Maxwell's Equations

As we have already discussed, Maxwell found a way of unifying the theories of electricity and magnetism. His equations led to the conclusion, as we would phrase it now, that there are waves moving through empty space at the speed of light. Maxwell, however, never thought of it in this way. According to his physical intuition, waves came about by jiggling things, which means there cannot be waves in empty space. For him, the notion of having a solution in empty space did not make sense, so he tried to construct an explanation in terms of a hypothetical medium called the “ether,” which turned out to be wrong. Sometimes, our intuition can mislead us in some ways, while putting us on the right track in other ways.