A dynamical theory of the electromagnetic field is a paper by james clerk maxwell on electromagnetism published in 1865 in the paper maxwell derives an electromagnetic wave equation with a velocity for light in close agreement with measurements made by experiment and deduces that light is an electromagnetic wave. A dynamical theory of the electromagnetic field j clerk maxwell phil trans r soc londeur1865 155 459 512 published 1 january 1865 email alerting service in the box at the top right hand corner of the article or click here receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article sign up. A dynamical theory of the electromagnetic field by j clerk maxwell frs received october 27 read december 8 1864 part i introductory 1 the most obvious mechanical phenomenon in electrical and magnetical experimeints is the mutual action by which bodies in certain states set each other in motion while. A dynamical theory of the electromagnetic field maxwell james clerk royal society great britain the royal society 1865 68 electro magnetism and light maxwell published this his first classic paper on the elctromagnetic field in 1865