Oliver Heaviside
The Life, Work, and Times of an Electrical Genius of the Victorian Age
by Paul J. Nahin · first published 1987
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8recommended by
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2014–2025first – last mentioned
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Covers Heaviside's life, work and Victorian electrical context, with illustrations and mathematics intact. Valued as a thorough biography and a companion for readers studying Maxwell's equations and Laplace transforms.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Biography of Oliver Heaviside, who was a self-taught English electrical engineer, mathematician, and physicist who adapted complex numbers to the study of electrical circuits, and invented mathematical techniques to the solution of differential equations.
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For those interested in the history and mathematical development of Maxwell's Equations as we know them today, Paul J. Nahin's book on Heaviside[1] is a must read. [1] http://www.amazon.com/Oliver-Heaviside-Electrical-Genius-Vic...
on “Oliver Heaviside Wrote Maxwell’s Equations (2013)” ↗If you ever used Laplace transforms to solve differential equations, that is Heavisides work too. Good book: http://www.amazon.com/Oliver-Heaviside-Electrical-Genius-Vic...
on “Maxwell's Equations first published 150 years ago” ↗Paul Nahin's biography of Oliver Heaviside is a find, too. Nahin and Sobel between them have sewn up the historical science biography field. Heaviside's own books are available to buy, and are filled with neglected gems. While I'm here, Don Eyles's…
on “Longitude found: the story of Harrison's clocks” ↗The following two books are a fascinating look at Heaviside's contributions and extraordinary life: http://www.amazon.com/Maxwellians-Cornell-History-Science/dp... http://www.amazon.com/Oliver-Heaviside-Electrical-Genius-Vic...
on “Oliver Heaviside” ↗That's interesting, I'd not seen that video before. I have the excellent book and bio on Heaviside titled Oliver Heaviside: The Life, Work, and Times of an Electrical Genius of the Victorian Age by Paul J. Nahin. I'm not suggesting you buy it but it's a good reference to look up when you're next in a library. Also, it's…
on “WordStar: A Writer's Word Processor (1996)” ↗Such an interesting character. I can't recommend enough 'Oliver Heaviside: life, works and times of an electrical genius of the Victorian age' by Paul J. Nahin, it's written in such a way that won't make it hard to you if you don't want to dive too deep in the math, but every…
on “Oliver Heaviside (1850-1925) – Physical Mathematician (1983)” ↗Another Heaviside biography in addition to the one cited in the article is "Oliver Heaviside: The Life, Work, and Times of an Electrical Genius of the Victorian Age" by Paul J. Nahin. It's profusely illustrated and doesn't omit the math.
on “Oliver Heaviside and the theory of transmission lines (2021)” ↗…Gibbs as well), although the concepts themselves came from quaternions. This is not a complete summary, as he continued his analysis in a series of publications. A good book on this part of history is Oliver Heaviside: the life, work, and times of an electrical genius of the Victorian age, by Paul J. Nahin. [0] So the claim "Maxwell's equations need modifications if magnetic monopole has been discovered" is historically…
on “An intuitive guide to Maxwell's equations (2020)” ↗…originated the theory of transmission lines (inventing the loading coils you still see hanging between telephone poles) and atmospheric radio propagation, both often credited to others. See Paul Nahin, "Oliver Heaviside: Sage in Solitude"
on “Advances in number theory inspired by physics” ↗