What do Maxwell's equations describe?
Q: What do Maxwell's equations describe?
A: Maxwell's equations describe how electric charges and electric currents create electric and magnetic fields.
Q: How can an electric field generate a magnetic field?
A: Maxwell's equations describe how an electric field can generate a magnetic field.
Q: Who developed Maxwell's equations and when were they published?
A: The equations were developed by James Clerk Maxwell and were published in the 1860s.
Q: What is a field?
A: A field is the force per unit charge generated by charged particles.
Q: Can the equations be used to calculate the motion of particles in electric and magnetic fields?
A: Yes, the equations, along with the Lorentz force equation, can be used to calculate the motion of classical particles in electric and magnetic fields.
Q: What does the first equation of Maxwell's equations allow one to calculate?
A: The first equation allows one to calculate the electric field created by a charge.
Q: What are the other two equations of Maxwell's equations used to describe?
A: The other two equations describe how fields 'circulate' around their sources. Magnetic fields 'circulate' around electric currents and time varying electric fields, while electric fields 'circulate' around time varying magnetic fields.
