Visit to the James Clark Maxwell Foundation

Saturday 15th November at 2:30pm

In November 2025, the world, together with the BCS Edinburgh Branch, will celebrate 160 years since James Clerk Maxwell’s groundbreaking electromagnetic theory, honouring the genius whose equations revealed the invisible forces that underpin modern technology and our understanding of light.

Every byte of data, every wireless signal and every circuit in modern computing owes its existence to a single breakthrough: the unification of electricity and magnetism. Without it, there would be no radio, mobile phones, microchips or internet.

We've linked up with the James Clerk Maxwell Foundation for a members only talk and guided tour of his birthplace. We'll explore how the foundations of today's IT stem from James Clerk Maxwell's 19th-century discoveries and how his elegant equations laid the groundwork for all electronic communication and computing we rely on.

This free BCS event offers a unique chance to trace the digital age back to its scientific origins at Maxwell's birthplace. The foundation is a registered charity so you are encouraged to make a donation to support their work.

This event is on Saturday 15th November at 2:30pm at 14 India Street, Edinburgh and will last a couple of hours.

If you'd like to book a place, please email edinburgh@bcs.co.uk with your name by Wednesday 12th November. Places are limited so if we reach capacity, we'll select names from a hat.