The first electricians Consistency in the discovery of electricity. AC and DC

The modern world is impossible without electricity. Now no one thinks about the technology of its production, and in ancient times they did not even know such a word. But there were inquisitive minds even then. In 700 BC, the observant Greek philosopher Thales noticed that amber began to attract light objects when rubbed with wool. This knowledge stopped.

Further development of knowledge

Only after many centuries this branch of knowledge was further developed. The English physicist and part-time doctor at the royal court, William Gilbert, who graduated from the best universities of Oxford and Cambridge, became the founder of the science of electricity. He invented the first prototype of the electroscope called versor and with its help he found out that not only amber, but also other stones have the ability to attract small objects (straws). Among the "electric" minerals:

diamond;
amethyst;
glass;
opal;
carborundum;
shales;
sapphire;
amber.

With the help of the apparatus, the scientist was able to make several interesting discoveries. Among them: the serious influence of the flame on the electrical properties of bodies that were acquired by friction. Gilbert also suggested that thunder and lightning are phenomena of an electrical nature.

The very concept of "electricity" was first heard in the 16th century. In 1663, the mayor of Magdeburg named Otto von Guericke created a special research machine. With its help, it was possible to observe the effect of attraction and repulsion.

First experiments with electricity

In 1729, in England, the first experiment was carried out on the transmission of electricity over a short distance by the scientist Stephen Gray. But in the process, it was determined that not all bodies can transmit electricity. 4 years after the first serious research, French scientist Charles Dufay found that There are two types of electricity: glass and resin depending on the material used for friction.

In the middle of the 17th century in Holland, Pieter van Muschenbroek created a capacitor called the "Leyden jar". A short time later, Benjamin Franklin's theory appears and the first studies are carried out that experimentally confirm the theory. The conducted research became the basis for the creation of a lightning rod.

After that, a new science was discovered, which they begin to study. And in 1791, the “Treatise on the power of electricity during the movement of muscles” was published by the author Galvani. In 1800, the Italian inventor Volta became the one who created a new power source called Galvanic cell. This apparatus is an object in the form of a column of zinc and silver rings separated by pieces of paper soaked in salt water. A couple of years later, the Russian inventor Vasily Petrov opens the Voltaic Arc.

Around the same decade, physicist Jean Antoine Nollet invented the first electroscope, which registered a more rapid "drain" of electricity from sharp-shaped bodies and formed a theory about the effect of current on living organisms. This effect became the basis for the invention of the medical electrocardiograph. Since 1809, a new era in the field of electricity began, when the Englishman Delarue invented the incandescent lamp. Already after 100 years modern light bulbs with a tungsten filament appeared and filled with an inert gas. Their developer was Irving Langmuir.

Challenging research and great discoveries

In the early 18th century, Michael Faraday wrote a treatise on the electromagnetic field.

The electromagnetic interaction was discovered during experiments by the Danish scientist Oersted in 1820, and a year later the physicist Ampère links electricity and magnetism in his theory. These studies became the basis for the emergence of modern science - electrical engineering.

In 1826, Georg Simon Om, on the basis of his experiments, was able to formulate the basic law of an electrical circuit and introduced new terms in electrical engineering:

"conductivity";
"electromotive force";
voltage drop in the circuit.

Oersted's follower was André-Marie Ampère, who formulated the rule for determining the direction of current to a magnetic needle. This pattern has received many names, one of which is the “right hand rule”. Exactly he invented the electromagnetic field amplifier- multi-turn coils, consisting of copper wire with installed cores of soft iron. Based on this development, the electromagnetic telegraph was invented in 1829.

A new round of research

When the famous English scientist in the field of physics Michael Faraday got acquainted with the work of H. Oersted, he conducted research in the field of the relationship between electromagnetic and electrical phenomena and discovered that a magnet revolves around a current conductor and, conversely, a conductor around a magnet.

After these experiments, the scientist tried for another 10 years to transform magnetism into an electric current, and as a result discovered electromagnetic induction and the foundations of electromagnetic field theory, and also helped form the basis for the emergence of a new branch of science - radio engineering. In the 20s of the last century, when the organization of large-scale electrification began on the territory of the USSR, the term "Ilyich's light bulb" appeared.

Since many developments were carried out in parallel in different countries, historians argue about who invented electricity first. Many scientists and inventors have invested their strength and knowledge in the development of the science of electricity: Ampere and Lenz, Joule and Ohm. Thanks to such efforts, a modern person does not experience problems with organizing the supply of electricity to their homes and other premises.

Electricity can safely be called one of the most important discoveries that have ever been made by man. It helped to develop our civilization from the very beginning of its appearance....

