Editing Classical electromagnetism (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of electromagnetism}}

The physical phenomena that electromagnetism describes have been studied as separate fields since antiquity. For example, there were many advances in the field of [[History of optics|optics]] centuries before light was understood to be an electromagnetic wave. However, the theory of [[electromagnetism]], as it is currently understood, grew out of [[Michael Faraday]]'s experiments suggesting the existence of an [[electromagnetic field]] and [[James Clerk Maxwell]]'s use of [[differential equation]]s to describe it in his ''[[A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism]]'' (1873). The development of electromagnetism in Europe included the development of methods to measure [[voltage]], [[Electric current|current]], [[capacitance]], and [[Electrical resistance and conductance|resistance]]. Detailed historical accounts are given by [[Wolfgang Pauli]],<ref>Pauli, W., 1958, ''Theory of Relativity'', Pergamon, London</ref> [[E. T. Whittaker]],<ref>Whittaker, E. T., 1960, ''History of the Theories of the Aether and Electricity'', Harper Torchbooks, New York.</ref> [[Abraham Pais]],<ref>Pais, A., 1983, ''[[Subtle is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein]]'', Oxford University Press, Oxford</ref> and Bruce J. Hunt.<ref>Bruce J. Hunt (1991) [[The Maxwellians]]</ref>