Тема 4 Great scientists in the field of electricity
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday, who came from a very poor family, became one of the greatest scientists in history. His achievement was remarkable in a time when science was the preserve of people born into privileged families. The unit of electrical capacitance is named the farad in his honor, with the symbol F.
Education and Early Life
Michael Faraday was born on September 22, 1791 in London, England, UK. He was the third child of James and Margaret Faraday. His father was a blacksmith and the family lived in a degree of poverty.
Michael Faraday attended a local school until he was 13, where he received a basic education. To earn money for the family he started working as a delivery boy for a bookshop. He worked hard and impressed his employer. After a year, he was promoted to become an apprentice bookbinder.
Bookbinding and Discovering Science
Michael Faraday was eager to learn more about the world; he did not restrict himself to binding the shop’s books. After working hard each day, he spent his free time reading the books he had bound.
Gradually, he found he was reading more and more about science. Two books in particular captivated him:
Introduction to Humphry Davy and More Science
Faraday’s education took another step upward when William Dance, a customer of the bookshop, asked if he would like tickets to hear Sir Humphry Davy lecturing at the Royal Institution. Sir Humphry Davy was one of the most famous scientists in the world. Faraday jumped at the chance and attended four lectures about one of the newest problems in chemistry – defining acidity. He watched Davy perform experiments at the lectures. He took notes and then made so many additions to the notes that he produced a 300 page handwritten book, which he bound and sent to Davy as a tribute. In October 1812 Faraday’s apprenticeship ended, and he began work as a bookbinder with a new employer, whom he found unpleasant.
Others’ Misfortunes Help Faraday
And then there was a fortunate (for Faraday) accident. Sir Humphry Davy was hurt in an explosion when an experiment went wrong: this temporarily affected his ability to write. Faraday managed to get work for a few days taking notes for Davy, who had been impressed by the book Faraday had sent him. When his short time as Davy’s note-taker ended, Faraday sent a note to Davy, asking if he might be employed as his assistant. Soon after this, one of Davy’s laboratory assistants was fired for misconduct, and Davy sent a message to Faraday asking him if he would like the job of chemical assistant.
Michael Faraday’s Career at the Royal Institution
Faraday began work at the Royal Institution of Great Britain at the age of 21 on March 1, 1813.His salary was good, and he was given a room in the Royal Institution’s attic to live in. He was very happy with the way things had turned out. He was destined to be associated with the Royal Institution for 54 years, ending up as a Professor of Chemistry.
Faraday’s job as a chemical assistant was to prepare apparatus for the experiments and the lectures at the Royal Institution.
At first, this involved working with nitrogen trichloride, the explosive which had already injured Davy. Faraday himself was knocked unconscious briefly by another nitrogen chloride explosion, and then Davy was injured again, finally (thankfully) putting to an end to work with that particular substance.
During travelling over Europe , Faraday met great scientists such as André-Marie Ampère in Paris and Alessandro Volta in Milan. In some ways, the tour acted like a university education, and Faraday learned a lot from it. Back in London, The Royal Institution renewed Faraday’s contract and increased his salary. Davy even began to acknowledge him in academic papers:
In 1816, aged 24, Faraday gave his first ever lecture, on the properties of matter, to the City Philosophical Society. And he published his first ever academic paper, discussing his analysis of calcium hydroxide, in the Quarterly Journal of Science. In 1821, aged 29, he was promoted to be Superintendent of House and Laboratory of the Royal Institution. In 1824, aged 32, he was elected to the Royal Society. This was recognition that he had become a notable scientist in his own right. In 1825, aged 33, he became Director of the Royal Institution’s Laboratory. In 1848, aged 54, and again in 1858 he was offered the Presidency of the Royal Society, but he turned it down.
Michael Faraday’s Scientific Achievements and Discoveries
It is not an accident that Albert Einstein used to keep photos of three scientists in his office: Isaac Newton, James Clerk Maxwell and Michael Faraday. He was a man devoted to discovery through experimentation, and he was famous for never giving up on ideas which came from his scientific intuition.
