This is a list of things named for

James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and li ...

Science

* Maxwell–Betti reciprocal work theorem * Maxwell–Bloch equations * Maxwell–Huber–Hencky–von Mises theory * Maxwell coupling * Maxwell–Cremona correspondence ** Cremona–Maxwell diagram *

Maxwell's discs A color triangle is an arrangement of colors within a triangle, based on the additive combination of three primary colors at its corners. An additive color space defined by three primary colors has a chromaticity gamut that is a color trian ...

Maxwell's theorem In probability theory, Maxwell's theorem, named in honor of James Clerk Maxwell, states that if the probability distribution of a vector-valued random variable ''X'' = ( ''X''1, ..., ''X'n'' )''T'' is the same as the distribution of ''GX'' for ...

Maxwell's theorem (geometry) Maxwell's theorem is the following statement about triangles in the plane. The theorem is named after the physicist James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879), who proved it in his work on reciprocal figures, which are of importance in statics Stat ...

* Maxwell's Wheel * Maxwell's fisheye lens

Electromagnetism

* Maxwell–Wagner–Sillars polarization * Maxwell–Wien bridge, see Maxwell bridge * Maxwell bivector *

Maxwell bridge A Maxwell bridge is a modification to a Wheatstone bridge used to measure an unknown inductance (usually of low Q value) in terms of calibrated resistance and inductance or resistance and capacitance. When the calibrated components are a para ...

Maxwell coil A Maxwell coil is a device for producing a large volume of almost constant (or constant-gradient) magnetic field. It is named in honour of the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell. A Maxwell coil is an improvement of a Helmholtz coil: in oper ...

* Maxwell displacement current *

Maxwell's equations Maxwell's equations, or Maxwell–Heaviside equations, are a set of coupled partial differential equations that, together with the Lorentz force law, form the foundation of classical electromagnetism, classical optics, and electric circuits. ...

(electromagnetism) ** Maxwell–Proca equation ** Maxwell–Ampere law * The maxwell (Mx), a compound derived CGS unit measuring magnetic flux * Maxwell tensor, also

Maxwell stress tensor The Maxwell stress tensor (named after James Clerk Maxwell) is a symmetric second-order tensor used in classical electromagnetism to represent the interaction between electromagnetic forces and mechanical momentum. In simple situations, such as ...

* Maxwell–Lodge effect

Thermodynamics and kinetic theory

Maxwell–Boltzmann statistics In statistical mechanics, Maxwell–Boltzmann statistics describes the distribution of classical material particles over various energy states in thermal equilibrium. It is applicable when the temperature is high enough or the particle density ...

Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution In physics (in particular in statistical mechanics), the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution, or Maxwell(ian) distribution, is a particular probability distribution named after James Clerk Maxwell and Ludwig Boltzmann. It was first defined and use ...

(statistical thermodynamics), also known as Maxwellian curve, or Maxwellian for short. *** Maxwell–Jüttner distribution *

Maxwell–Stefan diffusion The Maxwell–Stefan diffusion (or Stefan–Maxwell diffusion) is a model for describing diffusion in multicomponent systems. The equations that describe these transport processes have been developed independently and in parallel by James Clerk Max ...

* Maxwell's relations (thermodynamics) *

Maxwell's thermodynamic surface Maxwell’s thermodynamic surface is an 1874 sculpture made by Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879). This model provides a three-dimensional space of the various states of a fictitious substance with water-like properties. This ...

* Maxwell's demon, a thought experiment in statistical physics *

Maxwell construction In thermodynamic equilibrium, a necessary condition for stability is that pressure P does not increase with volume V. This basic consistency requirement—and similar ones for other ''conjugate'' pairs of variables—are sometimes violated in analy ...

*Maxwell equal area rule, see Maxwell construction *

Maxwell speed distribution Maxwell may refer to: People * Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist * Justice Maxwell (disambiguation) * Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage of ...

* Maxwell distribution, see Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution

Solid mechanics

Maxwell material A Maxwell material is the most simple model viscoelastic material showing properties of a typical liquid. It shows viscous flow on the long timescale, but additional elastic resistance to fast deformations. It is named for James Clerk Maxwell w ...

