TO THE QUESTION OF UNIVERSALITY OF MAXWELL'S EQUATIONS

The article deals with issues related to the 150th anniversary of the publication of a treatise on electricity and magnetism by Maxwell. A brief description of this outstanding work and the opinions of contemporaries are given. Particular attention is paid to the universality of Maxwell's equations. The views of scientists aimed at expanding the physical understanding of energy processes, the analogy of gravitational and electromagnetic fields, the possibility of deriving the relations of the special theory of relativity from Maxwell's equations are discussed. An estimate of the change in the speed of propagation of an electromagnetic wave in a strong gravitational field is given.