The early studies of the history of electricity have been researched over several hundreds of years. There are several forerunners and inventors that laid the foundation for us to build upon; however I will only list a few. First, Otto von Guericke created the first machine that produced static electricity in 1660. Second, in 1675 Robert Boyle discovered that attraction and repulsion could be attained through a vacuum. Third, Alessandro Volta created the first battery in 1800, which consisted of electrodes and was immersed in water. Volta is also widely known for the voltaic pile. Fourth, Benjamin Franklin was wildly and dangerously noted for creating the lightening rod or “electricity” in 1752. Lastly, Humphrey Davy was noted for inventing the first incandescent light in 1806. (About.com)
When scientists first began, they thought that positive energy flowed first. Today, it is a common theory that electricity works best using the conventional current because it flows positive to negative. You said in class that electricity flows through circuits and works like water. The...
Ewald Georg von Kleist is a German scientist who created the capacitor in November of 1745. Regrettably, Kleist did not have the proper paper work to claim in the records that the design of the capacitor was his idea. Many months later, a Dutch professor named Pieter van Musschenbroek created the Leyden jar, the world’s first capacitor (on record). It was a simple jar that was half filled with water and metal above it. A metal wire was connected to it and that wire released charges. Benjamin Franklin created his own version of the Leyden jar, the flat capacitor. This was the same experiment for the more part, but it had a flat piece of glass inside of the jar. Michael Faraday was the first scientist to apply this concept to transport electric power over a large distance. Faraday created the unit of measurement for a capacitor, called Farad.
This paper is a discussion of the role played by the ideals of the Enlightenment in the invention and assessment of artifacts like the electric battery. The first electric battery was built in 1799 by Alessandro Volta, who was both a natural philosopher and an artisan-like inventor of intriguing machines. I will show that the story of Volta and the battery contains three plots, each characterized by its own pace and logic. One is the story of natural philosophy, a second is the story of artifacts like the battery, and the third is the story of the loose, long-term values used to assess achievement and reward within and outside expert communities. An analysis of the three plots reveals that late eighteenth-century natural philosophers, despite their frequent celebration of 'useful knowledge,' were not fully prepared to accept the philosophical dignity of artifacts stemming from laboratory practice. Their hesitation was the consequence of a hierarchy of ranks and ascribed competence that was well established within the expert community. In order to make artifacts stemming from laboratory practice fully acceptable within the domain of natural philosophy, some important changes had yet to occur. Still, the case overwhelmingly shows that artifacts rightly belong to the long and varied list of items that make up the legacy of the Enlightenment.
He worked with George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla during the late 19th century so bring electric lighting into houses and offices. Incandescent lighting is when light is produced by heat. Around 1870s, there was already lighting called arc lighting. Those were placed in large indoor rooms such as a stage and outdoors in streetlight lamps. Arc light was proven to be impractical in housing or offices. During the 1879, Edison did research in an entire electrical systems which would deal with a generator, a distribution system, and a light bulb. His main focus though was the light bulb. It needed to be strong enough so that the heat wouldn 't cause the light bulb to explode. He worked with carbon filaments which burned inside a glass globe as electricity flowed through the filaments. During the same year, Edison worked with Francis Upton to make a generator that produced direct current, which is also what Edison is very well known for. Direct current was used for incandescent
Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio on February 11, 1847. He spent a few years of his life in Milan, but when he turned seven him and his family moved to Michigan. Thomas Edison's parents are Samuel Ogden Edison Jr. and Nancy Matthews Elliott. His mother was a former teacher and his dad was a shopkeeper. Edison was the youngest out of seven children. Edison attended school for a short period of time but later became home schooled. Being homeschooled allowed Edison to do more things like experimenting in his basement, crate his habit of reading and make his own newspapers. At a young age Thomas Edison started developing problems with his hearing which was caused by untreated middle-ear infections and scarlet fever he received in his childhood.
All throughout American history there has many intelligent individuals that have played significant role in our society. I believe Thomas Edison has been one of the most influential people. He was an American inventor who is considered one of America’s leading businessman. People today credit him for helping to build America’s economy during the nation’s vulnerable early years. Thomas had a very good childhood and was a very hard worker as a teenager. He invented the universal stock printer and he perfected the lightbulb.
