home · Lighting · Theories of the origin of electricity. History of the invention of electricity. The history of the invention of electricity briefly

Theories of the origin of electricity. History of the invention of electricity. The history of the invention of electricity briefly


Warning: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system"s timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier.We selected the timezone "UTC" for now, but please set date.timezone to select your timezone.in on line 56

Warning: date(): It is not safe to rely on the system"s timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier.We selected the timezone "UTC" for now, but please set date.timezone to select your timezone.in /var/www/vhosts/website/htdocs/libraries/joomla/utilities/date.php on line 198

Each of us is still school course remembers that electricity– directional movement of electrical particles under the influence electric field. Such particles can be electrons, ions, etc. Nevertheless, despite the simple formulation, many admit that they do not fully know what electricity is, what it consists of, and, in general, why all electrical engineering works.

To begin with, it is worth turning to the history of this issue. The term "electricity" first appeared in 1600 in the writings of the English naturalist William Gilbert. He studied the magnetic properties of bodies, touching upon the magnetic poles of our planet in his writings, and described several experiments with electrified bodies, which he himself conducted.

You can read about this in his work "On the magnet, magnetic bodies and the big magnet - the Earth." The main conclusion of his work was that many bodies and substances can be electrified, which is why they have magnetic properties. His research was applied in the creation of compasses and in many other areas.

But William Gilbert is by no means the first to discover such properties of bodies, he is simply the first to study them. As early as the 7th century BC, the Greek philosopher Thales noticed that amber, rubbed against wool, acquires amazing properties He starts to attract things towards him. Knowledge about electricity remained at this level for several centuries.

This situation remained until the 17th and 18th centuries. This time can be called the dawn of the science of electricity. William Gilbert was the first, after him many other scientists from all over the world dealt with this issue: Franklin, Coulomb, Galvani, Volt, Faraday, Ampere, as well as the Russian scientist Vasily Petrov, who discovered the voltaic arc in 1802.

All these scientists have done outstanding discoveries in the field of electricity, which laid the foundation for the subsequent study of this issue. Since then, electricity has ceased to be something of a mystery, but despite great achievements in this matter, there were still a lot of mysteries and ambiguities.

The most important question, as always, was: how to use all these achievements for the benefit of mankind? Because, despite significant advances in the field of studying the nature of electricity, it was still far from being put into practice. It still seemed something mysterious and unattainable.

This can be compared to how scientists around the world are now studying space and the nearest planet Mars. A lot of information has already been received, it has been established that it is possible to fly to it and even land on the surface, etc., but there is still a lot of work to actually achieve such goals.

Speaking about the nature of electricity, it is impossible not to mention its most important manifestation in nature. After all, it was there that a person encountered it for the first time, it was in nature that he began to study it and tried to understand it, and made the first attempts to tame and benefit for himself.

Of course, when we talk about the natural manifestation of electricity, lightning comes to everyone's mind. Although at first it was still not clear what they were, and their electrical nature was established only in the 18th century, when an active study of this phenomenon began in conjunction with previously acquired knowledge. By the way, according to one of the versions, it was lightning that influenced the appearance of life on Earth, because without them the synthesis of amino acids would not have begun.

There is also electricity inside the human body, without it the nervous system would not work, and a nerve impulse occurs as a result of a short-term voltage. In the oceans and seas there are many fish that use electricity for hunting and protection. For example, an electric eel can reach a voltage of up to 500 volts, while a stingray has a discharge power of about 0.5 kilowatts.

Some types of fish create around themselves light electric a field that is distorted by all objects in the water, so they can easily navigate even in very muddy water and have advantages over other fish.

So since ancient times, electricity has often been found in nature, without it the appearance of man would not have been possible, and many animals use it to find food. For the first time, a person encountered these phenomena in a natural manifestation, and this prompted him to further study.

Practical application of electricity

Over time, man continued to accumulate knowledge about it. amazing phenomenon. Electricity reluctantly revealed its secrets to him. Around the middle of the 19th century, electricity began to penetrate the life of human civilization. It was first used for lighting when the light bulb was invented. With its help, they began to transmit information over long distances: radio, television, telegraph, etc. appeared.

