At around the same time Maxwell was building on the foundations Faraday had created developing a mathematical theory which would always have been out of reach for Faraday. However Faraday continued to lecture at the Royal Institution but declined the offer of the Presidency of the Royal Society in 1857.
At sa paligid ng parehong oras Maxwell ay gusali sa komunidad Faraday had nilikha pagbuo ng isang matematiko theory na kung saan ay palaging ay na-out ng maabot para sa mga Faraday. Subalit Faraday patuloy na magbigay ng panayam sa Royal institusyon ngunit tinanggihan ang alok ng pagkapangulo ng Royal Society sa 1857.