It is difficult to find a person who is not familiar with electricity. But finding someone who knows the history of its discovery is much more difficult. Who discovered electricity? What is this phenomenon?
A little about electricity
The concept of "electricity" denotes the form of motion of matter, covers the phenomenon of the existence and interaction of charged particles. The term appeared in 1600 from the word "electron", which is translated from Greek as "amber". The author of this concept is William Gilbert, the man who discovered electricity in Europe.
This concept, first of all, is not an artificial invention, but a phenomenon associated with the property of some bodies. Therefore, the question: "Who discovered electricity?" - not so easy to answer. In nature, it manifests itself in the form of lightning, which is due to the different charges of the upper and lower layers of the planet's atmosphere.
It is an important part of human and animal life, because the work of the nervous system is carried out thanks to electrical impulses. Some fish, such as rays and eels, generate electricity to defeat prey or enemies. Many plants, such as the venus flytrap,bashful mimosa are also capable of generating electrical discharges.
Who discovered electricity?
There is an assumption that people studied electricity in ancient China and India. However, there is no confirmation of this. It is more reliable to believe that the ancient Greek scientist Thales discovered static electricity.
He was a famous mathematician and philosopher, lived in the city of Miletus, approximately in the VI-V centuries BC. It is believed that Thales discovered the property of amber to attract small objects, such as a feather or hair, if rubbed with a woolen cloth. No practical application was found for such a phenomenon, and it was left without attention.
In 1600, the Englishman William Gilbert published a work on magnetic bodies, which provides facts about the related nature of magnetism and electricity, and also provides evidence that other minerals, for example, opal, amethyst, diamond, can be electrified, except for amber, sapphire. The scientist called the bodies capable of being electrified electricians, and the property itself - electricity. It was he who first suggested that lightning is connected with electricity.
Electrical experiments
After Gilbert, German burgomaster Otto von Guericke took up research in this area. Although he was not the one who first discovered electricity, he still managed to influence the course of scientific history. Otto became the author of an electrostatic machine that looked like a sulfur ball rotating on a metal rod. Thanks to this invention, it was possible to find out that electrifiedbodies can not only attract, but also repel. The burgomaster's research formed the basis of electrostatics.
Followed by a series of studies, including using an electrostatic machine. Stephen Gray in 1729 changed Guericke's device, replacing the sulfur ball with a glass one, and, continuing the experiments, discovered the phenomenon of electrical conductivity. A little later, Charles Du Fay discovers the presence of two types of charge - from glass and from resins.
In 1745, Pieter van Muschenbroek and Jürgen von Kleist, believing that water accumulates a charge, create a "Leyden jar" - the world's first capacitor. Benjamin Franklin claims that it is not water that accumulates charge, but glass. He also introduces the terms "plus" and "minus" for electric charges, "capacitor", "charge" and "conductor".
Great discoveries
At the end of the 18th century, electricity becomes a serious object of research. Now special attention is paid to the study of dynamic processes and the interaction of particles. An electric current enters the scene.
In 1791, Galvani speaks of the existence of physiological electricity, which is present in the muscles of animals. Following him, Alessandro Volta invents a galvanic cell - a volt column. It was the first direct current source. Thus, Volta is a scientist who rediscovered electricity, because his invention served as the beginning for the practical and multifunctional application of electricity.
In 1802 Vasily Petrov discovered the voltaic arc. Antoine Nollet creates an electroscope and investigates the effect of electricity on living organisms. And already in 1809, the Physicist Delarue invented the incandescent lamp.
Next, the connection between magnetism and electricity is studied. Ohm, Lenz, Gauss, Ampere, Joule, Faraday are working on research. The latter creates the first energy generator and electric motor, discovers the law of electrolysis and electromagnetic induction.
In the 20th century, Maxwell (the theory of electromagnetic phenomena), Curie (discovered piezoelectricity), Thomson (discovered the electron) and many others are also engaged in research on electricity.
Conclusion
Of course, it is impossible to say with certainty who actually discovered electricity. This phenomenon exists in nature, and it is quite possible that it was discovered even before Thales. However, many scientists such as William Gilbert, Otto von Guericke, Volta and Galvani, Ohm, Amp have definitely contributed to our lives today.
