One implication of Maxwell’s equations was that electric and magnetic fields would indeed ‘push’ each other along through empty space. An oscillating magnetic field would give rise to an oscillating electric field (this was implied by Faraday’s experimental findings), and this oscillating electric field would, in turn, give rise to an oscillating magnetic field (by Maxwell’s theoretical inference), and this again would give rise to an electric field and so on. (See Figs 6.26, 6.27 on pp. 350 and 351 for detailed pictures of such waves.) Maxwell was able to calculate the speed that this effect
...more
