Maxwell presents 'A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field', 8 December 1864 (1864–1865)

James Clerk Maxwell presented 'A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field' to the Royal Society on 8 December 1864. The paper established that electric and magnetic fields travel as waves at the speed of light, proposing light as an electromagnetic disturbance. This work laid the foundation for the classical theory of electromagnetism.

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Background and detail

Background. Maxwell served as Professor of Natural Philosophy at King's College London from 1860 to 1865, where he developed his theory of electromagnetic fields. Around 1862, he calculated that the speed of propagation of an electromagnetic field matched the speed of light, leading to the conclusion that light and magnetism are affections of the same substance.

Presentation to the Royal Society. Following standard procedure, the paper was first read to the Royal Society on 8 December 1864, having been sent by Maxwell to the society on 27 October. The Royal Society is the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The paper subsequently underwent peer review before publication.

Publication Details. The paper was approved for publication in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society on 15 June 1865. It was sent to the printer the following day. The work demonstrated that electric and magnetic fields travel through space as waves moving at the speed of light.

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