1821: Discovery of Electromagnetic Rotation
This is a glimpse of what would eventually develop into the electric motor, based on Hans Christian Oersted’s discovery that a wire carrying electric current has magnetic properties.
1825: Discovery of Benzene
Historically, benzene is one of the most important substances in chemistry, both in a practical sense – i.e. making new materials; and in a theoretical sense – i.e. understanding chemical bonding. Michael Faraday discovered benzene in the oily residue left behind from producing gas for lighting in London.
1831: Discovery of Electromagnetic Induction
This was an enormously important discovery for the future of both science and technology. Faraday discovered that a varying magnetic field causes electricity to flow in an electric circuit. For example, moving a horseshoe magnet over a wire produces an electric current, because the movement of the magnet causes a varying magnetic field. Previously, people had only been able to produce electric current with a battery. Now Faraday had shown that movement could be turned into electricity – or in more scientific language, kinetic energy could be converted to electrical energy.
Most of the power in our homes today is produced using this principle. Rotation (kinetic energy) is converted into electricity using electromagnetic induction. The rotation can be produced by high pressure steam from coal, gas, or nuclear energy turning turbines; or by hydroelectric plants; or by wind-turbines, for example.
1836: Invention of the Faraday Cage
Faraday discovered that when an electrical conductor becomes charged, all of the extra charge sits on the outside of the conductor. This means that the extra charge does not appear on the inside of a room or cage made of metal. The Faraday Suit –has a metallic lining – keeping a man safe from the electricity outside his suit.
In addition to offering protection for people, sensitive electrical or electrochemical experiments can be placed inside a Faraday Cage to prevent interference from external electrical activity. Faraday cages can also create dead zones for mobile communications.
Michael Faraday died in London, aged 75, on August 25, 1867. During his life, he had been offered burial in Westminster Abbey along with Britain’s kings and queens and scientists of the stature of Isaac Newton. But the grave, where Sarah is also buried, can still be seen in London’s Highgate Cemetery.
Complete the table:
| Date or period | Event in Faraday’s life |
| 1791 |
|
| 1812 |
|
| 1816 |
|
| 1824 |
|
| 1825 |
|
| 1831 |
|
| 1836 |
|
| 1848 |
|
Match to each other:
Это было признание того, что он стал известным ученым.
Фарадей проучился в школе только до 13 лет.
Это было чрезвычайно важное открытие для будущего науки и техники.
Кинетическая энергия преобразуется в электричество с использованием электромагнитной индукции.
Раньше люди могли производить электрический ток с помощью батареи.
Костюм Фарадея - имеет металлическую подкладку - предохраняя человека от электричества вне его костюма.
В каком-то смысле тур действовал как университетское образование, и Фарадей многому научился.
Теперь Фарадей показал, что кинетическая энергия может быть преобразована в электрическую энергию.
Translate the passages:
As he learned more about science, he heard that the well-known scientist John Tatum was going to give a series of public lectures on physics. To attend the lectures the fee would be one shilling – too much for Michael Faraday. His older brother, a blacksmith, impressed by his brother’s growing devotion to science, gave him the shilling he needed.
He was, however, unhappy for much of the tour, because in addition to his scientific and secretarial work, he was required to be a personal servant to Davy and Davy’s wife, which he did not enjoy. Davy’s wife refused to treat Faraday as an equal, because he had come from a lower class family.
This was another vital experiment in the history of science, the first to link electromagnetism and light – a link finally described fully by James Clerk Maxwell’s equations in 1864, which established that light is an electromagnetic wave.
Faraday discovered that a magnetic field causes the plane of light polarization to rotate.
Most people are familiar with ferromagnetism – the type shown by normal magnets. Faraday discovered that all substances are diamagnetic – most are weakly so – some are strongly so. Diamagnetism opposes the direction of an applied magnetic field.
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