The Greatest Scientist You’ve Never Heard Of - Ask a Spaceman!

[@HebaruSan]

My favorite physicist since I took calc-based E&M, all that work we did all semester simplified down to four lines at the end. Thanks for raising his profile!

[@JH-yu6yf]

But he didn’t do that, he used quaternions. Heaviside came up the 4 equations

[@bizpo2713]

As an electrical engineer 100% agree. And Hertz wireless spark experiment was akin to our gravitational wave detector. The genius tells us where to look and boom - there it is - radio waves, gravitational waves... so amazing.

[@sethrenville798]

You will likely love Michael Levin's work on bioelectricity, then. Its fucking revolutionary.

[@oriraykai3610]

gravity waves have not been detected yet.

[@douglasstrother6584]

@@oriraykai3610 Give the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics Committee a call.

[@richardstevens2306]

Hi Paul, been watching you now for 2 to 3 years. You should be on mainstream TV. superb presentation & presence & passion. Despite having a physics degree, I never tire of re-hearing these fabulous pieces of physics history, always something to learn or relearn. Thank you very much for making these wonderful educational short films.

[@DownhillAllTheWay]

Newton : "I see further because I stand upon the shoulders of giants" Journalist - to Einstein : "Do you stand upon the shoulders of Isaac Newton?" Einstein : "No - I stand upon the shoulders of James Clerk Maxwell"

[@douglasstrother6584]

The collaboration between Michael Faraday & JCM to unify electromagnetism, and the advocacy of Oliver Heaviside to formulate Maxwell's theory in terms of vector calculus are sorely under appreciated.

[@v8pilot]

How very true. As a ee student 60 years ago, Oliver Heaviside was my hero. The university library has copies of his books.

[@douglasstrother6584]

@@v8pilot "The Forgotten Genius of Oliver Heaviside: A Maverick of Electrical Science" ~ Basil Mahon

[@v8pilot]

@@douglasstrother6584 Thanks for that. Also "Oliver Heaviside. The Life, Work, And times of an Electrical Genius of the Victorian Age" ~ Paul. J. Nahin

[@shots-shots-shotseverybody2707]

Let us stop patronizing Einstein. Einstein has not one legitimate invention, proven concept and contribution in science which mankind has benefitted or ganed

[@douglasstrother6584]

@@v8pilot I'll check it out.

[@peterkallend5012]

But I've heard of him. And wait, isn't time travel back in time a violation of certain conservation laws and certain laws of thermodynamics? Maxwell was just a badass.

[@seditt5146]

Not really no.

[@douglasstrother6584]

JCM: The original "Doc Brown".

[@brendawilliams8062]

Badass 🧲

[@DavidJohnson-pp4sy]

Easily my favourite science podcast. Much appreciated Paul.

[@imarakashagama599]

Thank you for this presentation on Maxwell. I learned so much from it. Blessings.

[@oriraykai3610]

He also formulated those equations using quaternions, which were later simplified down to Vector Analysis for dummies, because no one understood Maxwell's equations using quaternions and I'm talking about other scientists, not the general public. You also forgot to mention that he formulated the statistical equations of thermodynamics, which proved the ideal gas law using a model of gas molecules as little billiard balls AKA Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics. James Joule is another under appreciated Scot who revolutionized the concept of energy and thermo-dynamics.

[@douglasstrother6584]

Thanks to Maxwell and several other big-bearded bastards, we have two of the most challenging subjects in the Four Food Groups of Fizziks: Electromagnetism and Statistical Mechanics! James Joule's work on connecting work and heat, and Oliver Heaviside's championing of using vectors to express Maxwell's equations are under appreciated.

[@beachmobjellies]

You got me so excited about Maxwell I'm standing and cheering right now

[@mikesnyder1788]

My first introduction to Michael Faraday and JCM was in the film "Einstein's Big Idea" which was based on "E=mc² - A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation" by Davis Bodanis. Both movie and book are very good and would be a fine follow up to this excellent presentation.

[@Max_Flashheart]

If it wasn't for Maxwell we would all be watching the Internet by Candlelight lol

[@TwinPhoenix666]

🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@shots-shots-shotseverybody2707]

That's funny

[@attica7980]

It is a pity he did not mention that special relativity was created to make Maxwell's equations invariant in different inertial frames. The title of Einstein's paper was Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper, which, translated into English means On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies.

