• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Science / How Were Michael Faraday’s Ideas On Magnetism Influenced By English Scientist William Gilbert?

How Were Michael Faraday’s Ideas On Magnetism Influenced By English Scientist William Gilbert?

June 20, 2020 by Karen Hill

The beginnings of Michael Faraday’s ideas about magnetism started over 200 years before in a book titled Of Magnets by English scientist William Gilbert.

It was published in 1600 and was probably the first great scientific work written in England.

Gilbert was a remarkable scientist who was centuries ahead of his time in many fields.

He lived during the age of exploration, so he undertook the study of magnetism to try to come up with a better compass and other navigational tools. He was the first to study the lines of force around magnets, which became Faraday’s fields.

Gilbert theorized that Earth was a large magnet and exerted a magnetic influence (gravity) throughout the solar system.

He was the first scientist to use the term “electric” to describe one substance’s power to attract other objects. He made the first electroscope, an instrument that detects the presence of an electric charge.

Gilbert was also the first scientist in England to support the Copernican system of the universe, and he rejected the idea that the stars were all the same distance from Earth.

He was also personal physician to Queen Elizabeth I and King James I.

Faraday studied electric fish, like electric eels, very closely and measured the strength of their electrical shock.

He found that, like a battery, electric fish have a positive end in their head and a negative end in their tail.

Related Facts

  • Who Was Michael Faraday and Why Is Michael Faraday One of the Most Influential Scientists In History?
  • How Did Michael Faraday Discover Electromagnetic Induction Which Converts Magnetism To Electricity?
  • Which Theory of Michael Faraday's Was So Advanced That It Influenced Physicists Like Albert Einstein?
  • When Were Arthur Sullivan and William Gilbert Knighted By Queen Victoria For Their Comic Operas?
  • When Did Michael Faraday Discover Electromagnetic Induction Which Led To the Invention of the Electric Dynamo?
  • What Did Michael Faraday Give His Wife For Christmas In 1821 and How Was the First Electric Motor Built?

Filed Under: Science

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What Was James Clerk Maxwell’s Kinetic Theory of Gases and How Did It Advance the Science of Thermodynamics?
Next Post: What Did Michael Faraday Give His Wife For Christmas In 1821 and How Was the First Electric Motor Built? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy