What Theories Are Made Of: How Industry and Culture Shaped Maxwell's Theories of Electromagnetism

Abstract

James Clerk Maxwell's theories of electromagnetism are uniquely Victorian products. Maxwell and his physics have traditionally been viewed as aloof and disinterested, dating to the mid-to-late-19th century, but not party to the cultural, industrial, political, economic, and environmental turmoil of the era. This dissertation examines often ignored corners of Maxwell's electromagnetic theories and those of his successors to demonstrate that they were shaped by the technologies of their time. These technologies, steam engine governors, capacitors, and undersea telegraph cables are each, in their own way, responsible for the varying forms taken by Maxwellian electromagnetic theory. Each of these technologies also has its own history. These histories connect these technologies and thus Maxwellian theory to the newly emerging concept of efficiency, as well as the colonialism, economics, religion, and ecology of the British Empire. Governors, capacitors, and submarine telegraph cables serve as a historiographical bridge, allowing for the exploration of how empire-wide forces shaped the minutiae of Maxwellian electromagnetic theory.