Michael Faraday Essay -- biographies biography bio

Michael Faraday could be labeled the "underdog of modern science". The son of a poor blacksmith, Faraday was no stranger to hard work, which was perhaps the exact opposite of many of his contemporaries, who came from wealthy backgrounds and studied science as a sort of extracurricular activity. Although Faraday was unsuccessful when it came to money, he was very successful in the field of science, namely electric science. One of his most important discoveries is that of electro-magnetic induction. It was this experiment, and others of the like, that brought about the discoveries of Maxwell, Rutherford, and Einstein, and elevated Faraday from the son of a poor blacksmith, to a great man of modern science. A Book Binder Michael Faraday was born in the year 1791 in Newington, Surrey England. His parents were poor, and in 1796 his father moved the family to London in search of better work as a blacksmith. His father was a sickly man, and because of this Michael found work at the age of 13 as an errand boy for a local bookbinder. Mr. Riebau, the owner of the bookbinding shop, hired the boy to deliver books and newsletters to his patrons. During breaks, Riebau encouraged Michael to read books and to study. As Faraday grew older, he began attending local lectures held by John Tatum. At the lectures he took shorthand notes, and later rewrote the notes in more depth. While attending Tatum's lectures, Faraday became increasingly interested in chemistry as well as electricity. It was through these lectures that Faraday learned most of what he knew about electricity, galvanism, hydrostatics, optics and geology (Williams). In 1813, at the age of 21, Faraday became a lab assistant at the Royal Institute in Londo... ...was attached to the disk as well as the galvanometer. As the crank was rotated, Faraday noticed that the needle on the galvanometer moved. Moreover, the needle remained in that condition when the crank was rotated at a constant speed. This device Faraday named the Electric Dynamo (Williams). Works Cited Agassi, Joseph. Faraday as a Natural Philospher. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1971. Hart, Ivor B. â€Å"Electrical Science.† The Great Physicists. Freeport, NY: Books For Libraries Press, 1970. Hecht, Eugene. Physics: Algebra / Trig. Pacific Grove, CA: Thomson Learning, 2003. Segre, Kaplan, Schiff and Teller. Great Men of Physics: The Humanistic Element in Scientific Work. Los Angeles, CA: Tinnon-Brown, Inc., Book Publishers, 1969. Williams, L. Pearce. Michael Faraday. New York, NY: Basic Books, Inc., Second Printing.