James Clerk Maxwell

Physicist who formulated foundational theories of electromagnetism and color photography

James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) fundamentally altered humanity's understanding of physics through his electromagnetic field theory. His famous set of equations - Maxwell's Equations - unified electricity, magnetism, and light as manifestations of the same phenomenon, paving the way for modern technologies from radio to MRI machines.

Key contributions include:

• First color photograph (1861) using red, green, and blue filters
• Kinetic theory of gases explaining thermodynamics
• Saturn's rings stability theory confirmed by Voyager missions

Maxwell's 1873 A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism directly inspired Einstein's work on relativity. The James Clerk Maxwell Foundation notes how his 'displacement current' concept enabled predicting electromagnetic waves' existence - later proven by Hertz and applied by Marconi in radio development.

His color vision research led to the Maxwell disc demonstrating additive color mixing principles still used in displays today. Modern physicists consider Maxwell's unification of physical forces as a model for current grand unified theory research.