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Period: Feb 1, 640 to
Electricity through the Ages
Discoveries of electricity were made by many scientists and through the ages, electricity has evolved and now plays a major role in our life. -
Mar 1, 640
Thales of Miletus (640 BCE-546BCE)
Long ago, a greek scientist and philosipher named Thales, rubbed a piece of amber with a silk cloth. For a reason unkown to Thales, the piece of amber attracted bits and pieces of grass, feathers and even cork. Thales was amazed, but we know now that this is static electricity. The greek word for amber was elektron, and in due time, the mysterious force of the amber would be commonly known as electricity. This is how we now know about static electricity. -
Benjiman Franklin
He invented the Pennsylvania fireplace, which was later called the Franklin stove, which made his living room "significantly warmer". In around 1750, he decided to test wether lightning was a form of electricity or not. He conducted his famed kite experimenrt, drawing electricity down to the ground, there making his theory a fact. Later he showed that lab-produced static electricity was quite similar to great universal forces. Soon after, his lightning rods appeared in houses everywhere. -
Luigi Galvani
In around 1780, Galvani carefully planned his experiments on muscles and nerves. mostly on frogs. Hooking brass hooks on to muscle tissues and spinal cords, he connetced them to an iron railing. Then, he took this as confirmation, animals had electric fluids in them. Later, proved by Volta, this was incorrect, the metals had the electricity when coming into contact with each other. -
Volta Count Alessandro
Volta was a bright Italian physicist and chemist, as well as the discoverer of constant currents of electricity. His first knowledge with electricity was when he described improved electrocmeters which had appeared in the years 1769&1771. He became a physics professor in 1774 at Como and at Pavia in 1779 where he stayed for 25 years. He made improvments on many other things like the electroscope & invented things like the electrical pistol, bringing in the electric age. Volt was named after him. -
Oersted, Hans Christian
Oersted was similar to Volta, because he too was a chemist and physicist. He was Danish though, and he discovered the principle of electromagnetism. He discovered that a magnetic compass needle, only when held near a wire passing an electrical current, is re/deflected at right angles to the wire. This lexperiment made a link between magnetism & electricity. He later showed that the effect worked even when non-magnetic materiels were put between a needle and wire. -
William Sturgeon
In 1825, a British electrician named William Sturgeon invented a device called the electromagnet, which magnetism was produced by electricity. The first design was horseshoe shaped iron piece wrapped by loose coil with many turns. When a current passed through the electromagnet, it became magnetized and when the current finally stopped, it returned to being demagnitized. In 1830 Joseph Harry made a far more improved one. showing its potential sending a current 1mile away casuing a bell to ring. -
Alexander Garham Bell (Canadian)
Alexendar Graham Bell was the man who invented the telephone. As a boy, he had created a speaking automaton using rubber, cotton, and bellows as an attempt to simulate human vocal speech sounds and "manipulated" his pet Skye's throat to turn grows into growls. He got an ear from medical school later and tested it with a thin straw on the ear drum, and traced sounds on smoked glass. If he had been successful then, he wouldn't have proved his theory on June 1875 when he produced electric speech. -
Thomas Edison-Lightbulb!
Thomas Edison has likely invented more things than anyone else, but is known most for his brilliant invention-the lightbulb. He wasn't the first to invent it, but he was the first to make an indoor lighting system. In 1882 he built a complete lighting system on Pearl Streat, NYC. In 1880s his lighting systems all across the U.S. He built many more inventions such as the phonograph, which played disks. His dream was to make electric usage practical, and he succeeded! -
Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (Canadian)
A Canadian inventor & engineer, Reginald Aubrey Fessenden was the man who invented a thing life would be almost unimanginable without, the television set which he invented it in 1919. He also invented many more things such the wireless telephone, and the visible bullet for machine guns. -
Sir William Stephenson (Canadian)
In 1924, Manitoba, Sir William Stephenson invented the first wireless photograph transmission system. This invention was a method of sending pictures for newspapers over phone lines. This invention majorly impacted all our lives, because it later became the TV! -
Edward Samuels Rogers (Canadian)
In 1927, a man in Ontario named Edward Samuels Rogers build the first radio that could be plugged into a wall outlet instead of using batteries. It was really helpful because the sound was much clearer and it didn't have to be recharged! This radio was all electric. He also founded a radio station called Canada's First Rogers Bateryless, CFRB for short. -
Donald L. Hings (Canadian)
In 1942, a Canadian man with the name Donald L. Hings invented the walkie talkie. In 1937 they were built for pilots who had to fly to "remote" areas of Canada. It was designed then but not known as it until later. He had called it "two-way field radio" or wireless packs. Later it came to be known as the walkie talkie, his most well known invention.