But special attention deserves the emergence of various mechanisms and devices that were set in motion by electricity. To this day, it is difficult to imagine the operation of any device or machine without electricity. All Appliances V modern home works only on electricity.

Achievements in the field of generating electricity were also a big breakthrough, so more and more powerful power plants, generators; storage batteries were invented.

Electricity has helped to make many other discoveries, it helps in science and in the study of new issues. Some technologies work on the basis of electrical properties, they are used in medicine, industry and, of course, in everyday life.

So what is electricity?

No matter how strange it may sound, but the widespread use of electricity does not make it any more understandable. Everyone knows the basic principles of work, safety precautions and everything. Some people admit that they have no idea what electricity is at all, others do not know why it works this way and not otherwise, others do not understand the difference between voltage, power and resistance, and similar examples a bunch of.

The easiest way to understand the nature of electricity is at the molecular level. All substances are made up of molecules, all molecules are made up of atoms, and every atom is made up of a nucleus around which electrons revolve.

Electrons are the "carriers" of electricity, and electric current is a continuous movement a large number such electrons.

Electrical engineering has achieved great success during its development, however, the study of its nature still requires great effort, because many problems still remain unresolved or the solutions that have been found are not as effective as they could be. At the heart of everything is the transformation of forces. electrical energy today can be easily converted into light, using it for lighting, you can use it to move various mechanisms And so on.

Another feature and main advantage of electrical energy over other types of energy is its prevalence, unlimitedness in space. Electricity continuously accompanies a person in all spheres of his life, is considered an example of evolution and outlook on the future, and the process of technological development is continuously connected with the development of science and new achievements.

This expands the capabilities of a person, improves his tools and guarantees him constant development and movement forward into the future, and many tasks eventually cease to seem impossible.


Warning: strftime(): It is not safe to rely on the system"s timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier.We selected the timezone "UTC" for now, but please set date.timezone to select your timezone.in /var/www/vhosts/website/htdocs/libraries/joomla/utilities/date.php on line 250

The discovery of electricity completely changed human life. This physical phenomenon 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" in translation. 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 items.

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

IN ancient time a few more timid steps were taken on the way to 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, 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 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 became the first electric 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 amount electric 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:

  1. The designation of electrical states known today is (-) and (+).
  2. Franklin proved the electrical nature of lightning.
  3. He was able to come up with and present in 1752 a lightning rod project.
  4. He owns the idea 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 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 discovered a law that reflected 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 Motion. In it, he recorded the presence of electrical impulses in muscle tissues 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 pillar" became the prototype of galvanic cells, in which chemical energy converted to electricity.

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 sparked a rapid development and subsequent growth 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, which can be classified as an electrical amplifier magnetic field. 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. First of possible ways application 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.

The emergence of electricity in Russia

It will be interesting to find out in what year electricity appeared in Russia. Lighting first appeared in 1879 in St. Petersburg. Then the lanterns were installed on the Liteiny Bridge. Then, in 1883, the first power station began operating near the Police (People's) Bridge.

Lighting first appeared in Moscow in 1881. The first city power plant was launched in Moscow in 1888.

July 4, 1886 is considered the foundation day of the energy systems of Russia, when Alexander III signed the charter of the Electric Lighting Society of 1886. It was founded by Karl Friedrich Siemens, who was the brother of the organizer of the world famous Siemens concern.

It is impossible to say exactly when electricity appeared in the world. Too many events scattered over time that are equally important. Therefore, there can be many answers, and all of them will be correct.

There is an invisible force that flows inside biological objects and inanimate environments. This force is called electricity. What is electricity? This is the energy created by the movement and interaction of charged particles. The term "electricity" comes from the Greek word "electron", which translates as "amber". The ancient Greeks discovered that rubbing this stone produced a small static charge. But people learned to create an electric current for their needs only in early XIX century.

What is electricity and where does it come from

All inanimate objects around us, people and even the air are made up of atoms. An atom is a nucleus around which electrons revolve. This is a negatively charged particle that is attracted to the nucleus, but does not connect with it, as it is in constant motion. Electrons neutralize positively charged particles called protons. Therefore, the atom as a whole is electrically neutral.

