The history of electricity
Who was Thomas Edison?
American inventor who purchased Woodward's patent and began to work on improving the idea. He attached wires to a thin strand of paper, or filament, inside a glass globe. The filament began to glow, which generated some light. This became the first Incandescent light bulb.(1847-1931)
Who was Andre-Marie Ampere?
This is a French physicist and science teacher who played a big role in discovering electromagnetism He also helped describe a way to measure the flow of energy. The ampere, which is the unit for measuring electric current, was named in honor of him.(1775-1836)
What is an electromagnet?
This is a type of magnet in which the magnet field is produced by an electric current. These magnetic fields can be turned on and off.
Who was Henry Woodward?
This was a Canadian medical student who played a major role in developing the electric light bulb. In 1874, Woodward and a colleague named Mathew Evans placed a thin metal rod inside a glass bulb. They forced the air out of the bulb and replaced it with a nitrogen gas. The rod glowed when an electric current passed through it, creating the? First electric lamp Unfortunately, they could not afford to develop their idea further. So in 1889, they sold their patent to Thomas Edison (exact birth and death unknown)
Who was Michael Faraday?
A British physicist and chemist, was the first person to discover that moving a magnet near a coil of copper wire produced an electric current in the wire. (1791-1867)
What was the Industrial Revolution?
A period of improvements in industrial technology, like the invention of steam engines and mass production. It was a time whenever were able to make things by using machine that would be faster than a human doing it with no machine and moved from farming to industrial production,
Who was Georg Ohm?
German physicist and teacher who researched the relationship between voltage, current and resistance. (We will come back to those later this week) He proved that the amount of electrical current that can flow through a substance depends on it's resistance to electrical flow. This is known as Ohm's Law.(1787-1854)
Who was James Watt?
He was a Scottish inventor who made improvments to the steam engine during the late 1700s. Soon, factories and mining companies began to use Watt's new and improved steam engine for their machinery. This helped jumpstart the Industrial Revolution. After his death, Watt's name was used to describe the unit of power - the watt. (1736-1819)
Who was Nikola Tesla?
Serbian inventor who invented the first electric motor by reversing the flow of energy/electricity on Thomas Edison's generator. In 1885, he sold his patent rights to an American who was the head of the Westinghouse Electric Company. In 1893, the company used Tesla's ideas to light the Chicago World's Fair with a quarter of a million lights (1856-1943)
Who was Alessandro Volta?
Using zinc, copper and cardboard, this Italian professor invented the first battery. The unit of voltage is now named after Volta.(1745-1827)
