In 1820, the Danish scientist Hans Christian Orsted was conducting an experiment with an electrical circuit.
He noticed that when he turned the circuit on and off, a nearby compass needle jumped.
He concluded that electricity produces magnetism, and the science of electromagnetism was born.
The finding was interesting, but one English scientist realized it would be much more helpful to know if magnetism could be made to produce electricity.
The Industrial Revolution was in full swing and England needed new sources of power to run its new machines.
In the decade after Orsted’s discovery, other scientists tried without success to produce electricity from magnetism.
In 1831, a self taught research assistant named Michael Faraday at England’s Royal Institution found the solution after just 10 days of experimentation.
Faraday used the principle of electromagnetic induction to construct the electric dynamo, the ancestor of modern power generators.
Related Posts
-
How Did Michael Faraday Discover Electromagnetic Induction Which Converts Magnetism To Electricity?
The experiment Michael Faraday devised in 1831 to bring about the conversion of magnetism to electricity, also known as electromagnetic induction, sounds very simple. In time, it led to the huge generators used…
-
Who Was Michael Faraday and Why Is Michael Faraday One of the Most Influential Scientists In History?
Michael Faraday was born in 1791 in Newington, near London, England. His father was a blacksmith and the family was very poor. There were times when the young Faraday had only bread to…
-
What Did Michael Faraday Give His Wife For Christmas In 1821 and How Was the First Electric Motor Built?
On Christmas morning in 1821, Michael Faraday had an unusual present for his wife. He led her to his laboratory, where he presented her with one of his experiments, but she had no…
-
Which Theory of Michael Faraday’s Was So Advanced That It Influenced Physicists Like Albert Einstein?
One simple experiment students often conduct is to place two magnets on a table with opposite poles facing each other but not touching. A piece of paper is placed on top of the…
-
How Were Michael Faraday’s Ideas On Magnetism Influenced By English Scientist William Gilbert?
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…
-
How Did James Clerk Maxwell Turn Michael Faraday’s Field Theory Into a Map of the Universe?
Michael Faraday studied the lines that iron filings formed by magnets and saw lines of force spreading across the universe. He thought other forces, like gravity, electricity, and even light, all acted with…