Electricity can safely be called one of the most important discoveries that have ever been made by man. It helped to develop our civilization from the very beginning of its appearance. This is the most environmentally friendly type of energy on the planet, and it is likely that electricity will be able to replace all raw materials if there are no more of them left on Earth.

The term comes from the Greek "electron", and means "amber". As far back as the 7th century BC, the ancient Greek philosopher Thales noticed that amber has the ability to attract hair and light materials, such as cork shavings. Thus, he became the discoverer of electricity. But only by the middle of the 17th century, the observations of Thales were studied in detail by Otto von Guericke. This German physicist created the world's first electrical appliance. It was a rotating ball of sulfur, fixed on a metal pin and looked like amber with the power of attraction and repulsion.

Thales - discoverer of electricity

For a couple of centuries, Guericke's "electric machine" was noticeably improved by such German scientists as Bose, Winkler, and also the Englishman Hawksby. Experiments with the electrical machine gave impetus to new discoveries in the 18th century.: In 1707, the physicist du Fey, originally from France, discovered the difference between the electricity that we get from rubbing a glass circle, and that we get from rubbing a circle of wood resin. In 1729, the English scientists Gray and Wheeler found that some bodies can pass electricity through them, and they were the first to emphasize that bodies can be divided into two types: conductors and non-conductors of electricity.

A very significant discovery was made in 1729 by the Dutch physicist Muschenbroek, who was born in Leiden. This professor of philosophy and mathematics was the first to discover that a glass jar sealed on both sides with steel sheets can accumulate electricity. Since the experiments were carried out in the city of Leiden, the device was called so - Leiden jar.

Scientist and public figure Benjamin Franklin gave one theory in which he said that there is both positive and negative electricity. The scientist was able to explain the very process of charging and discharging a glass jar and provided evidence that the lining of a Leyden jar can be easily electrified with different charges of electricity.

Benjamin Franklin paid more than enough attention to the knowledge of atmospheric electricity, as did the Russian scientists G. Richman, as well as M.V. Lomonosov. A scientist has invented a lightning rod, with the help of which he substantiated that lightning itself arises from the difference in electrical potentials.

In 1785, Coulomb's law was derived, which described the electrical interaction between point charges. The law was discovered by C. Coulomb, a scientist from France, who created it on the basis of repeated experiments with steel balls.

One of the great discoveries made by the Italian scientist Luigi Galvani in 1791 was that electricity could be generated when two heterogeneous metals came into contact with the body of a dissected frog.

In 1800, the Italian scientist Alessandro Volta invented the chemical battery. This discovery was important in the study of electricity.. This galvanic element consisted of round silver plates, between the plates were pieces of paper pre-moistened in salt water. Thanks to chemical reactions, a chemical battery regularly received an electric current.

In 1831, the famous scientist Michael Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction and, on this basis, invented the world's first electric generator. He discovered concepts such as magnetic and electric fields and invented an elementary electric motor.

The man who made a huge contribution to the study of magnetism and electricity, and put his research into practice, was the inventor Nikola Tesla. Household and electrical appliances that the scientist created are irreplaceable. This man can be called one of the great inventors of the XX century.

Who first discovered electricity?

It is difficult to find people who would not know what electricity is. But who discovered electricity? Not everyone has an idea about this. We need to figure out what kind of phenomenon it is, who first discovered it and in what year it all happened.

A few words about electricity and its discovery

The history of the discovery of electricity is quite extensive. This happened for the first time in the distant 700 BC. An inquisitive philosopher from Greece named Thales noticed that amber is able to attract small objects when rubbed with wool. True, after that, all observations ended for a long time. But it is he who is considered the discoverer of static electricity.

Further development occurred much later - after several centuries. The physician William Gilbert, who was interested in the basics of physics, became the founder of the science of electricity. He invented something similar to the electroscope, calling it a versor. Thanks to him, Gilbert realized that many minerals attract small objects. Among them are diamonds, glass, opals, amethysts and sapphires.

Using a versor, Hilbert made a couple of interesting observations:

the flame affects the electrical properties of bodies that occur during friction;
lightning and thunder are phenomena of an electrical nature.

The word "electricity" appeared in the 16th century. In the 60s of the XVII century, the burgomaster Otto von Guericke created a special machine for experiments. Thanks to her, he observed the effects of attraction and repulsion.

After this, research continued. Even electrostatic machines were used. In the early 30s of the XVIII century, Stephen Gray transformed the design of Guericke. He changed the sulfur ball to a glass one. Stephen continued his experiments and discovered such a thing as electrical conductivity. Somewhat later, Charles Dufay discovered two types of charges - from resins and glass.