[@aniksamiurrahman6365]

Seriously? People never heard of Maxwell? I'm just trying to not say, "WTF u r claiming, Palu?"

[@LucianoRobino]

I'm pissed you didn't mention Maxwell's contribution to thermodynamics

[@davidd6171]

I really enjoyed the history aspect of this video!! Keep up the great work!

[@lindsaywaterman2010]

Actually James clerk Maxwell wrote 20 equations in integral form, but it was oliiver Heaviside who condensed them to four equations and wrote them in differential form.

[@sinebar]

James Clerk Maxwell. We studied his work when I was in engineering school.

[@douglasstrother6584]

"What's tha go a that?", JCM. Paul, I expect subsequent videos on Thermodynamics & Statistical Mechanics. JCM deserves much more accolates; this is one more huzzah! for him.

[@alangardiner8221]

if you go to Edinburgh and find his statue in the New Town you will find him studying his colour wheel. Presumably because the Sculptor and the designer understood the sginificance of that. If you hunt around the back of the statue, there is a small inscription..seemingly added as an afterthought with the 4 equations. His contribution was not totally understood or appreciated even then. In unversity we were taught Maxwells equations in Physics classes, but i guess we are a small minority.

[@frankroos1167]

Uhm, who was the scientist I never heard of? Maxwell may not be the most well known. But it's not like he is unknown. The moment you learn about relativity, his name pops up. The moment you learn about electromagnetism, he's there. And I think most of the viewers of this channel got at least one of those.

[@FaxanaduJohn]

Yeah good video although not a great title.

[@frankroos1167]

Definitely. The only thing bad about this video is the title....although, it's pretty click-baity. So it may attract some new viewers. Thumbs up for that.

[@SofaKingShit]

I'm sure I've studied him in high school so for me personally it would be nice with "the greatest scientist you've forgotten about" because I'm old, and I'm also pretty cranky so don't please don't start arguing.

[@frankroos1167]

Oh, nice alternative title.

[@azurebrown3756]

Actually ancient people form at least 5 to 10k years ago knew way more magnetism and electricity than we think. The iron tower in India, the gold plated regalia in Peru, and the largest example the great pyramids at Geiza in Egypt. Maxwell just generalized the knowledge into a mathematical form.

[@_abdul]

Fun Fact: God never said "Let there be light" instead he said "Let there be a Maxwell" and Maxwell said "Let there be light"

[@KaliFissure]

Why we should re frame c as being h/s. A quantum is a specific number of Planck in length. That length is expressed along time axis and charge axis. High charge, short duration wave. Gamma. Low charge, long time duration Radio.

[@joswinpreetham1278]

Absolute genius. Was born in rich family but lived his life for science. Truly underrated!! I wish I could tell more ppl about the beauty of those 4 equations. Thanks Paul for helping ppl understand what a gem Sir James Clark Maxwell was. Btw Elon bought me here....he is in our team too.... :)

[@tlahe2]

Paul, I appreciate your time travel idea. Thank you.

[@douglasstrother6584]

JCM = The Original Doc Brown.

[@gregf9160]

Maxwell's Theory of Electromagnetism is pure poetry in Mathematics. It stands alongside Newton's Laws of Motion and Theory of Gravity, as _the_ most important discoveries in human history, _ever_ -- not to play down _everything_ else that flowed from them. But Maxwell ain't from the future 😉 I come from Edinburgh and you can see where he was born, the house he lived in, the school he attended (Edinburgh Academy) and the huge bronze statue of him on George Street 👍 He was a 19th Century Scotsman. Plain and simple. He's extremely well known in Scotland and we are _very_ proud of him.

[@elizabethwinsor-strumpetqueen]

He also invented "Tunnocks Tea Cakes" the only cake that has five dimensions of taste!

[@oriraykai3610]

Oh really? Is that why he was mocked in middle school for wearing homemade shoes and called "dafty" as a nickname? You cruel, Scottish middle schoolers!

[@nufosmatic]

7:05 - You left out that Maxwell's original 20 equations used quaternions, and it was Oliver Heaviside who dumbed it down...

[@abuzarmasood]

Hey Sutter you are stunning ... I like the way you express your thoughts spontaneously ... Keep posting man

[@larry-om9tg]

Thanks to people like you you learn something new every day.

[@nufosmatic]

I like the Pachinko machine...

[@drstrangelove09]

Are you saying that no one has heard of Maxwell?!!!! Talk to an electrical engineer!

