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German scientist Otto von Guericke invented a device that creates static electricity. This is the first ever electric generator. 1705: English scientist Francis Hauksbee made a glass ball that glowed when spun and rubbed with the hand 1720: English scientist Stephen Gray made the distinction between insulators and conductors 1745
The first half of the 700-page book is a history of the study of electricity. It is parted into ten periods, starting with early experiments "prior to those of Mr. Hawkesbee", finishing with variable experiments and discoveries made after Franklin's own experiments.
Hauksbee continued to experiment with electricity, making numerous observations and developing machines to generate and demonstrate various electrical phenomena. In 1709 he published Physico-Mechanical Experiments on Various Subjects which summarized much of his scientific work. Stephen Gray discovered the importance of insulators and ...
This association gave rise to the English words "electric" and "electricity", which made their first appearance in print in Thomas Browne's Pseudodoxia Epidemica of 1646. [11] Isaac Newton made early investigations into electricity, [12] with an idea of his written down in his book Opticks arguably the beginning of the field theory of the ...
Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta (UK: / ˈ v ɒ l t ə /, US: / ˈ v oʊ l t ə /; Italian: [alesˈsandro ˈvɔlta]; 18 February 1745 – 5 March 1827) was an Italian physicist and chemist who was a pioneer of electricity and power, [1] [2] [3] and is credited as the inventor of the electric battery and the discoverer of methane.
He left a detailed account of his research under the title of Experiments on the Origin of Electricity. [30] He discovered electrified bodies attracted light substances in a vacuum, indicating the electrical effect did not depend upon the air as a medium. He also added resin, and other substances, to the then known list of electrics. [11] [31 ...
History of electricity can refer to: See Electricity § History for an overview; History of electromagnetic theory; History of electrical engineering; History of electric power transmission; History of electronic engineering
Streetcars created enormous demand for early electricity. This Siemens Tram from 1884 required 500 V direct current, which was typical. Much of early electricity was direct current, which could not easily be increased or decreased in voltage either for long-distance transmission or for sharing a common line to be used with multiple types of electric devices.