In the 40th year of the 18th century, Kleist and Mushenbrook invented the "Leyden jar", which became the first capacitor on Earth. Benjamin Franklin said that charge accumulates in glass. Thanks to him, the designations "plus" and "minus" for electric charges, as well as "conductor", "charge" and "capacitor" appeared.

Benjamin Franklin led an eventful life. Surprisingly, he had time to study electricity at all. However, it was Benjamin Franklin who invented the first lightning rod.

At the end of the 18th century, Galvani published a Treatise on the Power of Electricity in the Movement of Muscles. At the beginning of the 19th century, an inventor from Italy, Volta, came up with a new current source, calling it a galvanic cell. This design looks like a pillar of silver and zinc rings. They are separated by papers soaked in salt water. This is how galvanic electricity was discovered. After 2 years, an inventor from Russia, Vasily Petrov, discovered the Voltaic arc.

Around the same time period, Jean Antoine Nollet designed the electroscope. He registered a rapid "drainage" of electricity from sharp-shaped bodies. Based on this, a theory arose that the current affects living beings. Thanks to the discovered effect, a medical electrocardiograph appeared.

Since 1809, there has been a revolution in the field of electricity. Delarue, an English inventor, invented the incandescent light bulb. A century later, devices with a tungsten spiral were created, which were filled with an inert gas. Irving Langmuir became their founder.

Other discoveries

In the 18th century, the later famous Michael Faraday came up with the theory of electromagnetic fields.

Electromagnetic interaction was discovered during his experiments by a scientist from Denmark named Oersted in 1820. In 1821, the physicist Ampère connected electricity and magnetism in his own treatise. Thanks to these studies, electrical engineering was born.

In 1826, Georg Simon Ohm conducted experiments and outlined the main law of the electrical circuit. After that, specialized terms arose:

electromotive force;
conductivity;
voltage drop in the network.

André-Marie Ampere later came up with a rule for how to determine the direction of the current on a magnetic needle. It had many names, but the “right hand rule” stuck most of all. It was Ampere who designed the electromagnetic field amplifier - coils with many turns. They are made of copper wires with iron cores. In the 30s of the 19th century, the electromagnetic telegraph was invented on the basis of the rule described above.

In the 1920s in the Soviet Union, the government began global electrification. During this period, the term "light bulb of Ilyich" arose.

magic electricity

Children should know what electricity is. But you need to teach in a playful way so that the knowledge gained does not get bored in the very first minutes. To do this, you can visit the open lesson "Magic Electricity". It includes the following educational tasks:

generalization of information about electricity in children;
expand knowledge about where electricity lives and how it can help people;
to acquaint the child with the causes of static electricity;
explain the safety rules for handling household electrical appliances.

There are also other tasks:

the child develops a desire to discover something new;
children learn to interact with the outside world and its objects;
thinking, observation, ability to analyze and the ability to draw the right conclusions develop;
active preparation for school.

The lesson is also necessary for educational purposes. During it:

interest in the study of the world around is reinforced;
there is satisfaction from the discoveries that resulted from the experiments;
develops the ability to work in a team.

The following materials are provided:

toys with batteries;
plastic sticks according to the number of those present;
woolen and silk fabrics;
educational toy "Collect the item";
cards "Rules for the use of household electrical appliances";
colored balls.

For a child, this will be a great activity for the summer.

Conclusion

We cannot say for sure who actually discovered electricity first. There is every reason to believe that they knew about him even before Thales. But most scientists (William Gilbert, Otto von Guericke, Volt Ohm, Ampere) made their own contribution to the development of electricity in full measure.

An alternative version of the story of the discovery of electricity

Science does not know when electricity was discovered. Even ancient people observed lightning. Later, they noticed that some bodies, if rubbed against each other, can attract or repel. The ability to attract or repel small objects was well manifested in amber.
In 1600, the first term associated with electricity appeared - electron. It was introduced by William Gilbert, who borrowed this word from the Greek language, where it meant amber. Later, such properties were discovered in diamond, opal, amethyst, sapphire. These materials he called electricians, and the phenomenon itself - electricity.
Otto von Guericke continued Gilbert's research. He invented the electrostatic machine, the first instrument for studying electrical phenomena. It was a rotating metal rod with a ball made of sulfur. During rotation, the ball rubbed against the wool and acquired a significant charge of static electricity.

In 1729, the Englishman Stephen Gray improved Guericke's machine by replacing the sulfur ball with a glass one.

In 1745, Jurgen Kleist and Peter Muschenbrook invented the Leyden jar, which is a glass container with water that can accumulate a significant charge. It became the prototype of modern capacitors. Scientists mistakenly believed that the charge storage is water, not glass. Later, mercury was used instead of water.
Benjamin Franklin expanded the set of terms to describe electrical phenomena. He introduced the concepts: charge, two kinds of charges, plus and minus to denote them. He owns the terms capacitor, conductor.
Many experiments carried out in the 17th century were of a descriptive nature. They did not receive practical application, but served as the foundation for the development of the theoretical and practical foundations of electricity.

