Customer Reviews

Michael Faraday and the Electrical Century

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is not a technical book; it is a history book. The main focus is the development of electrical science, technology and even related showmanship during the 19th century. Technical details are omitted in favor of a well-balanced digression on the related historical and social issues of that period. Although many individuals clearly play important roles in this saga, Michael Faraday is the principal character around which the developments in this important field unfold. This book is very well written in an elegant style. It will be of interest to history buffs as well as those interested in the history of science.

MICHAEL FARADAY AND THE ELECTRICAL CENTURY by T.R. Mores is a tiny-sized 229 page book, only 4 1/2 inches by 6 inches. There are 14 illustrations, for example, pen-and-ink drawings of the bookbinders where Mr. Faraday worked, of Faraday's invention of a wire carrying an electric current, where the wire rotated around a magnet, and the inside of the Royal Polytechnic Institution.

The Prologue (pages 1-8) tells us that Faraday invented the electric motor, discovered that a moving magnet could cause an electric current to flow, and that Faraday was a working-class hero. Chapter 1 (pages 11-16) disclose the religion of Faraday's family (Sandemanian), where Faraday grew up (Clapham, England), and Mr. Faraday's work in a bookbindery.

Chapter 2 (pages 17-26) tells us about the scientific community in London, which included the Royal Society founded in 1662, with its president Joseph Banks, the Royal Institution, founded in 1799, the Surrey Institution, and the Russell Institution. We learn about lectures on science by Thomas Garnett and Benjamin Thompson.

Chapter 3 (pages 27-32) tells us about Faraday's early activities, e.g., attending scientific lectures by John Tatum, which cost a shilling per lecture, and that Faraday befriended Benjamin Abbot of the City Philosophical Society, and that Faraday attended lectures by Humphry Davy.

Chapter 4 (pages 35-41) provides a biography of Humphry Davy, who early on did experiments on inhaling various kinds of air, e.g., laughing gas (nitrous oxide), and later did experiments on "galvanism," named after Luigi Galvani, and that Davy invented electrolysis ("Davy used the voltaic pile to great effect in his lectures, wowing his audience with spectacular shows of shocks and sparks . . . showing how it could be used to discover new elements by ripping the existing ones apart.").

Further on in the book, we learn about Mr. Faraday's employment at the Royal Institution and his apprenticeship with Davy (page 45), the discovery of iodine (page 48), the controversy involving Faraday's discovery and Wollaston's discovery involving the rotating wire (pages 55-59), Davy's death in 1829 (p. 65), experiments involving electricity and dead people by Aldini and by Ure (pages 71-75), Andrew Crosse's experiments using electricity to grow crystals (pages 76-84), Faraday's marriage in 1821 (p. 101), William Sturgeon's invention of the electromagnet (page 136), and Faraday's discovery of electromagnetic induction in 1831 (pages 168-171).

CONCLUSION. This little book provides a wealth of information in a small space. This feat was accomplished by way of the following literary technique -- there are no imaginary conversations to be found in the book, and there are no fanciful descriptions of what Mr. Faraday had for dinner, and so on. What is especially amazing about this book, is how it skillfully integrates the work of various scientists working (at that time) in England, France, and Italy. Moreover, from time to time, the book reminds us of historic events and literary events taking place at the time, e.g., the French Revolution, and the publication of Mary Shelley's book about Frankenstein. While the book really does not provide any details on elementary electronics, the motivated adolescent reader is free to take a course in high school physics, while adult readers can take an evening course in physics or electronics at a community college.

This is a great overview of the man Michael Faraday and his times. It is never too technical and reads quite fast. I highly recommend it!