James Clerk Maxwell

The idea of the propagation of transverse magnetic disturbances to the exclusion of normal ones is distinctly set forth by Professor Faraday.

The whole theory of the equilibrium of a fluid, and of the motion of a fluid, rests on the principle of the conservation of energy.

The only occupation which a man can follow without any preparation is that of a critic.

The rate of change of momentum of a body is proportional to the impressed force, and takes place in the direction of the straight line in which the force acts.

The true method of physical reasoning is to begin with the phenomena and to deduce forces from them by a direct application of the equations of motion.

The equations of motion of a connected system are expressed in the most concise form by means of the symbols of variation.

We are probably ignorant even of the name of the science which will be developed out of the materials we are now collecting.

The history of science shows that theories are perverted by their opponents before they are supplemented by their successors.

The first process therefore in the effectual study of science must be one of simplification and reduction of results of previous investigation to a form in which the mind can grasp them.

The mind of man has perplexed itself with many hard questions. Is space infinite, and if so in what sense? Is the material world infinite in extent, and are all places within that extent equally full of matter?

The theory I propose may therefore be called a theory of the Electromagnetic Field because it has to do with the space in the neighbourhood of the electric or magnetic bodies.

The progress of physical science has been to a great extent the result of the application of mathematics to the phenomena of nature.

The constitution of the known parts of the universe is not such as to allow of the dissipation of energy being compensated by any natural process.

The study of the action of one portion of matter on another at a distance, without any visible means of connection, is a subject which has always excited the curiosity of mankind.

The space outside a conductor is as important as the space inside.

The energy of a system is a quantity which can be measured, and which, when measured, is found to remain constant under all transformations of the system.

The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles.

The aim of education is not to fill the mind with facts, but to teach it to think.

The mathematician may be compared to a designer of garments, who is utterly oblivious of the creatures whom his garments may fit.

The motion of every particle of the fluid is determined by the circumstances under which it is placed, and by the properties of the fluid.