Michael Faraday is a man who is many times overlooked when people talk
about electricity. Everybody knows what Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison
did, but Faraday's accomplishments aren't as well known. Michael Faraday
was born on September 22, 1791, in Newington, England. He recieved little
schooling, and began working at a book shop at the age of 14. Faraday soon
became interested in science, and at age 21, he was appointed as an assistant
of Sir Humphery Davy, a famous chemist.
In his early years of research, Faraday worked more with chemistry. However,
none of his findings in chemistry can compare with his discoveries in electricity.
Faraday's biggest breakthrough in electricity was his invention of the electric motor.
He began working with magnets and discovered that if a magnet were held
fixed, a wire would rotate around it. This was first motor. He kept working
with the motor and made many models of it. He did not improve mototrs to the
point of what they are like today, but he did develop the basis for all
motors.
Faraday also began working with ways to generate electricity. He discovered
that an electric current would be generated if a magnet passed through a
loop of wire. This is the basis for generators that are used to generate
electricity. It is said to be the biggest breakthrough in electricity in
the 1800's, and is known as the electromagnetic induction effect.
Michael Faraday spent most of his life working with science, but he wasn't
a very bright mathametician. Most of his discoveries were based on his experiments.
He quit his studying of electricity in 1855, but didn't stop altogether.
For the next six years, he spent time teaching and lecturing. Michael Faraday
died on August 15, 1867, in a small English town.
Our References Were:
A Chronological History of Electrical Development . National Electrical Manufacturers Association, New York, NY, 1946
Michael Faraday's Contributations to Electricity and Chemisty (web page)
Michael Faraday-Friedman (web page) at http://www.users.aol.com/Mike3938/faraday.html
Michael Faraday: The Motor Man (web page) at http://www.adventure.com/library/encyclopedia/ka/rfifarad.html