Michael Faraday

The English chemist and physicist Michael Faraday, born in Sept The English chemist and physicist Michael Faraday, born in Sept. 22, 1791,and died in Aug. 25, 1867. He is known for his pioneering experiments in electricity and magnetism. Several concepts that he derived directly from experiments, such as lines of magnetic force, have become common ideas in modern physics. Faraday was born at Newington, Surrey, near London. He received little more than a primary education, at the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a bookbinder. He became interested in the physical and chemical works of the time. After hearing a lecture by Humphry Davy, he sent Davy the notes he had made of his lectures. As a result Faraday was appointed, at the age of 21, assistant to Davy in the laboratory of the Royal Institution in London. Faraday occupied himself mainly with chemical problems. He discovered two new chlorides of carbon and succeeded in liquefying chlorine and other gases. He isolated benzene in 1825. Davy, who had the greatest influence on Faraday's thinking, had shown in 1807 that the metals sodium and potassium can be precipitated from their compounds by an electric current, a process known as electrolysis. Faraday's vigorous pursuit of these experiments led in 1834 to what became known as Faraday's laws of electrolysis.

Faraday's research of electricity and electrolysis was based on his idea that electricity is only one of the demonstrations of the forces of nature. Although this idea was incorrect, it led him into the theory of electromagnetism. By 1820, Charles Coulomb had been the first to show that electric charges repel one another, but then in 1820 Hans Christian Oersted and Andre Marie Ampere discovered that an electric current produces a magnetic field. Faraday's ideas about saving of energy led him to think that if an electric current can cause a magnetic field, a magnetic field should be able to produce an electric current. He showed this idea of induction in 1831. Faraday showed the electric current in the wire by the number of lines of force that are cut by the wire. The principle was important in applied science.

Faraday had demonstrated electromagnetism in a series of experiments Faraday had demonstrated electromagnetism in a series of experiments. This experimental need probably led James Clerk Maxwell to believe the theory of lines of force and put Faraday's ideas into mathematical form, and so producing modern field theory. Faraday's discovery in 1845 found that an intense magnetic field can rotate the plane of polarized light and is known today as the Faraday effect. Faraday described his several experiments in electricity and electromagnetism in three volumes called Experimental Researches in Electricity and his chemical work was shown in Experimental Researches in Chemistry and Physics. Some examples of Faraday’s work include switching on a light bulb, and as easy as that you can experience Michael Faraday’s brilliant and fascinating discovery. And so, that is why Faraday is so important today!

Sources en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Faraday inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blfaraday.htm www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/faraday_michael.shtml www.factmonster.com/ce6/people/A0818247.html Sources