Michael Faraday could be labeled the "underdog of modern science". The son of a poor blacksmith, Faraday was no stranger to hard work, which was perhaps the exact opposite of many of his contemporaries, who came from wealthy backgrounds and studied science as a sort of extracurricular activity.
Although Faraday was unsuccessful when it came to money, he was very successful in the field of science, namely electric science. One of his most important discoveries is that of electro-magnetic induction. It was this experiment, and others of the like, that brought about the discoveries of Maxwell, Rutherford, and Einstein, and elevated Faraday from the son of a poor blacksmith, to a great man of modern science.
A Book Binder
Michael Faraday was born in the year 1791 in Newington, Surrey England. His parents were poor, and in 1796 his father moved the family to London in search of better work as a blacksmith. His father was a sickly man, and because of this Michael found work at the age of 13 as an errand boy for a local bookbinder.
Mr. Riebau, the owner of the bookbinding shop, hired the boy to deliver books and newsletters to his patrons. During breaks, Riebau encouraged Michael to read books and to study. As Faraday grew older, he began attending local lectures held by John Tatum. At the lectures he took shorthand notes, and later rewrote the notes in more depth. While attending Tatum's lectures, Faraday became increasingly interested in chemistry as well as electricity. It was through these lectures that Faraday learned most of what he knew about electricity, galvanism, hydrostatics, optics and geology (Williams).
In 1813, at the age of 21, Faraday became a lab assistant at the Royal Institute in Londo...
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...was attached to the disk as well as the galvanometer. As the crank was rotated, Faraday noticed that the needle on the galvanometer moved. Moreover, the needle remained in that condition when the crank was rotated at a constant speed. This device Faraday named the Electric Dynamo (Williams).
Works Cited
Agassi, Joseph. Faraday as a Natural Philospher. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1971.
Hart, Ivor B. “Electrical Science.” The Great Physicists. Freeport, NY: Books For Libraries Press, 1970.
Hecht, Eugene. Physics: Algebra / Trig. Pacific Grove, CA: Thomson Learning, 2003.
Segre, Kaplan, Schiff and Teller. Great Men of Physics: The Humanistic Element in Scientific Work. Los Angeles, CA: Tinnon-Brown, Inc., Book Publishers, 1969.
Williams, L. Pearce. Michael Faraday. New York, NY: Basic Books, Inc., Second Printing.
Manning, Kenneth R. (1983). Black Apollo of Science: The Life of Ernest Everett Just. New York: Oxford University Press
The major encounters that Tesla and Faraday faced included social, economic, intellectual barriers. Considering socially, Faraday was considered to be a “...high-priest of Nature, revealing the hidden forces...”(Shortland) People saw Faraday as the highest of his field, the one who was the closest to God in relation to understanding his creation. This also shows the social standard at this point in time, many going to church and understanding when someone references a religious point. Also, for social encounters, we have Tesla with his description f what the future will be like. This was not a reaction to the society that Tesla was around, but a prediction of what they were to become. Tesla, hoping to see that people would grow to become stronger
One thunderous afternoon on June 1752, Benjamin Franklin conducted what is known today as the “Kite Experiment”. He wanted to prove that if one object was electrical, the energy from that object could be transferred to another object, therefore being classified as electricity and lightning. With his son William, Ben took a string and attached the kite to it, then he attached an iron key to the kite. Next, they tied a thin metal wire from the key and put the wire inside a Leyden jar which stored all the electrical charge. His experiment profitably showed that his accusations were correct. Many other scientist tried the same experiment and were electrocuted, but Ben Franklin was the lucky one. He changed the world of science.
...ysics.” Although he did possess some personal qualities and knowledge that enabled him to look at things differently and allowed him to answer many difficult questions in the 20th century, without any help from other scientists modern physics would look very different from what it looks like right now. His views and ideas had to conform with previously established principles, had to be logically valid and had to go through a review process before being accepted as a part of the discipline of physics. This shows how strong personal knowledge led to advances in an area of knowledge and in shared knowledge.
1.Kirkpatrick, L. D., & Wheeler, G. F. (2001). Physics: A World View. Orlando: Harcourt College Publishers.
- James, Frank A. J. L., ed. The Correspondence of Michael Faraday Volume I. Exeter:
Kirkpatrick, L. D., & Wheeler, G. F., Physics: A World View. Philadelphia: Harcourt Inc., 2001.
Benjamin Franklin was one of the first and most famous scientists in America. He was a man of many talents and interests. Franklin was always curios about they way things work, and he always tried to find ways to make them work better. Even though he started out as a published, he was always interested in science. However this interest soon became a passion to Franklin. He even retired from his publishing business to work in a laboratory with his mostly homemade equipment. Throughout his life Benjamin Franklin made many important discoveries and theories which greatly influenced future scientists and inventors.