It is possible by directed movement of electrons to another atom. Such movement is created using the magnetic field of the generator, friction or chemical reaction in the battery. The process is based on the property of attraction of like-charged particles and repulsion of oppositely charged ones.

As a result of the purposeful movement of charged particles under the influence of an electric field, a current arises. Electricity can be freely transmitted through certain materials called conductors. For example, copper and other metals, water. Materials that cannot conduct current are called insulators. Good insulators are wood, plastic, ebonite.

Static electricity

Static electricity is formed as a result of an imbalance of protons and electrons within an atom, usually as a result of friction. Another reason for the occurrence of this phenomenon is the contact of two dielectrics, between which a potential difference arises.

In everyday life, a person almost every day encounters static electricity. For example, synthetic clothing when worn and rubbed against the body, it accumulates a small charge and when undressing, you can hear a slight crackle and see sparks. A similar phenomenon occurs when combing hair with a plastic comb. Sources of static electricity in the apartment are household electrical appliances, computers, office equipment. In the process, they electrify the smallest dust particles that settle on the floor, furniture, clothes and human skin, and also enter the respiratory tract.

Static electricity adversely affects human health. With prolonged exposure to a static charge, it can cause disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous and cardiovascular systems, loss of sleep and appetite, irritability, and headaches.

by the most a prime example The manifestation of static electricity in nature is lightning. A powerful electric discharge is formed as a result of the accumulation of electrons in the lower layers of the atmosphere.

Production and use of electricity

The volume of electricity consumption is increasing every year. It is necessary for heating, lighting rooms, provides work industrial enterprises. All Appliances, without which human life is unthinkable, also work on electricity.

The overwhelming amount of electricity for industrial and household needs It is produced in power plants that generate electricity using generators and transmit it over long distances through power lines. Depending on the source of energy, power plants are of three types:

  • nuclear - radioactive materials (uranium and plutonium) are used as fuel;
  • thermal - run on gas, diesel fuel or coal;
  • hydroelectric power plants - generator turbines are rotated by a stream of water.

As alternative sources of electricity are used wind turbines, gas generators, solar batteries.

Electricity is a stream of particles moving in a certain direction. They have some charge. In another way, electricity is the energy that is obtained when moving, as well as the lighting that appears after receiving energy. The term was coined by William Gilbert in 1600. When conducting experiments with amber, the ancient Greek Thales discovered that a charge was acquired by the mineral. "Amber" in Greek means "electron". That's where the name came from.

Electricity is...

Thanks to electricity, around current conductors or bodies with a charge, a electric field. Through it, it becomes possible to influence other bodies, which also have a certain charge.

Everyone knows that charges are positive and negative. Of course, this is a conditional division, but according to the current history, they continue to be designated as such.

If the bodies are charged the same way, they will repel, and if they are different, they will attract.

The essence of electricity is not only the creation of an electric field. There is also a magnetic field. Therefore, there is a relationship between them.

More than a century later, in 1729, Stephen Gray established that there are bodies that have very high resistance. They are able to conduct

At present, thermodynamics is most concerned with electricity. But the quantum properties of electromagnetism are studied by quantum thermodynamics.

Story

Can hardly be called specific person who discovered the phenomenon. After all, to this day, research continues, new properties are revealed. But in the science that we are taught at school, several names are called.

It is believed that the first who became interested in electricity was living in Ancient Greece. It was he who rubbed the amber on the wool and watched how the bodies began to be attracted.

Aristotle then studied eels, which struck enemies, as they later understood, with electricity.

Pliny later wrote about the electrical properties of resin.

Row interesting discoveries assigned to the doctor of the English queen, William Gilbert.

In the middle of the seventeenth century, after the term "electricity" became known, the burgomaster Otto von Guericke invented the electrostatic machine.

In the eighteenth century, Franklin created a whole theory of the phenomenon, saying that electricity is a fluid or immaterial liquid.

In addition to the people mentioned, such famous names are associated with this issue, such as:

  • Pendant;
  • Galvani;
  • Volt;
  • Faraday;
  • Maxwell;
  • Ampere;
  • Lodygin;
  • Edison;
  • Hertz;
  • Thomson;
  • Claude.

Despite their undeniable contribution, Nikola Tesla is rightfully recognized as the most powerful of the scientists in the world.

