The Great Unification: Maxwell's Equations

Maxwell’s Equations are a set of four equations that govern all of electromagnetism. The equations show a unification of the electric and magnetic fields and are often considered one of the greatest unifications in physics, describing one of the four fundamental interactions, the electromagnetic force. The unification of the electric and magnetic forces in the 19th century by Maxwell’s Equations led to several scientific advancements – including an entire new branch of physics, electromagnetism – and inventions that transformed the world, consequently providing the world with wide-ranging improvements in quality of life, communications and navigation.
William Gilbert, an English physicist and philosopher, proposed in 1600 that electricity and magnetism were two separate entities. However, during the beginning of the early 19th century, many discoveries were made that suggested to the contrary; experimental data implied a connection between the electric and magnetic fields. Ampere, Faraday, Gauss and others had all published works that had captured the phenomenon of electricity and magnetism. In 1826, Andre-Marie Ampere observed that two parallel wires carrying electric currents would attract each or repel each other, depending on the direction of the current. In 1821, Michael Faraday devised the concept of electric and magnetic fields. He also discovered electromagnetic induction: a potential difference would be generated in a conductor when exposed to a varying magnetic field. In 1835, Carl Gauss related the electric charge to the electric field. Despite these advancements, the information known about electricity and magnetism existed in fragments. There lacked an actual theory to unify the electric and magnetic fields until ...

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...ivers, such as smartphones or military vehicles, on Earth can use the data from the satellites to calculate position. Through the use of Special Relativity and wireless transmission, both dependent upon Maxwell’s Equations, GPS allows modern humans to help route themselves to a location when travelling, track the location of a lost phone (or any object equipped with a receiver) and many other things.
The four elegant equations that constitute Maxwell’s Equations have resulted in many scientific discoveries, theories and inventions with applications in everyday life. From quality of life, to communications, to navigation, Maxwell’s Equations have overhauled the way that humans live and interact through the unification of the electric and magnetic fields. Because of this, the conception of Maxwell’s Equations is the most influential advancement in physics on history.