The electromagnetic field gives life to many devices and mechanisms; it powers computers and washing machines, coffee makers and electric trains. The electrical network has become necessary, even simply irreplaceable in the modern world of machines and technologies.
It is difficult to imagine the life of a person in the XXI century without appliances powered by electricity. They fill apartments, jobs and services with comfort and convenience. If electricity suddenly disappears on Earth, an economic and psychological collapse will come at once.
Discovery history
The ancestor of all scientific discoveries in the topic of "electricity" was the ancient Greek philosopher Thales. He found that amber, after rubbing against woolen fabric, can attract objects of small mass to the surface. This event took place in the 7th century BC. and became the first observation of the great power of the future.
“Electricity” is translated as “amber”, and “electron” sounds like “amber” in Homer's language. The discovery of the Greek scientist for many years became only a curious fact that had no practical application.
Much later, in 1650, the German Otto von Guericke created the first semblance of a mechanism that produces electricity. Guericke attached a ball of sulfur to a metal rod and observed its ability to attract and repel objects, that is, electrostatics.
At the beginning and middle of the 18th century, European scientists went even further, discovering new properties of electricity. Stephen Gray from England conducted experiments on the transmission of electricity at a distance, and Charles Dufay from France came to the conclusion that there are two more types of electricity: glass and resin. They also stand out when these natural materials rub against wool.
Rapid development of events
Further, the discoveries of natural scientists followed one after another. After Peter van Muschenburg created the first electric capacitor in 1745, the American Franklin created a "fluid" theory of electricity. He designs the first lightning rod and studies the nature of electric lightning.
Materials on the study of electricity became an exact science in 1875 after the formulation of Coulomb's Law. The Italian Galvani finds electricity in the muscle tissue of animals and in 1791 wrote a treatise on this phenomenon. His compatriot Volt invents the first galvanic cell, the prototype of the modern battery, in 1800.
The Danish physicist Oersted discovered electromagnetic interaction in 1820. The works of Ampere, Lenz, Joule and Ohm make significant contributions to physics and expand the concept of electricity.
The breakthrough in the invention of modern electricity was the research of Michael Faraday. After 1834, he describes electric and magnetic fields and creates the first electric generator, followed by an electric motor.
The history of electricity research is a good example of how discoveries of this magnitude have always occurred over the centuries. One generation of scientists is replaced by another many times before the usual things become what they are.
