A
BRIEF HISTORY of ELECTRICITY
Long
before any knowledge of electricity existed, people were aware of shocks from electric fish.
Patients suffering from ailments such as gout or headache
were directed to touch electric fish in the hope that the powerful jolt might
cure them. Ancient cultures around the Mediterranean
knew that certain objects, such as rods of amber, could be rubbed
with cat's fur to attract light objects like feathers. The Mesopotamians
may have had knowledge of electroplating, based on the 1936 discovery of
the Baghdad Battery, which resembles a galvanic cell,
though it is uncertain whether the artifact was electrical in nature. English
scientist William Gilbert in 1600 AD coined the New Latin
word electricus to refer to the property of attracting small objects
after being rubbed. In the 18th century, Benjamin
Franklin conducted extensive research in electricity, selling his
possessions to fund his work. In June 1752 he is reputed to have attached a
metal key to the bottom of a dampened kite string and flown the kite in a
storm-threatened sky.[11]
A succession of sparks jumping from the key to the back of his hand showed that
lightning
was indeed electrical in nature and understood that electricity consisting of
both positive and negative charges. Alessandro
Volta's battery provided scientists with a more reliable source of
electrical energy. Christian Orsted, Andre Ampere and Michel Faraday conducted
experiments in relationship between electricity and magnetism which lead to all
present day developments in the field. Later it was invented that electric charge shows entirely different effects when it is stationary and in motion.
Coming centuries witnessed immense
growth in electricity production and distribution methods.
