Michael Faraday · Science

Light, Magnetism, and the Reach of a Field Theory

Faraday&rsquo;s speculative reach: the 1845 discovery that magnetism can rotate polarized light (the Faraday effect), diamagnetism, and the astonishing guess (<em>Thoughts on Ray-vibrations</em>, 1846) that light is a vibration of the lines of force - a self-taught experimenter out-thinking the mathematicians.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned about the Faraday effect (magnetism rotating polarized light, 1845), diamagnetism (all matter responds to magnets), and Thoughts on Ray-vibrations (1846), where Faraday guessed light is a vibration of the lines of force, anticipating the electromagnetic theory of light. Explain how a man with no mathematic…

Leads to John Tyndall.

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