A Fucking BRILLIANT Explanation of Maxwell's Equations!

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Xamonas Chegwé
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A Fucking BRILLIANT Explanation of Maxwell's Equations!

Post by Xamonas Chegwé » Sun Aug 05, 2012 5:52 am

If, like me, you are struggling to get to grips with some of the fundamentals of physics, you must have come across Maxwell's Equations and probably, like me, looked them up on Wikipedia, only to find...

Image

...which is, frankly, unhelpful without a grounding in vector calculus!

So, how refreshing to find that someone has gone to the trouble of explaining them (beautifully!) in a way that doesn't require any knowledge of higher maths at all!

Read this page - it is a perfect example of exposition of a complex subject on an accessible level - without any dumbing down!

http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1420.html

Of course, if you really want to understand the implications of these equations, how to apply them in the real world, how they shaped Einstein's thinking, and how they were derived in the first place, then you really DO need to learn some stuff about differential equations and vector calculus - BUT, if all you want is to know what the fuck they mean, this is absolutely the dog's dangly parts! :biggrin:
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Re: A Fucking BRILLIANT Explanation of Maxwell's Equations!

Post by Xamonas Chegwé » Sun Aug 05, 2012 5:53 am

PS. The part at the end, where the implications of the equations was revealed, sent shivers down my spine. Beautiful science and beautiful writing! :tup:
A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.
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You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
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Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
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Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
I think we should do whatever Pawiz wants.
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Re: A Fucking BRILLIANT Explanation of Maxwell's Equations!

Post by FBM » Sun Aug 05, 2012 6:08 am

Bookmarked! :pop:
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Re: A Fucking BRILLIANT Explanation of Maxwell's Equations!

Post by JimC » Sun Aug 05, 2012 7:17 am

FBM wrote:Bookmarked! :pop:
Likewise!
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Re: A Fucking BRILLIANT Explanation of Maxwell's Equations!

Post by FBM » Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:01 am

I lost focus when I got to Equation Four, but that's me, not the material. I'm going to take a break and go back to Equation Four. I really should be studying for finals, but this is hard to resist...
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken

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Re: A Fucking BRILLIANT Explanation of Maxwell's Equations!

Post by Svartalf » Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:31 am

Still didn't understand a thing... my grounding in physics never went that high.
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Re: A Fucking BRILLIANT Explanation of Maxwell's Equations!

Post by JimC » Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:52 am

I keep hearing the Beatle's "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" when I read these equations...

I first studied them in the late sixties, so I can't help it...
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Re: A Fucking BRILLIANT Explanation of Maxwell's Equations!

Post by Tyrannical » Sun Aug 05, 2012 9:45 am

Two heaping spoonfuls into a cup of Brownian motion, it's right on the back of the jar.
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Re: A Fucking BRILLIANT Explanation of Maxwell's Equations!

Post by hackenslash » Sat Aug 11, 2012 11:32 am

What a beautifully simple explanation.
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