Originally published in 1891, and now part of the Oxford Classic Texts in the Physical Sciences series, this celebrated treatise details Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism that underpins much of modern physics. The theory inspired both Lorentz's theories on the electron and Einstein's theory of relativity.

Preliminary. On the measurement of quantities Part 1: Electrostatics 1. Description of phenomena 2. Elementary mathematical theory of electricity 3. On electrical work and energy in a system of conductors 4. General theorems 5. Mechanical action between two electrical systems 6. Points and lines of equilibrium 7. Forms of equipotential surfaces and lines of flow 8. Simple cases of electrification 9. Spherical harmonics 10. Confocal surfaces of the second degree 11. Theory of electric images 12. Conjugate functions in two dimensions 13. Electrostatic instruments Part 2: Electrokinematics 1. The electric current 2. Conduction and resistance 3. Electromotive force between bodies in contact 4. Electrolysis 5. Electrolyte polarization 6. Mathematical theory of the distribution of electric currents 7. Conduction in three dimensions 8. Resistance and conductivity in three dimensions 9. Conduction through heterogeneous media 10. Conduction in dielectrics 11. Measurement of the electric resistance of conductors 12. Electric resistance of substances

James Clerk Maxwell , late Professor, Trinity College, Cambridge