The first scientific experiments with electricity

The scientific study of electricity began in the 18th century.

In 1791, the Italian physician Luigi Galvani discovered that current flowing through the muscles of dissected frogs causes them to contract. He called his discovery animal electricity. But Luigi Galvani could not fully explain the results.

The discovery of animal electricity interested the Italian Alexandro Volta. The famous scientist repeated the experiments of Galvani. He re-proved that living cells generate electrical potential, but the cause of its occurrence is chemical, not animal. This is how galvanic electricity was discovered.
Continuing his experiments, Alexandro Volta designed a device that generates voltage without an electrostatic machine. It was a stack of alternating copper and zinc plates, separated by pieces of paper soaked in a salt solution. The device was called a voltaic column. It became the prototype of modern galvanic cells used to generate electricity.
It is important to note that Napoleon Bonaparte was very interested in the invention of Volta, and in 1801 granted him the title of count. And later, famous physicists decided to name the unit of voltage measurement 1 V (volt) in his honor.

Luigi Galvani and Alexandro Volta are great experimenters in the field of electricity. But in the 18th century they could not explain the essence of the phenomena. The construction of the theory of electricity and magnetism began in the 19th century.

Scientific research on electricity in the 19th century

Russian inventor Vasily Petrov, continuing the experiments of Volta, in 1802 discovered the voltaic arc. In his experiments, carbon electrodes were used, which at first moved, heated up due to the flow of current, and then moved apart. A stable arc arose between them, capable of burning at a voltage of only 40-50 volts. In this case, a significant amount of heat was released. Petrov's experiments for the first time showed the possibilities of the practical application of electricity, contributed to the invention of the incandescent lamp and electric welding. For his experiments, V. Petrov designed a battery 12 m long. It was capable of creating a voltage of 1700 volts.

The disadvantages of the voltaic arc were the rapid combustion of coal, the release of carbon dioxide and soot. Several of the greatest inventors of the time took up the improvement of the light source, each of whom contributed to the development of electric lighting. All of them believed that the source of heat and light should be in a glass flask from which air was pumped out.
The idea of using a metal filament was proposed back in 1809 by the English physicist Delarue. But for many years experiments continued with carbon rods and filaments.
American textbooks on electricity claim that the father of the incandescent lamp is their compatriot Thomas Edison. He made a huge contribution to the history of the discovery of electricity. But Edison's efforts to improve incandescent lamps ended in the late 1870s, when he abandoned the metal filament and returned to carbon rods. His lamps could burn uninterruptedly for about 40 hours.

20 years later, the Russian inventor Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin invented a lamp that used a refractory metal wire filament twisted into a spiral. Air was pumped out of the flask, due to which the filament was oxidized and burned out.
The largest company in the world for the production of electrical products, General Electric, bought a patent from Lodygin for the production of lamps with a tungsten filament. This allows us to consider that our compatriot is the father of the incandescent lamp.
Chemists and physicists worked to improve the incandescent lamp, and their discoveries, inventions and improvements made it possible to create the incandescent lamp that people use today.

In the 19th century electricity was used not only for lighting.
In 1807, the English chemist Humphry Davy succeeded in electrolytically isolating the alkali metals sodium and potassium from a solution. There were no other ways to obtain these metals at that time.
His compatriot William Sturgeon invented the electromagnet in 1825. Continuing his research, he created the first model of an electric motor, the operation of which he demonstrated in 1832.

The formation of the theoretical foundations of electricity

In addition to inventions that have received practical application, in the 19th century. the construction of the theoretical foundations of electricity, the discovery and formulation of the basic laws began.

In 1826, the German physicist, mathematician, philosopher Georg Ohm experimentally established and theoretically substantiated his famous law describing the dependence of the current in a conductor on its resistance and voltage. Ohm expanded the set of terms used in electricity. He introduced the concepts of electromotive force, conductivity, voltage drop.
Thanks to the publications of G. Ohm, which made a splash in the scientific world, the theory of electricity began to develop rapidly, but the author himself was persecuted by his superiors and was fired from his post as a school teacher of mathematics.

A huge contribution to the development of the theory of electricity was made by the French philosopher, biologist, mathematician, chemist André-Marie Ampère. Due to the poverty of his parents, he was forced to engage in self-education. At the age of 13, he already mastered integral and differential calculus. This allowed him to obtain mathematical equations describing the interactions of circular currents. Thanks to the works of Ampere, 2 related areas appeared in electricity: electrodynamics and electrostatics. For unknown reasons, Ampère retired from electricity in adulthood and became interested in biology.

