Michael Faraday
The name Michael Faraday may not be a household name.
But Faraday's work reaches out and touches every part of our lives in our modern world.
Our modern world wouldn't be possible without him.
Let's go back in time to discover the life and work of this remarkable man.
A humble start
Michael Faraday was born on September 22, 1791. His father, James, was a blacksmith but couldn't provide well for the family because of poor health. Young Michael grew up in a family that struggled to even put food on the table.
This didn't stop young Michael from wanting to learn, so he taught himself everything he knew.
At the age of 14, he was apprenticed to a bookbinder. At this time, there was no such thing as a trade school. Instead, a youth would go work under an experienced master, and often lived with them, to learn their trade by experience.
In working in a bookbinding shop, Michael read and learned something from the books that passed through. One such book that impressed him was Isaac Watts Improvement of the Mind, a book that talks about the importance of, and how to, improve one's mind through education. Exposure to this book helped fuel his desire to learn more about the world around him.
And so things passed until 1812, when he finished his apprenticeship.
Now introducing, Mr. Faraday
Our modern world allows us to be exposed – if we choose – to knowledge through the internet (like you are right now), television, or books.
But in the 1800s, people were exposed to knowledge by attending lectures where experts would share what they know with others.
Through a friend, Mr. Faraday was fortunate enough to get tickets to some of these lectures by the famous chemist Humphrey Davy.
Michael got totally into these lectures. Inspired by what he heard, he would compile a book of 300 pages of notes that he gave to Mr. Davy. Mr. Davy was very impressed and, not long after, offered Michael a job as his assistant. He then entered into his second apprenticeship, this time as a scientist.
Portrait of a young Michael Faraday
He learned this new trade well and would grow and become a famous scientist on his own. But throughout it all, he kept to his strong religious beliefs, which taught him to be humble and not seek worldly praise – even turning down a knighthood.
The following passage from the Bible often served as inspiration for him.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (Romans 1:20)
His work
It is often the case that fresh minds are required to solve problems in innovative ways. And this was certainly the case for Faraday. Below are some of his accomplishments in chemistry:
Under Davy, they condensed ammonia and chlorine gases into a liquid for the first time. This was the first step to inventing refrigerators.
He discovered Benzene, a chemical with all kinds of applications, such as making Acetone (a chief ingredient in fingernail polish remover).
In Faraday's time, scientists were studying electrolysis. Electricity is sent through a liquid, and the different elements in it would separate out. He came up with the law of electrolysis, which tells how much of each element is separated based on the amount of electricity.
While not 100% chemistry, he is credited with inventing the rubber balloon.
He used it to collect gases for study.
This is already an impressive list. But he went on still. Some of his best accomplishments are in the study of electricity and magnets. Check these out:
He worked on how a wire with electricity going through it creates a magnetism that goes around it, which went totally against the views of the day.
He created the first simple electric motor.
He also showed how a disk spinning between magnets could create electricity and without a battery. (more of that later)
He invented the Faraday cage. He learned that a metal case could keep out electricity, even lighting. This is why you're safe from lightning in a car.
Image by Sunzi Safari*
His legend lives on
Faraday's work was huge in its own time, but 20 years after his death, an inventor named Thomas Edison would kick things up to a whole new level.
When Edison invented the electric light he needed, well, electricity for them to work.
Simple batteries weren't up to the task; he needed a lot of power. Drawing on the work by Faraday, he built massive generators to produce the required juice.
The electric industry was born, and with it, our modern, electrified world.
And all this due to a humble scientist from a very humble family.
Great books
Improvement of the Mind
This book about learning and growing in understanding inspired young Michael Faraday. The subject of the value in learning is explained in a religious context.
Up from Slavery
OK, this isn't about Faraday. Instead, it is the autobiography of Booker T. Washington. Mr. Washington was a freed slave who worked hard to get an education in the hardest of conditions and went on to found the Tuskegee Institute as a place of learning. In many ways, the story of Mr. Washington is like Mr. Faraday's, an inspiration to all of us to seek out our potential.
On the web
Story of Michael Faraday | The Father of Electricity
A short video sketch of his life.
PBS | Einstein's Big Idea | Michael Faraday
This is part of a PBS program about Albert Einstein, broken into two parts. You can view part I and part II.
*Shared through creative commons license 3.0.
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