* Maxwell model of elasticity, see Maxwell material ** Upper convected Maxwell model ** Generalized Maxwell model

Astronomy

12760 Maxwell 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

, an asteroid *

Maxwell Montes Maxwell Montes is a mountain massif on the planet Venus, of which a peak ( Skadi Mons) is the highest point on the planet's surface. General description Located on Ishtar Terra, the more northern of the planet's two major highlands, Maxwell ...

, a mountain range on

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

* The Maxwell Gap in the

Rings of Saturn The rings of Saturn are the most extensive ring system of any planet in the Solar System. They consist of countless small particles, ranging in size from micrometers to meters, that orbit around Saturn. The ring particles are made almost entir ...

Maxwell (crater) Maxwell is a crater on the far side of the Moon named after the physicist James C. Maxwell. It lies in the southwestern part of the larger crater Richardson. The southern part of Maxwell is overlain in turn by the partly flooded Lomonosov. ...

Optics

* Maxwellian view, a method of illuminating the eye by focusing an image at the plane of the pupil.

Neuroscience

* Maxwell's Spot, a reddish spot seen in the centre of a visual field when a white surface is viewed through a dichroic filter transmitting red and blue lights. In 1856, Maxwell observed a dark spot in the blue region of a prismatic spectrum. The spot moved with his eye but disappeared upon looking elsewhere in the spectrum. He concluded that the spot is an phenomenon produced in the eye (an

entoptic phenomenon Entoptic phenomena () are visual effects whose source is within the human eye itself. (Occasionally, these are called entopic phenomena, which is probably a typographical mistake.) In Helmholtz's words: "Under suitable conditions light falling o ...

) by a localized absorption of blue light by the yellow pigment of the central region of the retina (the macula leutea). Maxwell also proposed that the spot appeared as the cross of fuzzy bow-tie shapes (

Haidinger's brush Haidinger's brush, more commonly known as Haidinger's brushes is an image produced by the eye, an entoptic phenomenon, first described by Austrian physicist Wilhelm Karl von Haidinger in 1844. Haidinger saw it when he looked through various miner ...

es), one blue, the other yellow, when the light is polarized, discovered by Austrian physicist Wilhelm Karl von Haidinger in 1844.

Prizes

James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, ...

of the American Physical Society * IEEE/RSE Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award * Clerk Maxwell Prize, which was awarded by the British Institution of Radio Engineers * James Clerk Maxwell Medal and Prize of the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physic ...

Others

James Clerk Maxwell statue in George Street, Edinburgh

* The James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, the largest submillimetre-wavelength astronomical

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observ ...

in the world, with a diameter of * The James Clerk Maxwell Building of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, housing the schools of mathematics, physics and

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

* The James Clerk Maxwell building at the Waterloo campus of King's College London, in commemoration of his time as Professor of Natural Philosophy at King's from 1860 to 1865. The university also has a chair in Physics named after him, and a society for undergraduate physicists. * The James Clerk Maxwell Centre of the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, is now part of the Senior School. The Junior School is located on Arboretum Ro ...

* The Maxwell Centre at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, dedicated to academia-industry interactions in Physical Sciences and Technology.
Maxwell Institute for Mathematical Sciences
at the Universities of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt
James Clerk Maxwell Foundation

Maxwell Year 2006
website celebrating the 175th anniversary of his birth * Nvidia Maxwell, a

GPU A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobi ...

architecture released in 2014. * Maxwell (Almighty God). The God mentioned throughout the Tales Of video-game franchise. The Almighty Being in the story is named after him and places him on a pedestal as the Lord of Creation, making appearances in Tales of Phantasia, Tales of Phantasia 2, Tales of Eternia, Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of a New World, Tales of Xillia and Tales of Xillia 2. * The Maxwell radar-detector in the video-game Crossout. * A statue on Edinburgh's George Street * A proposed sculpture called the '' Star of Caledonia'' is to pay tribute to Maxwell. * ANSYS software for electromagnetic analysis, named Maxwell

Footnotes

{{reflist M James Clerk Maxwell