Names of Inventors of Electricity, Research and Development

Michael Faraday, Father of World Electricity, inventor of the electric motor and electricity.

INDEPHEDIA.com - Electricity is now a necessity for many people, both as lighting, a source of technological energy and cooking equipment.

Electricity as part of a natural phenomenon has actually been known to humans since before Christ (BC).

History records that electricity was first discovered by Thales of Miletus, a scholar from Greece around 600 BC.

Thales conducted his experiments when rubbing amber with animal hair, which then produces a flow of energy.

The result of Thales' experiment is what we call static electricity. The stone is called electrum in Latin and electron in Greek.

Another story, a number of sources say that electricity was first known to exist from ancient Egyptian texts hundreds of years ago.

At that time, people used electric catfish (Malapterurus electricus) in the Nile River as a method of treatment.

They realized that there are fish that can transmit certain energy, which can have a shocking effect on the body.

This method of treatment which is claimed to be able to relieve pain and headaches has been practiced for hundreds of years.

The events carried out by Thales of Miletus and the use of fish with electrical energy are examples of static electricity.

However, at that time, especially Thales, who was mentioned as the first inventor of electricity, did not know what this event was and why it could be like that.

This phenomenon is the record of many early references to the discovery of electricity in the past.

Electrical Inventor 1600-1931

The phenomenon of electricity was then investigated by a British scientist, William Gilbert. In 1600, he was the first to examine the existence of electric attraction and electric fields.

Continuing in 1733, Charles F. C. DuFay, a French chemist also conducted research on electricity.

In his research, he concluded that there are two charges in electricity, namely positive and negative.

It didn't stop there, the electrical phenomenon was investigated by Benjamin Franklin, an electrical thinker and researcher from the United States.

In 1751, Franklin published a book about electricity entitled "Experiments and Observations of Electricity".

Benjamin Franklin, an electrical researcher from the United States.

This book contains his observations on the phenomenon of electricity through static electricity which was booming at that time.

In his book, Franklin has mentioned several electrical terms, such as the existence of two poles in the flow of electricity, namely negative and positive.

In his research, Franklin thought and concluded that even lightning is an electrical phenomenon.

Because he was not satisfied enough, he did an experiment directly using a kite.

In 1752, Franklin conducted an experiment flying a kite with iron keys into a sky where there was a lot of lightning.

Lightning struck the iron lock and sparked a small flame. The spark hit the back of his hand. That's why he was sure that it was electricity.

After Franklin's experiments, many major discoveries about electricity occurred. In 1800, Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist discovered the battery as a source of electricity.

In his experiments, Volta dipped paper in salt water, then placed zinc and copper on both ends of the paper.

Apparently, the chemical reaction is capable of producing electricity. This is the beginning of the discovery of the electric cell.

By connecting more of these electric cells, Volta succeeded in making batteries as a source of electricity.

Because of his extraordinary invention, his name was immortalized in units of volts to measure the difference in electric voltage.

In 1808, Humphry Davy also succeeded in converting electrical energy into light in his arc lamp.

These discoveries continued, until it came to an electrical scientist from England named Michael Faraday.

Michael Faraday's experiment is famous for his findings which are called electromagnetic phenomena.

Through the battery, he observed that the copper coil connected to the battery caused a magnetic field.

Then, Faraday had a hypothesis, if electricity can produce magnets, then magnets can also produce electricity.

Faraday also used the copper coil to envelop the magnet, it turns out that there is an electric current that occurs as long as the magnet moves.

Thus, Faraday concluded that if the magnet moved in a closed copper coil it would produce an electric current.

It was from this experiment that Faraday discovered the existence of electromagnetic induction which became the forerunner of the dynamo, in which electrical energy can be generated by kinetic energy (motion).

Until 1931, he demonstrated the dynamo resulting from his electromagnetic induction.

Thanks to this discovery, Faraday is called the Father of World Electricity and makes electricity usable directly.

When seen today, almost all the electrical equipment we use is composed of magnets and copper wires, either electric generators or electric motors.

What is meant by an electric generator is a device that converts motion energy into electrical energy.

Meanwhile, an electric motor is a device that converts electrical energy into motion energy.

Then, who is the first and true inventor of electricity? This issue does not need to be debated at length.

An invention could be something new or even develop according to findings and needs. (AS)