Makers of ElectricityWalsh, James J. (James Joseph)
History
Makers of Electricity
Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
Electricity -- Biography
For the sake of encouraging others as well, perhaps, as through a sense
of personal relief, Franklin had a number of long tubes of large bore
blown at the local glass-house, which tubes he distributed to his
friends that they, too, might engage in research work. In this way,
rubbing and rubbing of an energetic kind became quite an occupation in
the Franklin circle. Kinnersley, whose name still survives in works on
static electricity in connection with an electric "thermometer" which he
devised, was among the band of ardent workers who ungrudgingly
acknowledged Franklin's superior acumen, comprehensive grasp of detail
and wondrous insight into the mechanism of the new phenomena. If we say
that Franklin was not a genius, it is only for the purpose of adding
that even in those early electrical studies he displayed an uncommon
amount of the unlimited capacity for taking pains which is said to be
associated with that brilliant gift. He tested all his results with
great care and in a variety of ways before accepting any of them as
final; and considered his explanations of them provisional, being ever
ready to modify them or give them up altogether if shown to conflict
with the simple workings of nature.
As early as 1733, the refined and tactful Dufay, in France, showed by
numerous experiments on woods, stones, books, oranges and metals that
all solid bodies were susceptible of electrification. This was a notable
advance which swept away Gilbert's classification of bodies into
electrics and non-electrics. The French physicist soon drew from his
observations the conclusion that electrification produced by friction is
of two kinds, to which he applied the terms vitreous and resinous, the
former being developed when glass is rubbed with silk and the latter
when amber or common sealing-wax is rubbed with flannel. He noticed,
too, that silk strings repelled each other when both were touched either
with excited glass or sealing-wax; but that they attracted each other
when touched one with glass and the other with sealing-wax. From these
observations, he deduced the electrostatic laws, that similarly
electrified bodies attract while dissimilarly electrified bodies repel
each other.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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