Benjamin Franklin is known for conducting lots of experiments dealing with electricity. His most famous being the kite experiment. He became fascinated with electricity when he was accidently shocked in 1746. Benjamin wondered if there was a way to protect buildings and the people inside of them from lightning. He thought that this could benefit people in the
Writers commonly follow the same styles and organizational platforms. The Great Electrical Revolution is a short story that demonstrates the effects of moving to a new country, as well as the different struggles that people are guaranteed face when doing so. In the story the main character moves to Saskatchewan for the opportunity to farm but discovers that he has agoraphobia, the fear of wide open spaces. He is forced to live in the city because of his condition, and as a result of this he picks up the hobby of stealing the city’s electricity. Whale Rider is a film that demonstrates the difficulty of being a woman and constantly failing to measure up to her elders. This film is centered around the idea of tradition: finding the next leader
The invention and development of the battery would have to be one of the most significant in human history. Without batteries, the world would be a very different place. Everything would be plugged in and nothing would be mobile. There are many types of batteries that work in many different ways, but they all have the same common goal of making lives easier. Some examples of these batteries are lithium-ion, lead-acid, and nickel-cadmium.
The Electric Franklin. "Benjamin Franklin's Inventions." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, 4 July 1995. Web. 23 May 2014.
Edison is most famous for the development of the first electric light bulb. Like I said Edison was born into a time where America wasn’t very developed. He was born, and electricity had not been developed. But thanks to Edison when he had passed away on October 18, 1931 whole cities were lit up in electricity. For electricity, much of the credit goes to Edison.
So what was the thinking behind these inventors? What made them want to create the product or invention that they made? As well as most of all, which invention has impacted America the most? First we have to look at the inventions that pave the road for future ones. Such as the alkaline battery. There were three people behind this invention, Thomas Edison (1847-1931), Henry Ford (1863-1947), and Charles F. Kettering (1876-1958). Edison was an American chemist, inventor, and industrialist. Ford was also an American inventor and industrialist. Kettering was an American engineer and an inventor like the other two. Now a French physicist Gaston Planté made the first practical battery, employed electrodes of lead and lead oxide and sulfuric acid electrolyte (the solution that conducts electricity). Now thinking behind the battery was the car. In the beginning when cars first came out, they had a steam engin...
The history of engineering goes back into the 19th century when Alexander Volta (1745-1827) made a remarkable discover regarding the nature of electricity (Cosgrove 749). He discovered that electrical current could be controlled and could flow from one point to another. By the time the mid-19th century came about the rules for electricity were being established. During this time electromagnetic induction was discovered by Michael Faraday who lived from 1791 to 1867 (749). Also during this time Samuel Morris invented the telegraph in 1837 which relies on the principles of electromagnetic induction (749). Alexander Graham Bell, who lived from 1847 to 1922, created the telephone which also uses electricity in order to operate (749). Through the success of the telephone, Bell Telephone Company was established. In 1878, the light bulb was finally invented by Thomas Edison who lived from 1847 to 1931 (749). Off the principles of Faraday’s electric motor from 1821, Nicholas Tesla invented a more efficient and powerful electric motor in 1888 (749). To make these inventions be more significant, effort was expended to make better motors and transformers and to enhance the power needed to make them function. Through these inventions during the middle 19th century, it led to the capability of lighting homes and cities through the use of electricity, and it also led to the creation of the telephone communication system (750).
In 1750, Benjamin Franklin wanted to prove that lightning was caused by electricity. He tested his theory with an experiment in which he flew a kite with a metal key attached to it into a storm cloud. The historical facts are not clear as to if he actually carried out the experiment, which is why there is doubt that he is the discoverer of electricity. But, we still credit him with the idea. He also did other experiments concerning electricity, but others after him would have to ...
Faraday continued his electrical experiments. In 1832, he proved that the electricity induced from a magnet, voltaic electricity produced by a battery, and static electricity was all the same. He also did significant work in electrochemistry, stating the First and Second Laws of Electrolysis. This laid the basis for electrochemistry, another great modern industry.
The effects of electricity control much of our daily lives. Many of our gadgets and everyday tasks are run by this wonderful source of power. For example without electricity we would not be able to make a cup of coffee in the mourning, or even make a long distance call to family or friends. There have been several technological breakthroughs by many brilliant people throughout history regarding electricity. It has come from being discovered as a small current to being transformed into useful power to run such things as computers. Ben Franklin, Guglielmo Marconi, Thomas Edison, Paul Nipkow, and Charles Babbage have all contributed to the advancement of electricity, and all of their advancements have supplied society in many ways.