Severance, John B. Einstein: Visionary Scientist. New York: Clarion Books, 1999. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 14 Apr. 2014
Cooper, Lawrence, Cary Murphy. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Chicago: Taylor & Francis, 1996
Thomas Edison by all accounts was a reserved and withdrawn man (Ghose, Nikola Tesla vs Thomas Edison: Who was the better inventor?, livescience.com).
Nikola Tesla was born midnight on July 10, 1856, in Smiljan, Lika, which at that time was part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, which is now known as Croatia. His father was named Milutin Tesla and he was a Serbian Orthodox Priest. Djuka Mandic was his mother and she invented household appliances. Tesla was the fourth child of five, having one older brother and three younger sisters. In 1873, Tesla studied at the the Polytechnic Institute in Graz, Austria and the University of Prague. At first, he wanted to pursue in physics and mathematics, but shortly after he became extremely interested in electricity. He began studying alternating current their also. Supposedly he had a photographic memory being able to memorize complete books. In December 1878, he left Graz and his family. In 1881, he started his career as an electrical engineer working for a telephone company in Budapest. It was around that time that Tesla was able to discover the solution for the rotating magnetic field. He was able to describe the basics of the induction motor to his peers. Later his alternating current induction motor would be considered one of the ten greatest discoveries of all time. Before coming to America, Tesla joined the Continental Edison Company in Paris where he designed. In February 1882, Tesla discovered the rotating magnetic field, an important principle in physics and it was also the start to pretty much all devices that use alternating current. In 1883, he secretly built a prototype of the induction motor which he was able to run successfully. Nobody in Europe cared about promoting his unqualified device, Tesla then accepted an offer to work for Thomas Edison in New York. His childhood dream was to come to America and to be able to grasp ...
A genius once said “We all make mistakes, and it is better to make them before we begin,” (Tesla Universe). Nikola Tesla, brilliant and honest, is the most unknown liberator of science. He came up with the idea of many useful inventions: direct current, wireless communication and the radio controlled robot. Although he is not credited for most of his inventions, the ideas that he brought to life have changed the way we live. When Tesla stepped foot in New York he came with the idea of alternating current, drawing his idea in the sand.
Nikola Tesla was born on July 10, 1856 in Smiljan, Lika. His father, Milutin Tesla was a Serbian Orthodox Priest and his mother Djuka Mandic was an inventor in her own line of household appliances. Tesla studied at the Realschule, Karlstadt in 1873, the Polytechnic Institute in Graz, Austria and the University of Prague. At first, he intended to specialize in physics and mathematics, but soon he became fascinated with electricity. He began his career as an electrical engineer with a telephone company in Budapest in 1881. It was there, as Tesla was walking with a friend through the city park that the elusive solution to the rotating magnetic field flashed through his mind. With a stick, he drew a diagram in the sand explaining to his friend the principle of the induction motor. Before going to America, Tesla joined Continental Edison Company in Paris where he designed dynamos. While in Strassbourg in 1883, he privately built a prototype of the induction motor and ran it successfully. Soon after Tesla accepted an offer to work for Thomas Edison in New York. One of his childhood dreams was to come to America to harness the power of Niagara Falls. Young Nikola Tesla came to the United States in 1884. He spent the next 59 years of his life living in New York. Tesla set about improving Edison’s line of dynamos while working in Edison’s lab in New Jersey. he introduced his motors and electrical systems in a classic paper, “A New System of Alternating Current Motors and Transformers” which he delivered before the American Institute of Electrical Engineers in 1888. One of the most impressed was the industrialist and inventor George Westinghouse. One day he visited Tesla’s laboratory and was amazed at what he saw. Tesla had constructed a model polyphase system consisting of an alternating current dynamo, step-up and step-down transformers and A.C. motor at the other end. The perfect partnership between Tesla and Westinghouse for the nationwide use of electricity in America had begun. In February 1882, Tesla discovered the rotating magnetic field, a fundamental principle in physics and the basis of nearly all devices that use alternating current. Tesla brilliantly adapted the principle of rotating magnetic field for the construction of alternating current induction motor and the polyphase system for the generation, transmission, distribution and use of electrical power. Tesla’s A.C. induction motor is widely used throughout the world in industry and household appliances.
James Clerk Maxwell may not be a household name when it comes to scientists, but his contributions to the field ranks him with some of the great scientists of all time.He is mainly known for his ground breaking work in electromagnetics, spurring a field that has given rise to many of the great accomplishments of the twentieth century.His equations, which relate the effects of electricity and magnetism to one another, are key in the development of modern relativity theory and the development electrical components and electronic systems.Like many great scientists, Maxwell was ahead of his time and his equations were not completely understood by his peers, but as science and mathematics progressed the beauty and genius behind his equations was fully revealed.