Many physicists of different nationalities worked on the development of the theory of electricity. Having studied their works, the outstanding English physicist James-Clerk Maxwell built a unified theory of electrical and magnetic interactions. Maxwell's electrodynamics provides for the presence of a special form of matter - an electromagnetic field. He published his work on this problem in 1862. Maxwell's theory made it possible to describe already known electromagnetic phenomena and predict unknown ones.

The history of the development of electrical communications

As soon as the ancient people had a need for communication, there was a need to organize messaging. The history of the development of communications before the discovery of electricity is multifaceted and each nation has its own.

When people appreciated the possibilities of electricity, the question arose of transmitting information with its help.
The first attempts to transmit electrical signals were made immediately after Galvani's experiments. A voltaic column served as the source of energy, and frog legs served as the receiver. This is how the first telegraph appeared, which was improved and modernized for a long time.

To transmit information, it first had to be encoded, and after receiving it, it had to be decoded. To encode information, the American artist Samuel Morse in 1838 came up with a special alphabet, consisting of combinations of dots and dashes separated by gaps. The exact date of the first telegraph transmission is known - May 27, 1844. Communication was established between Baltimore and Washington, located at a distance of 64 km.

Means of communication of this kind were able to transmit messages over long distances, store them on paper tape, but they also had a number of drawbacks. A lot of time was spent on encoding and decoding messages, the receiver and transmitter had to be connected by wires.

In 1895, the Russian inventor Alexander Popov succeeded in demonstrating the operation of the first wireless transmitter and receiver. An antenna (or a Hertz vibrator) was used as a receiving element, and a coherer was used as a recording element. A DC battery with a voltage of several volts was used to power the device.
In the invention of the coherer, the merit of the French physicist Edward Branly is great, who discovered the possibility of changing the resistance of a metal powder due to the action of electromagnetic waves on it.
Communication facilities built on the basis of Popov's transmitter and receiver are still in service today.

A sensational message about his discoveries in the field of transmission of electromagnetic waves in 1891 was made by the Serbian scientist Nikola Tesla. But mankind was not ready to accept his ideas and understand how to apply Tesla's inventions in practice. After many decades, they formed the basis of today's means of electronic communications: radio, television, cellular and space communications.

It is difficult for a modern person to imagine life without electricity. It has firmly entered our lives, and we think little about when it appeared. But it was thanks to electricity that all areas of science and technology began to develop more intensively. Who invented electricity when it first appeared in the world?

History of occurrence

Even before our era Greek philosopher Thales noticed that after rubbing amber on wool, small objects are attracted to the stone. Then no one was engaged in the study of such phenomena for a long time. Only in the 17th century, having studied magnets and their properties, the English scientist William Gilberg introduced the new term "electricity". Scientists began to show more interest in it and engage in research in this area.

Gilberg managed to invent the prototype of the very first electroscope, it was called a versor. With the help of this device, he established that, in addition to amber and other stones, small objects can attract to themselves. . The stones include:

Thanks to the created device, the scientist was able to conduct several experiments and draw conclusions. He realized that the flame has the ability to seriously affect the electrical properties of bodies after friction. The scientist stated that Thunder and lightning- phenomena of an electrical nature.

Great discoveries

The first experiments on the transmission of electricity over short distances were carried out in 1729. Scientists concluded that not all bodies can transmit electricity. A few years after a series of tests, the Frenchman Charles Dufay stated that there are two types of electric charge − glass and resin. They depend on the material that is used for friction.

Then, scientists from different countries created a capacitor and a galvanic cell, the first electroscope, and a medical electrocardiograph. The first incandescent light bulb appeared in 1809, which was created by the Englishman Delarue. 100 years later, Earnwing Langmuir developed a light bulb with a tungsten filament filled with an inert gas.

There were many very important discoveries in the 19th century, thanks to which electricity appeared in the world

They studied the properties of electricity and many of them are named after them. At the end of the 19th century, physicists make discoveries about the existence of electric waves. They manage to create an incandescent lamp and transmit electrical energy over long distances. From that moment on, electricity slowly but surely begins to spread throughout the planet.

When did electricity appear in Russia?

If we talk about electrification on the territory of the Russian Empire, then in this matter no specific date. Everyone knows that in 1879 in St. Petersburg they made lighting throughout the Liteiny Bridge. It was lit with lamps. However, in Kyiv, electric lights were installed in one of the railway workshops a year earlier. This event did not attract attention, so 1879 is considered the official date for the appearance of electric lighting in the Russian Empire.