[@SolidSiren]

Anyone watching THIS channel knows maxwell!

[@kennethkatz6782]

Deep into cosmic ray wavelengths, the distances are so short that they buzz. Base of c is changeable here.

[@ge45gecalled39]

very interesting, thanks

[@jaimecastells4283]

Maxwell was a genius, but he was the first to recognize Faraday's contributions to his work. For example, the relationship of magnetic and electrical fields were hypothesized and demonstrated by Faraday in the 1830s when Maxwell is in diapers! Maxwell didn't introduce the idea of a field, Faraday did. Faraday described a system of phenomena, and Maxwell formalized it using mathematics and, in doing so, made further great discoveries. Maxwell's application of mathematics was among the most advanced to that time, but it wasn't actually ahead of its time. For example, Bernoulli and Euler were using similar math in describing the properties of fluids a hundred years earlier. IMO, Maxwell represents the first great step beyond Newton and, as Newton stood on the shoulders of Brahe & Kepler, Maxwell stood on the shoulders of Faraday. In both cases, the later was a greater mathematician while their predecessor made tremendous insights without mathematical formalism.

[@douglasstrother6584]

Agreed! The collaboration between Faraday & Maxwell is sorely unknown. Classical Electromagnetism continues to be a challenging and relevant subject.

[@huichen4815]

Nice vid

[@Bethaniji]

Wow! The idea (probably truth) that beings from the future come to our past or present is taken up by Michael P. Masters in THE EXTRATEMPESTRIAL MODEL . He's written two books on the subject. One of the characteristic of these beings when they go to their past is that they die young; they do their work, leave their legacy and then depart.

[@AdrienLegendre]

Actually Maxwell is very well known among scientists.

[@marielaurebecquelin6470]

You might want to read Maurice Cotterell... (FutureScience) which explain Electromagnetism under another angle...and answers the 12 unanswered questions of Physics. Of course, by doing so, he shook a bit Newton and Maxwell...

[@rubinkatz9850]

"No one has ever heard of Maxwell" - ah, OK

[@kevinbyrne4538]

8:34 -- So which came first -- time travel or unification?

[@sanjaya718]

Absolutely phenomenal talk! Thanks!

[@polyrhythmia]

Chandrasekhar approached problems that way, solving one problem, then moving on to another.

[@jackmcghie1327]

Given all you said about Maxwell's electromagnetism, please explain why cosmologists still deny the existence of electricity in space.

[@Kounomura]

Hi Paul, I have a question. Light spreads far and wide in the universe, doesn't it? If we now follow the path of a single photon, suppose that it never encounters matter that would absorb it. What will happen to that photon? Does it go on and on forever, at breakneck speed? Where, how long?

[@Gridl6]

Yahooo! I love this one.

[@dennisbohner6876]

Maxwell was not neglected by me. Not understandable (I am not a mathematician.) but easily recognized as the stud for all of the modern physics studies.

[@dennisbohner6876]

The custodian of his papers should be forever shunned for manipulating his papers. He was a dolt and immoral.

[@vineslinger]

Maxwell found the connection between Electricity and Magnetism but they named the Magnetic Field strength after Tesla. Tesla basically took off with what Maxwell found and ran with it.

[@buzzpatch2294]

that was fun - thx

[@DeadJDona]

8:50 there was a book "Great Maxwell's Equations" that I read at 8 yo

[@tranminhtam-lyceeyersin7121]

with some nice tricks you can deduce the speed of light from MAXWELL equations

[@benmcreynolds8581]

I'd look at his way of looking at the world as so profound and effective in humanities abilities to understand the laws of nature around us and biology that I'd put Maxwell, Tesla, Da'vinci, Marie Curie. Darwin, Clausius (for the 2nd law of thermodynamics and entropy), Einstein, Issac Newton. Would all fit into that group of human beings who were able to look at things in such new ways and new perspectives that it forever improved humanity. It goes to show you that sometimes the answers are there already in front of us, we just need to find the right way to perceive them. (It's like when a spider web 🕸️ is in your line of sight but your eyes are focused past it, then your eyes focus and you can see the spider web) it's like that but a mental skill.

[@ethorii]

If you haven't heard of Maxwell you really are at the beginning of learning about scientific progress as he is hugely famous and constantly referenced in lay books and documentaries. He's one of the 10-20 giants of science so, how do you say "you've never heard of"? Clickbait alert

[@johnbayer9795]

I actually recall Maxwell showing up in high-school physics--& that was nearly 50 years ago. And I'm no physicist.

