Maxwell's Ether: From Wave Optics to the Electromagnetic Theory of Light
Please mark your calendar for 4 October 2023, at 1:00 pm Eastern time, and join us for a virtual presentation! We invite you to celebrate IEEE Day with the IEEE Foundation and IEEE History Center by exploring James Clerk Maxwell's revolutionary unification of light, electricity and magnetism. The keynote speaker, Daniel Jon Mitchell DPhil., Senior Historian of the IEEE History Center will walk you through the remarkable history of how Maxwell adapted the concept of an all-pervading ether to develop and ground his electromagnetic theory of light. We shall see how, in Maxwell's hands, the ether became a powerful theoretical tool to substantiate the electromagnetic field—through which he ultimately brought about a profound conceptual transformation of physical reality.
We are excited to have you join us as we present a rich historical picture of Maxwell's greatest work.
Please register here https://webinars.on24.com/ieeedigital/ieeeday
For additional information, contact Laura Bessey, Donor Relations, at donate@ieee.org or +1 732-465-7817.
Date and Time
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- Date: 04 Oct 2023
- Time: 01:00 PM to 02:00 PM
- All times are (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
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- Co-sponsored by IEEE Foundation
Speakers
Daniel Jon Mitchell of IEEE History Center
Biography:
Daniel Jon Mitchell joined the IEEE History Center as Senior Historian in July 2022. Previously he served as the Director of the Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry at the Science History Institute in Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Daniel was educated in the UK. He holds a B.A. in physics and a D.Phil. in modern history from the University of Oxford (2010), and an M.A. in philosophy and history of science from the University of Bristol. Two years teaching scientific and technological literacy at the University of Hong Kong sparked a global career in academia and the nonprofit library and museum sector, during which time Daniel has written, presented, and taught widely on the history of modern physical science. He has held research fellowships at RWTH Aachen University in Germany; at the Science Museum, London and University of Cambridge in the UK; and at Harvard University and the Science History Institute in the US. Daniel recently acted as a consultant on a major grant project for the Center for History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics in College Park, MD, USA.
The history of electricity and its associated technologies has interested Daniel ever since he embarked upon a series of summer engineering internships at National Grid while a physics student. His recent research has focused on measurement and quantification in the work of early electrical pioneers, such as Lord Kelvin and James Clerk Maxwell.