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Electricity Day
"🎶 When you're in the dark and you want to see
Electricity, Electricity
Well now flip that switch and what do you get?
Electricity, Electricity"
~ Schoolhouse Rock! Electricity, 1973
Electrical Engineers, Science Teachers, and Storm Chasers! Take note of this glowing filamentous and plasma-coloured tartan! Electricity Day celebrates the anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's famous experiment in 1752 when he allegedly flew a kite in a thunderstorm to demonstrate that lightning is a form of electricity.
Natural electricity has fascinated humans for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks discovered the effects of electric charge nearly 3,000 years ago when they observed that amber, or elektron, would attract feathers and straw after being rubbed with wool, giving us the word "electricity." Lightning, one of nature's most powerful displays of static electricity, has inspired awe, fear, and scientific curiosity ever since.
Although electricity itself is invisible, its effects can be surprisingly colourful. The brilliant violet and electric purple shades in this tartan reflect the colours often associated with lightning, sparks, and plasma discharges, which frequently glow blue-white or violet as they ionize the air. Deep black recalls the storm clouds and night skies through which lightning flashes, while the fne yellow-green overchecks evoke the brief, dazzling flashes of sparks and glowing filaments that electricity can produce.
As buildings grew taller, lightning became an increasing hazard, leading to the invention of the lightning rod in the eighteenth century. By the late 1700s, these devices were protecting homes, churches, and public buildings from devastating fires. Lightning rods even influenced fashion for a time, with some fashionable Parisians carrying umbrellas and top hats fitted with miniature personal lightning rods!
Lightning remains one of the most captivating phenomena on Earth. According to NASA, roughly 44 (±5) lightning strikes occur somewhere on the planet every second, amounting to well over a billion flashes each year. Whether illuminating a summer thunderstorm or powering the modern world through the flip of a switch, electricity continues to spark both wonder and discovery. 🖤 💙 💛 💜 ⚡⚡⚡
This tartan, designed by Carol Martin, represents the crackle of electricity in the colours of eletric lime, electric indigo, and electric purple against a dark void.
Michael Faraday (1791-1867) along with Nikoa Tesla and Thomas Edison are often referred to as the "Father(s) of Electricity.
Faraday in particular, never had a formal education yet became one of the most influential thinkers in history and discovered and characterized the laws of electromagnetism, invented the first electric motor, and built the first electric generator!
By 1820, other scientists had shown that an electric current produces a magnetic field, and that two electrified wires produce a force on each other. Faraday believed thought there might be a way to harness these forces in a mechanical apparatus. In 1822, he built a device using a magnet, liquid mercury, and a current-carrying wire that turned electrical energy into mechanical energy - the first electric motor.
A decade later, Faraday discovered that the movement of a wire through a stationary magnetic field can induce an electrical current in the wire - electromagnetic induction. To demonstrate, Faraday built a machine in which a copper disc rotated between the two poles of a horseshoe magnet, producing its own power. The machine, later called the Faraday disc, became the first electric generator.
Faraday's work was so groundbreaking few descriptors existed for many of his discoveries. With his fellow scientist William Whewell, Faraday coined a number of words for the forces and concepts he identified, such as electrode, anode, cathode, and ion.
For more on how animals use electricity, click the Tesla coil!