Man's Understanding of Electricity
by Rit NosotroChange Over Time essay
How has the understanding of electricity changed over time?
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Summary:
For many centuries mankind was kept in the dark when it came to electricity. Lightning was especially confounding to many early peoples. The Greeks chose to explain it as Zeus's most powerful weapon, while Norsemen referred to it as a hammer blow from Thor's great hammer. "Indian tribes in North America believed that lightning was due to the flashing feathers of a mystical bird whose flapping wings produced the sound of thunder." 1 Currently it is known that lightning is a discharge of static electricity caused by an opposing electrical charge built up between two areas in a thunderstorm. Yet this information, and much else that is also known, have been the result of a great deal of dedicated study in the last several hundred years. Many brilliant people dedicated their lives to explain this mystery and many inventions were made possible as a result.
Various men have played key roles in unraveling the mysteries of electricity. One of these first pioneers was William Gilbert, a British physicist during the 1600's, who coined the term electricity and was the first to connect the relationship between magnetism and electricity. A second man who deserves mentioning is Benjamin Franklin, a famous American entrepreneur, who lived during the 1700's. He invented the lighting rod and further experimented with a kite to prove that lightning was actually a form of electricity. With this experiment the old legends explaining lightning were no longer needed. Now people need not fear the untamable lightning because the lightning rod provided that protection. Thomas Edison (1847-1931) was a third man who did much with electricity. Perhaps he is most famous in this area for his work on the light bulb. Without his work one of electricity's main purposes may not have been put into use. He literally lit up the night with his accomplishment. There are many more famous men who deserve mentioning, such as Alexander Bell (invented the telephone) and George Ohm (mathematically described electricity), but the list would extend for pages if all of them and their accomplishments were named. A person merely needs to look around him in any modern city and he will see influences from all these men.
Michael Faraday (1791-1867) was one of the most important men in the development of electricity. His father was a poor English blacksmith. Faraday was apprenticed to a bookbinder at an early age. His ingenuity could be seen as he taught himself how to read from the many books which were brought in to be re-bound. His interest in electricity caused him to perform experiments that led to the electricity-inducing dynamo. The dynamo is the invention that powers modern man. It is a simple system that converts physical motion into electrical current. Coils of wire revolve around a stationary magnet causing an electric current to be induced. Thus, it is the stepping stone between the power sources (water, coal, nuclear reactors) and the electric lines. Faraday also advanced knowledge in the area of magnetism. He used metal filings to show that the magnetic field is circular instead of straight as was the general conjecture of those times. He also performed experiments in the area of electrolysis that led to the development of the First and Second Laws of electrolysis. Faraday's advancements in the field of electricity are indispensable to modern man because .
Nicola Tesla (1856-1943), a Serbian American engineer, was responsible for many outstanding electromagnetic inventions. "Tesla had a keen memory and an ability to visualize and construct complicated objects in his mind's eye." 2 Perhaps his most ingenious invention was the "polyphase system of generating alternating current." 2 Alternating current is a type of electricity in which the electrons are constantly moving forward and backward. While the concept is a bit hard to grasp, it is a more useful system because of its ease of transportation. Alternating current (AC) can be stepped up with transformers to extremely high voltages in order to travel long distances, then it can be stepped back down again for safe use in homes. Direct Current (DC), which Thomas Edison was propagating at the time because he owned a monopoly in the electric business with it, just didn't have the qualities to compete with AC power. Thus it was that Nicola's dazzling idea became the basis upon which electricity around the world has been built.
The transistor is considered by some to be the most important invention of the 20th century. In short, it "is a solid state semiconductor device which can be used for amplification, switching, voltage stabilization, signal modulation and many other functions." 3 These transistors took the place of the bulky and undependable vacuum tubes that had previously been used. Transistors are in nearly every electronic device, from computers to calculators. Without them, such feats as going to the moon would not have been possible. Our society is dependent on electronic devices to perform many tasks in which transistors play a huge role.
Electricity is actually only part of the electromagnetic spectrum. It "covers the low-frequency, long-wave length end of the spectrum." 4 While it is part of the spectrum, electricity has been used to tap other useful waves as man's understanding of these other waves has increased. For example, electric powered radios can take advantage of radio wave's capability of traveling long distances in order to transmit sound. Similarly, instant heating microwave ovens shoot microwaves through food producing kinetic energy. A third wavelength that has been tapped using electric powered equipment is the infrared wavelength. Many modern armies have given their soldiers sight at night through infrared wavelength detection binoculars and scopes. Similarly X-rays have opened doctor's eyes to be able to see inside the body. The electromagnetic spectrum has many uses, the primary of which is electricity.
On the other hand there are still many people today that do not have access to electricity. Growing up in a little mountain village that went from no electricity to street lights was a very interesting experience. Previous to the arrival of electricity, the town was a typical Andean village that had mantained it's customs and way of thinking for centuries. People went to bed with the sun and got up with it. They did not have most of the modern toys such as tv's and microwaves. However, electricity came in and had an amazing effect on the town. TV's are one of the main factors that have brought change. Where before the silent hills were only occasion interrupted by a radio, tv's now blare out of most homes. Western ideals and ideas worm their way into this unique cultured area through the daily soap pops and advertisements. However, not all the effects are bad. In summary, electricity brings change wherever it goes.
Man's knowledge of electricity has greatly increased and changed since the first time the original human witnessed the initial lightning flash. Understanding has changed from wild stories of crazed gods to controllable transistors, yet it is still held in the hands of people who know little more about electricity than their early predecessors. Not only that, but man has become so dependent on electricity, that if it were taken away, modern man would be paralyzed. Now that is a shocking thought!
Quick Quiz:
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Chemsoc timeline 1833 Electrolysis. 28 March 2005. Electricity timeline. March 24, 2005. 4Electromagnetic spectrum.
Wikipedia free encyclopedia. 16 Mar 2005. 1Goodman, Steve. Lightning.
March 24, 2005. Kurtus, Ron. Alternating Current (AC) Electricity. 31 July 2003. Stern, David P. The Dynamo Process. 25 November 2001. 3Transistor. Wikepedia
free encyclopediea. 28 Mar 2005. 2Weisstein, Eric W. Faraday, Michael
mathematica. March 24, 2005.
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