.... In the last years of his life, Boltzmann devoted himself more to defending his theories and his viewpoint on theoretical physics than to expounding systematically his discoveries and methods or applying these methods to new areas that were opening up, including the theory of electrons, black-body radiation...

... to a general audience. It sheds light on his unique place in science and the importance of his ideas, especially in the field of electromagnetic theory (his theory of electrons). A description of physics in the early nineteenth century, highlighting the role of Faraday and Maxwell, is followed by a discussion...