THE AGE OF ELECTROMAGNETISM: FROM UNIFICATION TO MAXWELL'S EQUATIONS AND BEYOND

Abstract

This review article explores the historical convergence of electricity and magnetism in the 19th century, highlighting the crucial discoveries that led to their unification. It analyzes the seminal contributions of Hans Christian Oersted, André-Marie Ampère, and Michael Faraday, who established the fundamental interconnection between these phenomena. The study culminates in the presentation of James Clerk Maxwell's classical theory of electromagnetism, detailing his famous equations and the prediction of the existence of electromagnetic waves.2 The transformative impact of these discoveries on physics and technological development is discussed, including post-Maxwell contributions from scientists such as Carl Friedrich Gauss and Pierre Curie, who expanded the field and paved the way for countless contemporary technologies.