Michael Faraday has played a vital in developing laws of electromagnetic induction, which are used in electric generators and transformers. For this reason, he is also called the father of electricity because today all generators in power stations work on his discovered principles.
Early Life
Michael Faraday belonged to a poor family and was born in the year 1791 in London. His father, James, had a workshop where he worked as a blacksmith. He got his early education from a school which he joined at the age of 13 years. Faraday also has to work as a part-time delivery boy for earning money and to support his family. He was very hardworking and became a bookbinder in the same shop.
Michael Faraday was also very interested in reading books in the shop where he worked. By reading books on various subjects, he also read some books on science. His interest in science increased gradually and then he read mostly science books. He also became interested in doing the experiments from the science books. For this, he spent a part of his income for purchasing chemicals and equipment for experiments.
Faraday’s interest in science took another step forward when a person came to his shop and offered him a ticket of Royal Institution. The ticket was for attending a lecture of the great scientist at that time, Sir Humphry Davy. Faraday joined the lecture and wrote the notes of 300 pages from experiments that Sir Humphry Davy performed. He then sent a copy of his notes to Sir Humphry Davy as a gift which later became a cause for his employment under Sir Humphry Davy. He became the laboratory assistant of Sir Humphry Davy and got the opportunity to work on advanced experiments. In the Royal Institution, he had discovered many things and after many years he finally became a professor.
Discoveries and Contributions
Michael Faraday has discovered many laws and physical phenomena. Some of his famous discoveries and contributions are:
- Electromagnetic Rotation – When Faraday found that a physicist, Hans Christian Oersted, has discovered that when an electrical current passes near a compass, it changes the direction of the compass from actual north. Faraday began to work on that phenomenon and made a device which rotated like a motor when electrical current passed through the wires.
- Benzene – Benzene is an organic substance, also called aromatic compound, which was discovered by Michael Faraday.
- Electromagnetic Induction – It is one of the most important discoveries in the history of science. Electromagnetic induction is a phenomenon that occurs when changing magnetic field causes the production of electrical current in the nearby conductors. The law of electromagnetic induction is very important in developing electrical generators and electrical transformers.
- Laws of Electrolysis – Electrolysis is process in which chemicals dissolved in a liquid breaks down when an electric current is passed through the liquid with the help of electrodes. Faraday’s laws of electrolysis are important in defining the reaction happening at the electrodes.
Facts
- Michael Faraday never got a formal education on science, but he learned science by reading books and doing experiments.
- The first electric generator that produced electricity with the help of magnets was made by Michael Faraday.
- The Bank of England released a £20 bill with Faraday’s picture to give the honor in 1991.
