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Period: 600 BCE to
Development of Electricity Timeline
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Oct 9, 600
Static Electricity Was First Discovered (600 BC)
In approximately 600 BC, Thales, a Greek philosopher, had rubbed silk with amber which then attracted materials such as feathers and other related objects. In this instance, he had discovered the force of static electricity. -
William Gilbert Defines Electricity
William Gilbert, an Englishman, scientist and physicist to Queen Elizabeth I, defined and invented the term electricity. He also was the first to describe the Earth's magnetic field and to realize the relationship between magnetism and electricity, which is that magnetic fields creates an electric current -
Francis Hauksbee invented Neon Light
Francis Hauksbee put some mercury into a glass globe, pumped air out if it and then spun it. He did not realize it, but once he placed the translucent glass globe in the dark, it glowed. -
Franklin Proved That Lightening Is A Form Of Electricity
Benjamin Franklin, an United States politician, flew a kite with a metal tip into a thunderstorm as an experiment to prove that lightning is a form of electricity. Theoretically, the lightning strike would not occur because when a charged thundercloud moves, charges of the opposite sign will be induced in the ground below, particularly in taller objects. The charge concentration on the end of the lightning rod can become so intense that the air molecules would become ionized; cancel the strike. -
Luigi Galvani Discovers Electricity In A Different Form
Luigi Galvani tied a pair of frog legs to a tin plate. When he touched the legs with a steel knife, he observed the legs twitched violently. This happened because the moisture from the frog came in between the tin plate and the steel knife. This creates electricity, which then came into contact with the frog. The electricity flowed through the water remaining in the frog, which created a current. -
Sir Humphry Davy Discovered Electrolysis
Sir Humphry Davy passed through an electric current, in which he recognized that some substances decomposed. He later found out that this process is called electrolysis. This process was used later to discover elements such as magnesium, calcium, strontium and barium. -
Michael Faraday Demonstrates Electrical Induction
Michael Faraday conducts an experiments in which a magnet passes through a coil of wire. he theorized that when the magnet passes through, it will change the magnetic field and generate a voltage. -
The First Telegraph Machine
Two famous scientists, Charles Wheatstone and William Fothergill, had created the first telegraph machine which was uses electrical signals which usually conveyed telecommunication lines. -
Thomas Edison Built the First Electric Generator
Thomas Edison, another famous scientist, built the first DC electric generator for America. He eventually provided New York City with electricity. -
Alexander Graham Bell Created The First Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell created the first telephone by using electricity and other metals to manipulate magnetic fields into generating certain frequency's to transmit speech. -
Joseph Swan Invents and Discovers the Light Bulb
Joseph Swan events the first electric light in an incandescent light bulb. He uses filament material, so that when a current passes through, the resistance accumulates and creates heat, which then sparks light. -
Heinrich Hertz Produced and Detected Radio Waves
Hertz put together his spark gap transmitter, which he hoped would transmit electromagnetic waves. He applied high voltage across the spark gap. This had caused violent pulses of electric current within the copper wires leading out to the zinc spheres. This is had caused oscillating electric charges. He fulfilled Maxwell's theory in which that oscillating electric charges produce electromagnetic waves. -
Nikola Tesla Hydroelectric Power Generators
Nikola Tesla operates his hydroelectric power generators in Niagara Falls. His generators started to develop and provide electricity for New York City to supply conglomerates such as subways, elevated railways and street lights. -
Electrical Household Appliances Are Introduced
Appliances such as radios, vacuum cleaners, irons, washing machines and fridges were introduced to homes.
