Maxwell and Faraday

Claiming that Faraday was a mathematician, Maxwell made Faraday's concepts of lines of force and action in a medium central to his theory of the electromagnetic field. The author describes Maxwell's approach to mathematical physics, placing special emphasis on the primacy he accorded to geometrical reasoning and its application to Faraday's theory of lines of force. An account is given of his physical and mathematical transformation of Faraday's ideas, and their role in his theory of the electromagnetic field. Two letters that he wrote to Faraday, where he described his incorporation of Faradayan concepts, are discussed.