James Clerk Maxwell: 2 ideas worth knowing

2 ideas from James Clerk Maxwell, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

Four equations proved light, electricity and magnetism are the same thing
In 1865, James Clerk Maxwell combined the known laws of electricity and magnetism into a single set of equations and found they predicted self-sustaining waves travelling at the sp…
— James Clerk Maxwell, A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field
A tiny door-keeper could break the second law of thermodynamics — almost
In 1867, James Clerk Maxwell imagined a tiny being that could open and shut a door between two chambers of gas, letting fast molecules through one way and slow ones the other, sort…
— James Clerk Maxwell, Theory of Heat

Five ideas worth knowing, every week