HISTORY

OF ELECTRICITY
THALES OF MILETUS
• Thales of Miletus was from ancient Greece.
He was the first individual to discover

static electricity in 600 BC.

• He realized that rubbing a fur with some

other objects resulted in the objects being

attracted to each other. He tested this

realization with all other types of objects.

 THALES OF MILETUS
• When he tested it with amber, he was even able to cause

sparks to be seen and heard. Thus, Thales of Miletus was the

first known instance of an individual discovering a type of

electricity. In this case, it was static electricity.

• He recorded his observations and discoveries; however, he

incorrectly wrote that the static electricity was a type of

magnetism which resulted from friction.

 GIROLAMO CARDANO
• The next important discovery for the advancement of
electricity occurred in the 1550s

• Girolamo Cardano , an Italian physicist, began studying

and observing electrical and magnetic forces

• He was most likely the first individual that realized electrical

forces and magnetic forces were, in fact, different.
 WILLIAM GILBERT
• The father of the science of
electricity and magnetism was
William Gilbert.

• He was an assistant of girolamo

cardano , continued his work.

• Gilbert expanded on the work and

distinguished that amber had an
electric effect, while lodestone had
a magnetic effect.
 "ELECTRICITY"
• William Gilbert first coined the term “ELECTRICITY" from the
Greek word for amber

• He used the word “ELECTRICUS” to describe what he was

observing with the amber. He got this word because it was
similar to the Greek word for amber which was “ELEKTRON” .

• The actual word “electricity” was not used until 1646.

• William Gilbert was a pioneer of the experimental method and

the first to explain the “magntic compass”.
 OTTO VON GUERICKE

 The next major breakthrough in the history of electricity

occurred in 1660.

 Otto von Guericke created the first electrostatic generator

 His invention make the scientists able to realize that electricity

could travel across a vacuum without interference.

 It also helped scientists realize that certain objects were

conductors for electricity and certain objects or materials can
act as insulators for electricity.
 STEPHEN GRAY

• In 1729, Stephen Gray

discovered the principle of the
conduction of electricity.
 CHARLES FRANCOIS DU FAY

• In 1733, Charles Francois du Fay

discovered that electricity comes in two
forms which he called resinous (-) and
vitreous (+), now called negative and
positive.
 LEYDEN JAR
• The leyden jar was the original capacitor, a device that stores and

releases an electrical charge.

• The leyden jar was invented Holland in 1745 and in Germany almost

simultaneously.

• Dutch physicist Pieter van Musschenbroek and German

clergyman and scientist, Ewald Christian Von Kleist invented a

leyden jar.
 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
• His important discovery was that electricity
and lightning were one and the same. Ben
Franklin's lightning rod was the first
practical application of electricity.

• Franklin was able to show that lightning has

electrical property by flying a kite during a
thunderstorm. He tied a metal key to the
kite. When lightning struck the kite, it
transferred through the key proving that
lightening was, in fact, a type of electricity.
 HENRY CAVENDISH & LUIGI GALVANI

• In 1747, Henry Cavendish started measuring the conductivity

(the ability to carry an electrical current) of different materials

and published his results.

• In 1786, Italian physician Luigi Galvani demonstrated what we

now understand to be the electrical basis of nerve impulses.

Galvani made frog muscles twitch by jolting them with a spark

from an electrostatic machine.

 ALESSANDRA VOLTA
• He was an italian physicst
battery .
who built the first

• The battery works on the principle of

electrochemical reaction, so it is also called as
electrochemical cells.

• The first cell was made with 2 elctrode one of

copper and the other with zinc in the sulphuric
acid in a glass vessel.

• From his invntion he coin the word potential

difference, in future it was turned to voltage in
the memory of Mr . volta
 HANS OERSTED
• In 1819 he derived the principle of
electromagnetism.

• He proved that magnetic flux is

produced when current pass through a
conductor.

• But the flux is a invisible one ,it can be

understood by magnetic compass .
 ANDRE AMPERE
 He is a france scientist .

 He invented the current is

made by the flow of
electron(or) movement of
ectrically charged partical .

 In future the current was

measured in terms of ampere
 GEORGE OHM
• He is german scientist.

• He derived a basic law

for electric circiuts
V=IR.

• Thislaw is called as
ohms law
 MICHAEL FARADAY
• In 1831 he derived a law of

elecrtomagneticinduction(ie).when
ever the conductor cuts a
magnetic field an emf induced in
it.

• He discover the first dynamo to

generate electric power.
 JOSEPH HENRY
• He is an american
scientist.

• He discover the
inductance(L).

• It was measured in terms

of
 NIKOLA TESLA AND THOMAS
EDISON
 Nikola tesla and Edision
found the electric bulb and
induction motor.

 The bulb was found based on

the principle of joules
heating theory in 1879.

 The induction motor was

found due to the faraday’s
law of electromagntic
induction
 GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE

 To solve the problem of sending

electricity over long distances,
George Westinghouse
developed a device called a
transformer.

 This made it possible to supply

electricity to homes and
businesses located far from the
electric generating plant.
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