[@foramagasobeselettucepurpl6911]

I love your passion for science

[@DavidFMayerPhD]

Never heard of?? One of the MOST FAMOUS physicists.

[@jensphiliphohmann1876]

By applying GALILEI's principle of relativity to MAXWELL's electrodynamics, you almost automatically come to Special Relativity.

[@Wise4HarvestTime]

I like your channel a lot ✨🔥⚡ subscription earned

[@zimmy1958]

Thanks

[@Anamnesia]

I'd say the pillars of Science are; Newton, Maxwell, Einstein, Bohr, Feynman & Hawking...

[@Surfsailwaves]

Please could you elaborate on light as an electromagnetic wave: apart from the photoelectric effect, what are some electric or magnetic influences on light. Or phenomena where light affects electric or magnetic processes. Without this, in my ignorance, I’m left with the thought that we should not conclude that two things are the same just because those two things travel at the same speed.

[@k7jeb]

If you can accept that radio waves are really low-frequency, long-wavelength forms of "light", then examining the electric currents and voltages, the magnetic and electric fields in any radio antenna, from the large towers used for AM broadcasting to the tiny stubs in your cellphone, shows the very measurable and observable interaction between the phenomena.

[@CLERIC_58]

Maxwell, the greatest scientist you have never heard of, really? For the non-scientist the list of physicists they remember may not get much further than Einstein and Newton (maybe Hawking) so it's not saying much. Anyone who has had any education in physics and electrical engineering will know the name of the great JCM. Shouldn't Oliver Heaviside get a mention for putting the equations into the neat vector form that you show? After all, at one time they were also known as the Hertz-Heaviside equations, although since Einstein (I believe) they are rightly known as Maxwell's equations.

[@SofaKingShit]

Hooray for Maxwell who for the benefit of the advancement of mankind placed himself permanently into an infinite time loop.

[@douglasstrother6584]

JCM: The original "Doctor Who".

[@willemvandebeek]

Maxwell isn't from the future, he was a player character in this simulated universe just like Leonhard Euler...

[@cybervantyz]

And also Newton

[@SolidSiren]

Euler was an effing alien

[@barrywilliams991]

Well, isn't it about time we recognize that electrodynamic forces are the organizers of the universe and that gravity is relatively insignificant. Gravity has a very limited role. It, for instance, does not control the organization of galaxies. If it did, there wouldn't be any. So, astronomer and astrophysicists need to frame their theories so that the dominant force is electrodynamic and gravity is secondary. Electrical forces explain the formation of the entire universe and everything in it because electrical forces were here first. Gravity came along later.

[@ChrisWilson999]

Those 4 equations "from Maxwell" were formulated by Heaviside. Another genius who invented his own calculus because he didn't graduate from high school.

[@andrewmole745]

I was already aware of Maxwell, but I gained new insights. Thank you. Incidentally, have you looked at the way that Clifford algebra unifies the four equations into one?

[@samanthaqiu3416]

what equation would be that?

[@ivanastein2671]

@@samanthaqiu3416 Feynman has a chapter deriving thos in his Lectures... wait till I blow off some dust from my bookshelf... also the speed of ligh is 1, everybody knows that. Here come quaternions

[@samanthaqiu3416]

@@ivanastein2671 closest thing that rings a bell is MacFarlane 1900s paper building hyperbolic quaternions and how they are well suited to describe the entire Poincare algebra

[@dondragmer2412]

Phoo, I've known about Maxwell ever since my first year in college. I thought everyone did. People should learn about him in high school.

[@anidanga]

It's not two fields, it is one "sea" of Aether!

[@anirudhadhote]

❤ Very good 👍🏼

[@nnfefe9451]

Maxwell took Faradays data and translated them into mathematics.

[@shots-shots-shotseverybody2707]

Light speed cannot be measured. We have more data and test / experimental results to point to light being constant. Light is present at all places at all times. When we cannot see light and all we see is darkness, light never left as its still present but other variables are going on but nothing to rid light which is still in the house

[@joyecolbeck4490]

I can highly recommend Maxwell's Demon by Steven Hall on audible.

[@jensphiliphohmann1876]

I recognise him, it's good old MAXWELL.

[@nigelpearson6664]

Faraday, Maxwell, Heaviside. The latter helped digest it.

