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1800 BCE
Alessandro Volta invents the electric battery.
He proved that electricity could be generated by more than just human beings. He also created voltage, an electric unit measurement. By making an electric current, he was able to combine a number of substances and make the battery. -
585 BCE
Thales of Miletus becomes the 1st man to make note of electric properties.
He rubbed pieces of amber together with cat fur and feathers. Thales became the first man to discover static electricity. -
Period: 585 BCE to
Electric History
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Ben Franklin discovers lightning is electricity.
Ben wanted to prove that lightning was electricity, so he flew a kite during a very enraged thunderstorm. He tied a metal key to the kite string to conduct electricity. He realised that lightning was electric after sparks flew off. -
Anyos Jedlik creates the first electric vehicle
A Slovak/Hungarian man finally figured out how to make the first electric car. It was a short lived invention, and it was quickly replaced by the combustion engine. But this was an inspiration for inventions to come. -
The first telegraph cable was constructed.
The first transatlantic telegraph line was created by a ship that carried about 2000 lines of telegraph lining. These are the ones that are all around today. -
Thomas Edison invents the lightbulb.
Not the first lightbulb to be made, but one of the most significant discoveries in the electric world. The main difference was the time these bulbs stayed lit, much more significant than the old ones. It took him 10,000 attempts. -
The first hydroelectric power plant opened
The first hydroelectric power plant opened, enabling a whole new world of electric discoveries. In generated energy in Fox River, in Appleton, Wisconsin. -
Edison opened an electrical power distribution system.
In Manhattan using direct current (DC) technology, DC remained the standard in the United States for a brief period of time. When Edison’s rival, Nikola Tesla emerged with a competing technology in the subsequent years, this changed. -
Nikola Tesla invented the Tesla Coil
The Tesla Coil is the first instance of wireless electricity. This helped to bring awareness of alternating current (AC) and sparked the “War of the Currents” between Edison and Tesla. Today, almost all DC has been displaced by AC. -
Computers were able to communicate over telephone wire for the first time.
This network was initially referred to as ARPANET. Today, we know it as the Internet.