General Interest

A note from the Editor: In celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Maxwell’s Equations, we are honored to bring you a chapter from the book The Life of James Clerk Maxwell, the 1882 original biography of James Clerk Maxwell. This chapter, entitled “Faraday’s Lines of Force and Maxwell’s Theory of the Electromagnetic Field,” provides a unique insight to Maxwell’s theory of electromagnetic fields.

Today’s digital camera sensors have the benefit of acting like a bucket that collects photons (light) - the longer the exposure, the more light (color and detail) is captured and displayed in the photograph. Long exposures from these cameras can capture light far too faint for our unaided eyes to see. These long exposures require precise tracking of the sky. Stars are like pinpoints of light. Tracking errors quickly elongate stars in a photograph, and then they look oblong or like streaks. The equipment that is available today allows amateur astronomers the opportunity to take astrophotography images that rival the detail taken by professionals just a decade ago.

Editor’s Note: In Part 1 of this 3 part series (In Compliance January 2013), author Gregg Kervill explores trends and patterns throughout history that, in his opinion, have led us to the present day landscape of our economy, technology and the future of engineering. Here in Part 2, we look at the importance of rebalancing our economy to move toward innovation and advancement. We begin where we left off.