Nikola Tesla

The scientist was born into a Serbian family Orthodox priest in what is now Croatia. At the age of six, the boy discovered a miraculous phenomenon when playing with a black cat: her back suddenly lit up with a strip blue color, which was accompanied by sparks when touched. So the boy first learned what "electricity" is. This determined his whole future life.

The scientist owns inventions and scientific work O:

  • alternating current;
  • air;
  • resonance;
  • field theory;
  • radio and much more.

Many associate the event, which was named with the name of Nikola Tesla, believing that the huge explosion in Siberia was not caused by the fall cosmic body, but by the experience carried out by the scientist.

natural electricity

At one time in scientific circles there was an opinion that electricity does not exist in nature. But this version was refuted when Franklin established the electrical nature of lightning.

It was thanks to her that amino acids began to be synthesized, which means that life appeared. It has been established that movements, breathing and other processes occurring in the body arise from a nerve impulse, which is of an electrical nature.

Well-known fish - electric rays - and some other species are protected in this way, on the one hand, and hit the victim, on the other.

Application

Electricity is connected through the operation of generators. Power plants create energy that is transmitted through special lines. Current is generated by converting internal or electrical. Stations that produce it, where electricity is connected or disconnected, are various kinds. Among them are:

  • wind;
  • solar;
  • tidal;
  • hydroelectric power plants;
  • thermal atomic and others.

Connecting electricity today occurs almost everywhere. Imagine life without him modern man can not. With the help of electricity, lighting is produced, information is transmitted by telephone, radio, television ... Due to it, transport such as trams, trolleybuses, electric trains, metro trains functions. Electric vehicles are appearing and making themselves known more and more boldly.

If there is a power outage in the house, then a person often becomes helpless in various matters, since even household appliances work with the help of this energy.

Unsolved mysteries of Tesla

The properties of the phenomenon have been studied since ancient times. Mankind has learned how to conduct electricity using various sources. It made their life much easier. Nevertheless, in the future, people still have many discoveries related to electricity.

Some of them may have even been made famous by Nikola Tesla, but then were classified or destroyed by himself. Biographers claim that at the end of his life, the scientist himself burned most of the records, realizing that humanity was not ready for them and could harm itself by using his discoveries as the most powerful weapon.

But according to another version, it is believed that some of the records were seized by US intelligence agencies. History knows the US Navy destroyer Eldridge, which not only had the ability to be invisible to radar, but also moved instantly in space. There is evidence of an experiment, after which part of the crew then died, another part disappeared, and the survivors went crazy.

One way or another, it is clear that all the secrets of electricity have not yet been revealed. This means that humanity is not yet morally ready for this.

It is difficult to find a person who would not be 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 certain bodies. Therefore, the question: "Who discovered electricity?" - not so easy to answer. In nature, it manifests itself in what is due various charges upper and lower layers of the planet's atmosphere.

It is an important part of human and animal life, because work nervous system carried out by 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 back in Ancient China and India. However, there is no confirmation of this. It is more reliable to assume that the ancient Greek scientist Thales discovered.

He was a famous mathematician and philosopher, lived in the city of Miletus, around the 6th-5th 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. None practical application such a phenomenon was not found, and it was left without attention.

In the Englishman William Gilbert publishes a work on magnetic bodies, which provides facts about related and electricity, and also provides evidence that, in addition to amber, other minerals can be electrified, for example, opal, amethyst, diamond, 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 electrified bodies can not only attract, but also repel. The studies of the burgomaster formed the basis of electrostatics.

This was 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 Dufay discovers the presence of two types of charge - from glass and from resins.

In 1745, Pieter van Muschenbroek and Jurgen 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

IN late XVIII century electricity becomes a serious object of research. Now Special attention is given 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 galvanic cell- volt pole. This was the first source direct current. Thus, Volta is a scientist who rediscovered electricity, because his invention served as the beginning for the practical and multifunctional use of electricity.

In 1802 Vasily Petrov opened it. 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 relationship 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, research on electricity was also carried out by electromagnetic phenomena), Curie (discovered piezoelectricity), Thomson (discovered the electron) and many others.

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, Ampere have definitely contributed to our lives today.