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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.
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
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.
William Sturgeon invented the electromagnet in 1825. [19] Electromagnets were then used in the first practical engineering application of electricity by William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone who co-developed a telegraph system that used a number of needles on a board which were moved to point to letters of the alphabet. A five needle ...
Electricity would remain little more than an intellectual curiosity for millennia until 1600, when the English scientist William Gilbert wrote De Magnete, in which he made a careful study of electricity and magnetism, distinguishing the lodestone effect from static electricity produced by rubbing amber. [5]
1800 – William Nicholson, Anthony Carlisle and Johann Ritter use electricity to decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen, thereby discovering the process of electrolysis, which led to the discovery of many other elements. 1800 – Alessandro Volta invents the voltaic pile, or "battery", specifically to disprove Galvani's animal electricity ...
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.