TABLE OF CONTENTS In this chapter, we shall generalize the time-independent Maxwell equations, derived in the previous chapter, to obtain the full set of time-dependent Maxwell equations.
The history of human kind's development of Physics can be thought of as the history of the synthesis of ideas. Physicists keep finding that apparently disparate phenomena can be understood as different aspects of some more fundamental phenomenon. This process has continued until, today, all physical phenomena can be described in terms of three fundamental forces: Gravity, the Electroweak Force, and the Strong Force. One of the main goals of modern physics is to find some way of combining these three forces so that all of physics can be described in terms of a single unified force.
The first great synthesis of ideas in Physics took place in 1666 when Issac Newton realised that the force which causes apples to fall downward is the same as that which maintains the Planets in elliptical orbits around the Sun. The second great synthesis, which we are about to study in more detail, took place in 1830 when Michael Faraday discovered that Electricity and Magnetism are two aspects of the same phenomenon, usually referred to as Electromagnetism. The third great synthesis, which we shall discuss presently, took place in 1873 when James Clerk Maxwell demonstrated that light and electromagnetism are intimately related. The last (but, hopefully, not the final) great synthesis took place in 1967 when Steve Weinberg and Abdus...
