerk Maxwell in 1873. Maxwell was revising the Treatise for a second edition when he died in 1879. The revision was completed by William Davidson Niven for publication in 1881. A third edition was prepared by J. J. Thomson for publication in 1892.

The treatise is said to be notoriously hard to read, containing plenty of ideas but lacking both the clear focus and orderliness that may have allowed it catch on more easily. It was noted by one historian of science that Maxwell's attempt at a comprehensive treatise on all of electrical science tended to bury the important results of his work under "long accounts of miscellaneous phenomena discussed from several points of view." He goes on to say that, outside the treatment of the Faraday effect, Maxwell failed to expound on his earlier work, especially the generation of electromagnetic waves and the derivation of the laws governing reflection and refraction.

Maxwell introduced the use of vector fields, and his labels have been perpetuated:

A (vector potential), B (magnetic induction), C (electric current), D (displacement), E (electric field – Maxwell's electromotive intensity), F (mechanical force), H (magnetic field – Maxwell's magnetic force).

Maxwell's work is considered an exemplar of rhetoric of science:

Lagrange's equations appear in the Treatise as the culmination of a long series of rhetorical moves, including (among others) Green's theorem, Gauss's potential theory and Faraday's lines of force – all of which have prepared the reader for the Lagrangian vision of a natural world that is whole and connected: a veritable sea change from Newton's vision.

Contents

Preliminary On the Measurement of Quantities, A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism (1873)

Preliminary. On the Measurement of Quantities.

Part I. Electrostatics.

1. Description of Phenomena.
2. Elementary Mathematical Theory of Electricity.
3. On Electrical Work and Energy in a System of Conductors.
4. General Theorems.
5. Mechanical Action Between Two Electrical Systems.
6. Points and Lines of Equilibrium.
7. Forms of Equipotential Surfaces and Lines of Flow.
8. Simple Cases of Electrification.
9. Spherical Harmonics.
10. Confocal Surfaces of the Second Degree.
11. Theory of Electric Images.
12. Conjugate Functions in Two Dimensions.
13. Electrostatic Instruments.

Part II. Electrokinematics.

1. The Electric Current.
2. Conduction and Resistance.
3. Electromotive Force Between Bodies in Contact.
4. Electrolysis.
5. Electrolytic Polarization.
6. Mathematical Theory of the Distribution of Electric Currents.
7. Conduction in Three Dimensions.
8. Resistance and Conductivity in Three Dimensions.
9. Conduction through Heterogeneous Media.
10. Conduction in Dielectrics.
11. Measurement of the Electric Resistance of Conductors.
12. Electric Resistance of Substances.

Part III. Magnetism

1. Elementary Theory of Magnetism.
2. Magnetic Force and Magnetic Induction.
3. Particular Forms of Magnets.
4. Induced Magnetization.
5. Magnetic Problems.
6. Weber's Theory of Magnetic Induction.
7. Magnetic Measurements.
8. Terrestrial Magnetism.

Part IV. Electromagnetism.

1. Electromagnetic Force.
2. Mutual Action of Electric Currents.
3. Induction of Electric Currents.
4. Induction of a Current on Itself.
5. General Equations of Dynamics.
6. Application of Dynamics to Electromagnetism.
7. Electrokinetics.
8. Exploration of the Field by means of the Secondary Circuit.
9. General Equations.
10. Dimensions of Electric Units.
11. Energy and Stress.
12. Current-Sheets.
13. Parallel Currents.
14. Circular Currents.
15. Electromagnetic Instruments.
16. Electromagnetic Observations.
17. Electrical Measurement of Coefficients of Induction.
18. Determination of Resistance in Electromagnetic Measure.
19. Comparison of Electrostatic With Electromagnetic Units.
20. Electromagnetic Theory of Light.
21. Magnetic Action on Light.
22. Electric Theory of Magnetism.
23. Theories of Action at a distance.

See also

• "On Physical Lines of Force"
• "A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field"
• Introduction to Electrodynamics
• Classical Electrodynamics