If that were true, Franklin would have been electrocuted. Many of the stories mention that the key was struck by lightning. He tied a metal key to a kite and let it fly during a thunderstorm! One June afternoon in 1752, as the skies began to darken over Philadelphia, Franklin supposedly conducted an experiment to prove that lightning is electrical in nature. When people talk about electricity, they always mention Benjamin Franklin and the iconic image of him flying a kite as lightning strikes in the background. This was the first recorded history of electricity! When rubbed with fur, they become attracted to each other. Resin is a sticky substance in which insects or plant debris can easily get entangled, and eventually trapped, as it dries out. In ancient Greece, they would rub fur on amber to observe what we now know is static electricity!Īmber is a fossilized resin from wood. Studies have shown that, even as early as 600 B.C., people were intrigued by this unknown phenomenon. He simply discovered it!Įlectricity has always existed. However, Franklin did not actually invent electricity. Many people associate the image of Franklin flying a kite with the invention of electricity. What does this have to do with electricity?.Franklin's experiments helped the evolution of the common battery we use today.Scientist Benjamin Franklin is often shown flying a kite. The sparks produced would illuminate the house. The lightning rods were attached to a system of bells that would ring throughout his house each time electricity had been attracted. The lightning rod was built to attract electricity to his house. Effects of Franklin's Experimentīased on this landmark experiment, Franklin invented the first lightning rod. Soon after, others witnessed the experiment and it was proven (The French had actually conducted similar experiments a month before). Believing the cause to be an electrical current, Franklin extended his knuckle to the key and was shocked (not seriously). Suddenly, he observed some threads of the kite string stand erect. As menacing clouds passed over head with no luck, Franklin became discouraged and was about to go home. He stood in the field with the kite in the sky for some time. He only told his 21 year-old son who had assisted him in the kite's construction. Franklin kept his experiment a secret because he feared he would be ridiculed. He was right!įranklin used his apparatus to test the idea in a Philadelphia field equipped with a shed. Franklin hypothesized that the wire would draw 'electric fire' from the thunder clouds which would then be conducted through the apparatus and be contained in the key. Along the string of the apparatus was a metal key that would apparently conduct the electricity. The apparatus was extended into the air by a length of string. Extending vertically about a foot from the vertical stick was a wire. Franklin prepared the kite by tying a handkerchief to two crossed sticks of proper length. As he thought about it in detail, he realized that his theory could be better tested by using a mobile kite, rather than a stationary spire. Although details of the experiment remain sketchy to this day, Franklin originally wanted to test his theory atop a spire that was to be built on a Philadelphia church. In 1752, he devised an experiment to test his theory. Preparing for Discoveryīen Franklin believed electricity could be harnessed from lightning. In deed, his work and experiments resulted in several important discoveries and inventions including electricity, bifocal glasses, a usable battery and many more. Benjamin Franklin was one of most innovative Americans of all time.
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