[@DownhillAllTheWay]

We know a lot about magnetism - but is it fully understood what it is? What constitutes a field? Can it be explained in lay terms, or does it have only a mathematical explanation? I'm afraid that is p[robably beyond me now. I passed my school and college maths exams - but they were a long time ago, and I never had need of advanced maths in my work or in my life.

[@bhekuzulukhumalo3967]

Maxwell was great, but reality is everything is independent once it exists.

[@witwisniewski2280]

At least some of us are intelligent enough to recognize genius.

[@benquinneyiii7941]

Luminiferous aether

[@ManuelGarcia-ww7gj]

Maxwell a time traveler? Bite your tongue! How would we had the infrastructure for time travel without him doing his work?

[@SolidSiren]

Erm, hasn't everyone heard of JCM?

[@nufosmatic]

13:45 - OK, now yer pissing me off...

[@scottkeeler2306]

Kevin Spaceyman?

[@spiralsun1]

Maxwells brain works like mine does. Been predicting things and as an aside coming up with things that well known professors spend their lives on. Many many times. I would say more about what I am and do but I have a strong sense of humility. Thanks for this awesome video it gives me hope that people will catch up eventually. Shows how to negotiate things. Helps me not to feel so alone. You have helped me more than you know. It’s difficult being misunderstood and getting papers rejected all the time. Because of very different assumptions about what things are. I think back then, things were more wide open and it was easier. Less people went to school to get rigid ideas of things and stuff like that. Thanks again. ❤ LOVE YOU SO MUCH ❤

[@rock801]

19th century Paul, not 18th.

[@SolidSiren]

He did say "mid 1800s" also.

[@SolidSiren]

Where did he say 18th century? I only keep hearing "1800s". In every instance through entire video. Can't find that.

[@ChelimYrneh]

♥

[@vijay_r_g]

But people had very good idea of elecricity and magnetism even before maxwell ,right? because there was gauss's law for magnetism as well electricity before maxwell right?

[@marsman4753]

Gauss's law describes a phenomenon (the what and how: flux changes with distance), but doesn't explain the cause and the underlying physics (the how and why). Maxwell was able to take these bits and tie them together to get at something more fundamental. Both endeavors are important, but the ability to explain the big picture physics is far more valuable - that's what Maxwell did. Similarly, Newotn showed the gravity exists (what and how), but didn't understand why. Einstein showed that gravity is a manifestation of mass warping space-time (the why).

[@aljawisa]

Aliens, yeah it was aliens.

[@morfbb]

I'd love to digest the information you are presenting but the volume and frequency of your inhalation makes it impossible for me to maintain attention.

[@elabijt1715]

Am electric current does create a magnetic field. Not a electric field is my guess.

[@BriSouth]

Do not knock on trigonometry. Understand? Do you understand me?? I hope so.

[@jamesdubben3687]

I'm going to name my next Tesla, Maxwell

[@Kraflyn]

dude, the title...

[@KaliFissure]

The neutrino has mass because while it is neutral and pure spin, the AharonovBohm particle, the vacuum does have energy and the spin interacts with vacuum energy to give it some mass. And there is only one kind of neutrino but it rotates to present different facets. Neutrino oscillation. There is an axis for each field. 3 axes, 3 dimensions, 3quark.

[@iankenney6602]

Haha modern Prometheus! Why dont we have more to show from the magnetic side of things, though? It seems like we are electricity snobs lol

[@illogicmath]

Perhaps dark matter doesn't exist

[@guadalupe8589]

Perhaps..... Perhaps not...

[@madderhat5852]

@@guadalupe8589 2 for 2 ✌

[@SolidSiren]

I say it doesn't

[@Burbituate]

I hate it when people assume stuff. That's why you have the temerity to make these videos you assume everyone else is ignorant.

[@JohnHoranzy]

Do not dismiss Maxwells hard work, curiosity,dedication, the role of a stable healthy family and his Christian philosophy as genius. Like dismissing all the time and hard work a figure skater puts into a routine by calling it talant. These are terms the lazy use as excuses. Then you do a double stupid and explain all those factors away by saying he must be from the future.

[@aviraltripathi5413]

First comment, can i get a heart!

[@FaxanaduJohn]

He doesn’t heart comments.

[@madderhat5852]

I don't have any hearts, but I have 2 livers and a spleen chilled and ready to ship. Generous rates.