The first electrical department appeared in Russia on January 30, 1880 in the Russian Technical Society. The department was obliged to oversee the introduction of electricity into the daily life of the state. As early as 1881, Tsarskoe Selo was a fully illuminated settlement and became the first modern and European city.

May 15, 1883 It is also considered a landmark date for the country. This is due to the illumination of the Kremlin. At this time, Emperor Alexander III came to the throne, and the illumination was timed to coincide with such an important event. Almost immediately after this historic event, lighting was carried out first on the main street and then to the Winter Palace of St. Petersburg.

By decree of the emperor in 1886, the "Electric Lighting Society" was established. His duties included lighting the two main cities - Moscow and St. Petersburg. Two years later, the construction of power plants began in all major cities. The first electric tram in Russia was launched in 1892. In St. Petersburg, after 4 years, the first hydroelectric power station was put into operation. It was built on the Bolshaya Okhta River.

An important event was the appearance of the first power plant in Moscow in 1897. It was built on the Raushskaya embankment with the ability to generate alternating three-phase current. She made it possible to transmit electricity over long distances and use it without losing power. The construction of power plants in other Russian cities began to develop only before the First World War.

Interesting facts about the history of the appearance of electricity in Russia

If you carefully study some facts of the electrification of the Russian state, you can find out a lot of interesting information.

The first incandescent light bulb with a carbon rod was invented in 1874 by A.N. Lodygin. The device was patented by the largest European countries. After a while, it was improved by T. Edison and the light bulb began to be used all over the planet.

Russian electrical engineer P.N. Yablochkov in 1876 he completed the development of an electric candle. It has become simpler, cheaper and more convenient than Lodygin's light bulb in operation.

As part of the Russian Technical Society, a Special Electrotechnical Department was created. It included P.N. Yablochkov, A.N. Lodygin, V.N. Chikolev and other active physicists and electrical engineers. The main task of the department was to promote the development of electrical engineering in Russia.

Who invented electricity and when did it happen? Despite the fact that electricity has firmly entered our lives and radically changed it, most people find it difficult to answer this question.

And this is not surprising, because mankind has been moving towards the era of electricity for thousands of years.

Light and electrons.

It is customary to call electricity a set of phenomena based on the movement and interaction of tiny charged particles, called electric charges.

The term "electricity" itself comes from the Greek word "electron", which in translation into Russian means "amber".

This name was given to a physical phenomenon for a reason, because the first experiments on obtaining electricity date back to ancient times, when in the 7th century. BC e. The ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Thales came to the discovery that a piece of amber rubbed against wool is able to attract paper, pens and other objects with low weight.

At the same time, attempts were made to get a spark after bringing a rubbed finger to the glass. But the knowledge available to people in those ancient times was clearly not enough to explain the nature of the origin of the obtained physical phenomena.

Noticeable progress in the study of electricity was made after 2 millennia. In 1600, the court physician of the British Queen, William Gilbert, published a treatise "On magnets, magnetic bodies and a large magnet - the Earth", where he used the word "electrician" for the first time in history.

In his work, the English scientist explained the principle of the compass, created on the basis of a magnet, and described experiments with electrified objects. Gilbert managed to come to the conclusion that the ability to electrify is characteristic of various bodies.

The German burgomaster Otto von Guericke, who in 1663 managed to invent the first electrostatic machine in the history of mankind, can be called the successor of William Gilbert's research.

The invention of the German was a device consisting of a large sulfur ball, planted on an iron axis and attached to a wooden tripod.

To obtain an electric charge, the ball was rubbed with a piece of cloth or hands during rotation. This simple device made it possible not only to attract light objects to itself, but also to repel them.

In 1729, experiments on the study of electricity were continued by a scientist from England, Stephen Gray. He managed to determine that metals and some other types of materials are capable of transmitting electric current at a distance. They became known as conductors.

In the course of his experiments, Gray found out that in nature there are substances that are not capable of transmitting electricity. These include amber, glass, sulfur, etc. Such materials were later called insulators.

4 years after the experiments of Stephen Gray, the French physicist Charles Dufay discovered the existence of two types of electric charges (resin and glass) and studied their interaction with each other. Later, the charges described by Dufay became known as negative and positive.

Inventions of recent centuries

Mid 18th century marked the beginning of an era of active study of electricity. In 1745, the Dutch scientist Pieter van Muschenbroek creates a device for the accumulation of electricity, called the Leiden Bank.

In Russia, around the same period, electrical properties were actively studied by Mikhail Lomonosov and Georg Richmann.

The first person to attempt a scientific explanation of electricity was the American politician and scientist Benjamin Franklin.

According to his theory, electricity is an immaterial fluid present in all physical matter. In the process of friction, part of this fluid passes from one body to another, thereby causing an electric charge.

