Maxwell's Equations - 1. Maxwell's Edinburgh

Will Self embarks on a road trip from Edinburgh to Cambridge on the trail of a Scottish physicist.

In 1865 James Clerk Maxwell pioneered the theory of electromagnetic waves which made mobile phones, radio, radar and GPS all possible.

In a bid to understand Maxwell and his achievements, Will plans to drive 600 miles in an electric car.

He’s planning to stop off at locations relevant to the much-neglected 19th century boffin.

Will's trip starts promisingly enough when he has a chance encounter with Nobel prize-winning physicist Professor Peter Higgs on an Edinburgh back street - not far from Maxwell's birthplace.

But things then start to go awry as Will has a rather less welcome run-in in a multi-storey car park...

Producer: Laurence Grissell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2015.

Published on Monday, 23rd November 2015.

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