This 3 sentence summary provides the essential information about the document: Maxwell's equations predicted that changes in electric and magnetic fields propagate as waves through space, but scientists at the time believed that waves needed a medium, called the ether, to propagate through. This lecture discusses Maxwell's prediction of electromagnetic waves and the late 19th century concept of the ether as a medium for wave propagation. The document is from a 2004 introduction to modern physics course at Tufts University covering Maxwell's equations and the ether in lecture 2.

1. Introduction to Modern Physics
Lecture 2:
Maxwell EM Waves and Ether
Course Faculty
Gary R. Goldstein
Fall 2004
TUFTS Open Courseware
Tufts OCW material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike Re-assembled by:
(2014)