Franklin's other accomplishments include:

introduction of the concept of negative and positive electric charge;
the invention of the first lightning rod;
proof of the electrical origin of lightning.

In 1785, the French physicist Charles Coulomb formulated a law explaining the interaction between point charges that are in an immovable state.

Coulomb's law became the starting point for the study of electricity as an exact scientific concept.

Since the beginning of the 19th century, many discoveries have been made in the world to better understand the properties of electricity.

In 1800, an Italian scientist, Alessandro Volta, invented a galvanic cell, which is the first source of direct current in the history of mankind. Shortly after him, the Russian physicist Vasily Petrov discovered and described a discharge in a gas, called a voltaic arc.

In the 20s of the 19th century, Andre-Marie Ampère introduced the concept of "electric current" into physics and formulated a theory about the relationship between magnetic fields and electric ones.

In the first half of the 19th century, physicists James Joule, Georg Ohm, Johann Gauss, Michael Faraday and other world-famous scientists make their discoveries. In particular, Faraday owns the discovery of electrolysis, electromagnetic induction and the invention of the electric motor.

In the last decades of the 19th century, physicists discovered the existence of electromagnetic waves, invented the incandescent lamp, and began to transmit electrical energy over long distances. From this period, electricity begins to slowly but surely spread around the planet.

His invention is associated with the names of the greatest scientists in the world, each of whom at one time made every effort to study the properties of electricity and pass on their knowledge and discoveries to subsequent generations.

The discovery of electricity completely changed human life. This physical phenomenon is constantly involved in everyday life. Lighting the house and the street, the operation of various devices, our rapid movement - all this would be impossible without electricity. This has become available through numerous studies and experiments. Consider the main stages in the history of electrical energy.

ancient time

The term "electricity" comes from the ancient Greek word "electron", which means "amber". The first mention of this phenomenon is associated with ancient times. Ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher Thales of Miletus in the 7th century BC e. discovered that if amber is rubbed against wool, then the stone has the ability to attract small objects.

In fact, it was an experience of studying the possibility of generating electricity. In the modern world, this method is known as the triboelectric effect, which makes it possible to extract sparks and attract objects with light weight. Despite the low efficiency of this method, we can talk about Thales as the discoverer of electricity.

In ancient times, several more timid steps were taken towards the discovery of electricity:

Greek philosopher Aristotle in the 4th century BC e. studied varieties of eels capable of attacking the enemy with a current discharge;
The ancient Roman writer Pliny in 70 AD investigated the electrical properties of resin.

All these experiments are unlikely to help us figure out who discovered electricity. These isolated experiments were not developed. The next events in the history of electricity took place many centuries later.

Stages of creating a theory

XVII-XVIII centuries were marked by the creation of the foundations of world science. Since the 17th century, a number of discoveries have been made that in the future will allow a person to completely change his life.

The emergence of the term

The English physicist and court physician in 1600 published the book "On the Magnet and Magnetic Bodies", in which he gave the definition of "electric". It explained the properties of many solids, after rubbing, to attract small objects. Considering this event, one must understand that this is not about the invention of electricity, but only about a scientific definition.

William Gilbert was able to invent a device that he called the versor. We can say that it resembled a modern electroscope, the function of which is to determine the presence of an electric charge. With the help of the versor, it was found that, in addition to amber, the ability to attract light objects also has:

glass;
diamond;
sapphire;
amethyst;
opal;
shales;
carborundum.

In 1663 a German engineer, physicist and philosopher Otto von Guericke invented the device, which was the prototype of the electrostatic generator. It was a ball of sulfur, impaled on a metal rod, which was rotated and rubbed by hand. With the help of this invention, it was possible to see in action the property of objects not only to attract, but also to repel.

In March 1672, the famous German scientist Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in a letter to Guericke mentioned that while working on his machine, he recorded an electrical spark. This was the first evidence of a mysterious phenomenon at that time. Guericke created a device that served as a prototype for all future electrical discoveries.

In 1729 a British scientist Stephen Gray made experiments that made it possible to discover the possibility of transferring an electric charge over short (up to 800 feet) distances. And he also established that electricity is not transmitted over the earth. In the future, this made it possible to classify all substances into insulators and conductors.

Two types of charges

French scientist and physicist Charles Francois Dufay in 1733 he discovered two dissimilar electric charges:

"glass", which is now called positive;
"tar", called negative.

Then he made studies of electrical interactions, which proved that differently electrified bodies will be attracted one to one, and of the same name - repelled. In these experiments, the French inventor used an electrometer, which made it possible to measure the magnitude of the charge.

In 1745 a physicist from Holland Peter van Mushenbroek invented the Leyden jar, which was the first electrical capacitor. Its creator is also the German lawyer and physicist Ewald Jürgen von Kleist. Both scientists acted in parallel and independently of each other. This discovery gives scientists the full right to enter the list of those who created electricity.

