History
Vector fields arose originally in classical field theory in 19th century physics, specifically in magnetism. They were formalized by Michael Faraday, in his concept of lines of force, who emphasized that the field itself should be an object of study, which it has become throughout physics in the form of field theory.
In addition to the magnetic field, other phenomena that were modeled as vector fields by Faraday include the electrical field and light field.
Read more about this topic: Vector Field
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“What we call National-Socialism is the poisonous perversion of ideas which have a long history in German intellectual life.”
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955)
“To care for the quarrels of the past, to identify oneself passionately with a cause that became, politically speaking, a losing cause with the birth of the modern world, is to experience a kind of straining against reality, a rebellious nonconformity that, again, is rare in America, where children are instructed in the virtues of the system they live under, as though history had achieved a happy ending in American civics.”
—Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)
“It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature.”
—Henry James (1843–1916)