Let There Be Light: Maxwell's Equation EXPLAINED for BEGINNERS

A set of 4 equations that describe Electromagnetism - in this video, I'll be covering just one of them. Because otherwise, I wouldn't be able to do it justice.

Don't worry, you don't need to know anything more than high school mathematics and physics in order to understand this video (assuming I've explained things correctly lol).

Hey everyone, I'm back from a fairly long break with a video on Maxwell's Equations! I asked you guys on Instagram a couple of weeks ago whether you wanted to see a video on Maxwell's Equations or whether you wanted a video on the model of the atom. Maxwell's Equations won out, so here we are.

Thank you so much if you voted in my poll, and if you don't already then follow me on Instagram (and Twitter) @parthvlogs

So, the Maxwell Equation I'm covering in this video states that the Divergence of a Magnetic Field is equal to Zero. In order to explain what this means and what it implies, I realised I had to describe what "divergence" meant, and in order to do that I had to describe what vector fields are.

So that's exactly what I've done. Firstly, we discuss vector fields and a few examples of vector fields, and then we discuss how to find the divergence of a vector field in a fairly intuitive and visual way (without going too much into the mathematical gore). Finally, we go on to looking at what this particular Maxwell Equation says about magnetic fields, and the implications of this - that there is no such thing as a magnetic monopole (single pole), and that there are no sources or sinks of magnetic field. This is why any magnet will always have a north AND a south pole - even when we cut a magnet into half, we get two smaller magnets which each have two poles. Thus, no evidence of a magnetic monopole exists to this day.

This video goes into quite a lot of detail, so if there's anything that isn't quite clear enough, then feel free to let me know in the comments.

Finally, thanks so much for watching. Feel free to drop this video a like, and subscribe to my channel if you haven't already. Hit that bell button if you want to be notified every time I upload - I make fun physics videos, though I don't have to try too hard because physics is already fun!

[spwim]

I love how physics creates serious positive divergence of people in the bar when i start talking about it

[farhannoor]

This...just this 10 minutes of my life is called happiness...vector fields..divergence..I get it...I finally get it....thank you...THANK

[alial-ameri]

As an electrical engineering student who is studying these equations, i am very thankful this really makes it a lot more intuitive

[Winters]

The world needs teachers like you. Thank you!!!

[oppanheimer]

The world needs brilliant teachers like you. Cheers.

[nirmalas]

Maxwell will be so happy how well someone explained his equation!

[kandaman]

I'm a Physics major and enjoyed the bathtub analogy. That REALLY put Maxwell's first equation into perspective ANY layperson can understand. Brilliant!

[Swati-xh]

Trust me I never really write comments on you tube.
But this is to tell you that you're knowledge and explaining them in the simplest way possible is amazing.
I've never really thought of these ways to understand Maxwell equations. It feels like confidence. Thank You❤

[Eztoez]

This is a phenomenal video. You are the teacher I wish I had at school. Im 49 years old and learning Gauss's Law for the first time. I can actually feel my brain learning. I hope you cover the other three laws just like this.

[vedsaga]

What I love about physics and astronomy is this,

"It has been said that astronomy and physics is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

-- Carl Sagan

[realmetatron]

About B: Maxwell just used the letters A through H for vectors in his Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism and some of them stuck and some of them didn’t. A is still used for vector potential, B for magnetic field (or magnetic induction or flux density, depending on who you ask), H for magnetic intensity, etc. Maxwell used C and G for other vectors that I don’t recall at the moment. They, for some reason, never stuck.

[markdonovan]

Vector field: a good analogy of the wind on a weather map.
Divergence: bathtub analogy works well.
It's many years since I studied electromagnetism, so it's nice to have a fun refresh without all the mathematics. Although, the mathematical equations have powerful applications.
A nice follow up subject would be to look at bubble theory, surface tension etc. That has amazing parallels with electromagnetism, yet it is something that everyone can visualise but few would know how or why the soap films behave in those mysterious ways.

[berniemukonesi]

Almost five years of studying divergence and it only took me 10 minutes to understand the whole concept!

[the_m.a.d.d.y]

I never thought that this equation would ever get into my mind. I am smiling and my mind is just blown in these 10 minutes. Thank you for such a beautiful explanation.

[calogiga]

I have always said : when somebody is able to explain physics, this science is not difficult. You just need a normal brain, and everybody can understand the laws of nature... Thanks for this video, man.

[catman]

You talk at the speed of light. However, you speak VERY CLEARLY. Love your video.

[Imnothere]

Restore faith in YouTube algorithm, good recommendation

[henrychen]

This is a good teacher. His words are easy to comprehend by a high school sophomore student.

[silversurfer]

Hi, I really like this video. You nailed it down to the essentials. Many textbooks just assume that the reader knows all the symbols and what is behind them, when in fact many people lacked the formalism and math behind these symbols. So, well done. Thank you!

[pigsbishop]

A lot of people don't seem to know that the vector equation presented here as Maxwell's was in fact formulated by Oliver Heaviside. Maxwell came up with the 12 equations which Heaviside vectorised and distilled down to 4.