Benjamin Franklin and Discover of Electricity

Benjamin Franklin and Discover of Electricity

Introduction

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts. Franklin's formal schooling ended early, but he continued his education on his own by reading every book he could get his hands on (Sparks, 1856). He taught himself simple algebra and geometry, English grammar, foreign languages, history, and science. He began an apprenticeship in his Brother James's printing shop and moved to London to continue his training as a printer; he then returned to Philadelphia to open his own printing shop. In June 1727, he helped to establish the Junto, a society of young men who met together on Friday evenings for friendliness and self-improvement that has been described as the first U.S. club. In 1729, he began the publication of the Pennsylvania Gazette, and in 1730, he married Deborah Read.

Benjamin Franklin was one of the most remarkable of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was one of the signers of the Constitution and served as one of the most influential diplomats of the new nation. Although he was often looked on as an amateur in his scientific work, he earned renown in the history of physics for his many discoveries related to electricity and lightning (Sparks, 1856).

Discussion

In the 1740s, electricity was the newest curiosity of the age, and Franklin read all the available literature. His famous experiment, in which he flew a kite with a metal key attached to the string in a thunderstorm, proved that lightning was a form of electricity and led to his invention of the lightning rod.

Electrical studies became an all-consuming passion with Franklin, particularly after the Philadelphia group began to make use of the recently discovered Leiden jar. The group devised a number of ingenious experiments, some entertaining, and some directed at practical uses. Franklin was interested in the possibility of using electricity to slaughter chickens and turkeys, claiming that not only were this more humane but also resulted in a more tender bird. More important were Franklin's theoretical innovations. Previous electrical theories had been based on “effluvia”—tiny electrical particles. Although he did not dispense totally with effluvia, Franklin identified electricity as a universal fluid and distinguished between electrified states as “positive” (saturated with the electrical fluid) and “negative” (deficient in it). This theory seemed to explain the foremost puzzle in electricity, the behavior of the Leiden jar, better than anything previously did. It was communicated in 1750 in a letter to Peter Collinson (1694-1768), a London Quaker who corresponded with several colonial scientists. Collinson had been receiving letters on electrical experiments from Franklin since 1748 and had been communicating them to the Royal Society, where they attracted only minor interest.

Franklin's other activities of a scientific nature include the charting of the Gulf Stream, the invention of bifocals, the design of the glass harmonica, and the suggestion of daylight savings time. His philanthropy included the establishment of the first fire company in Pennsylvania and the founding of the University of Pennsylvania ...