October 11, 1745 Kleist made an experiment with a "medical jar" and discovered the ability to store a large number of electrical charges. He then informed German scientists about the discovery, after which an analysis of this invention was carried out at Leiden University. Then Peter van Mushenbroek published his work, thanks to which the Leiden Bank became known.

Benjamin Franklin

In 1747, an American politician, inventor and writer Benjamin Franklin published his essay "Experiments and Observations with Electricity". In it, he presented the first theory of electricity, in which he designated it as an immaterial liquid or fluid.

In the modern world, the name Franklin is often associated with a hundred dollar bill, but we should not forget that he was one of the greatest inventors of his time. Among his many accomplishments are:

The designation of electrical states known today is (-) and (+).
Franklin proved the electrical nature of lightning.
He was able to come up with and present in 1752 a lightning rod project.
He owns the idea of the electric motor. The embodiment of this idea was the demonstration of a wheel rotating under the influence of electrostatic forces.

The publication of his theory and numerous inventions give Franklin every right to be considered one of those who invented electricity.

From theory to exact science

The research and experiments carried out allowed the study of electricity to move into the category of exact science. The first in a series of scientific achievements was the discovery of Coulomb's law.

The law of interaction of charges

French engineer and physicist Charles Augustin de Coulomb in 1785 he discovered a law that displayed the strength of the interaction between static point charges. Coulomb had previously invented the torsion balance. The appearance of the law took place thanks to the experiments of Coulomb with these scales. With their help, he measured the force of interaction of charged metal balls.

Coulomb's law was the first fundamental law explaining electromagnetic phenomena, from which the science of electromagnetism began. The unit of electric charge was named after Coulomb in 1881.

battery invention

In 1791, an Italian physician, physiologist and physicist wrote a Treatise on the forces of electricity in muscular movement. In it, he recorded the presence of electrical impulses in the muscle tissues of animals. And he also discovered the potential difference in the interaction of two types of metal and electrolyte.

The discovery of Luigi Galvani was developed in the work of the Italian chemist, physicist and physiologist Alessandro Volta. In 1800, he invents the "Voltaic Pillar" - a source of continuous current. It was a stack of silver and zinc plates, which were separated by pieces of paper soaked in a saline solution. "Voltaic column" became the prototype of galvanic cells, in which chemical energy was converted into electrical energy.

In 1861, the name "volt" was introduced in his honor - a unit of voltage.

Galvani and Volta are among the founders of the doctrine of electrical phenomena. The invention of the battery provoked a rapid development and subsequent growth of scientific discoveries. The end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century can be characterized as the time when electricity was invented.

The emergence of the concept of current

In 1821 a French mathematician, physicist and naturalist André-Marie Ampère in his own treatise, he established a connection between magnetic and electrical phenomena, which is absent in the static nature of electricity. Thus, he first introduced the concept of "electric current".

Ampère designed a coil with multiple turns of copper wires that can be classified as an electromagnetic field amplifier. This invention led to the creation of the electromagnetic telegraph in the 30s of the 19th century.

Thanks to Ampère's research, the birth of electrical engineering became possible. In 1881, in his honor, the unit of current strength was named "ampere", and instruments that measure force - "ammeters".

Electric circuit law

Physicist from Germany Georg Simon Ohm In 1826 he presented a law that proved the relationship between resistance, voltage and current in a circuit. Thanks to Ohm, new terms arose:

voltage drop in the network;
conductivity;
electromotive force.

The unit of electrical resistance was named after him in 1960, and the ohm is undoubtedly included in the list of those who invented electricity.

English chemist and physicist Michael Faraday made in 1831 the discovery of electromagnetic induction, which underlies the mass production of electricity. Based on this phenomenon, he creates the first electric motor. In 1834, Faraday discovered the laws of electrolysis, which led him to the conclusion that atoms can be considered the carrier of electrical forces. Research on electrolysis played a significant role in the emergence of the electronic theory.

Faraday is the creator of the doctrine of the electromagnetic field. He was able to predict the presence of electromagnetic waves.

Public Application

All these discoveries would not have become legendary without practical use. The first of the possible applications was electric light, which became available after the invention of the incandescent lamp in the 70s of the 19th century. Its creator was a Russian electrical engineer Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin.

The first lamp was a closed glass vessel containing a carbon rod. In 1872, an application for an invention was filed, and in 1874 Lodygin was granted a patent for the invention of an incandescent lamp. If you try to answer the question in what year electricity appeared, then this year can be considered one of the correct answers, since the appearance of a light bulb has become an obvious sign of availability.