Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday FRS (/ˈfærədeɪ, -di/; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism and electrolysis. Although Faraday received little formal education, as a self-made man, he was one of the most influential scientists in history.[1] It was by his research on the magnetic field around a conductor carrying a direct current that Faraday established the concept of the electromagnetic field in physics. Faraday also established that magnetism could affect rays of light and that there was an underlying relationship between the two phenomena.[2][3] He similarly discovered the principles of electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and the laws of electrolysis. His inventions of electromagnetic rotary devices formed the foundation of electric motor technology, and it was largely due to his efforts that electricity became practical for use in technology.[4]
"Faraday" redirects here. For other uses, see Faraday (disambiguation).
Michael Faraday
22 September 1791
25 August 1867 (aged 75)
- Faraday's law of induction
- Faraday balance
- Faraday cage
- Faraday constant
- Faraday cup
- Faraday effect
- Faraday's laws of electrolysis
- Faraday's ice pail experiment
- Faraday paradox
- Faraday paradox (electrochemistry)
- Faraday rotator
- Faraday-efficiency effect
- Faraday wave
- Faraday wheel
- Adsorption refrigeration
- Colloidal gold
- Homopolar motor
- Lines of force
- Magnetic separation
- MHD converter
- Premelting
- Regelation
- Rubber Balloon
- Discovery of benzene
- Royal Medal (1835, 1846)
- Copley Medal (1832, 1838)
- Rumford Medal (1846)
- Albert Medal (1866)
As a chemist, Faraday discovered benzene, investigated the clathrate hydrate of chlorine, invented an early form of the Bunsen burner and the system of oxidation numbers, and popularised terminology such as "anode", "cathode", "electrode" and "ion". Faraday ultimately became the first and foremost Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution, a lifetime position. Faraday was an experimentalist who conveyed his ideas in clear and simple language. However, his mathematical abilities did not extend as far as trigonometry and were limited to the simplest algebra. James Clerk Maxwell took the work of Faraday and others and summarized it in a set of equations which is accepted as the basis of all modern theories of electromagnetic phenomena. On Faraday's uses of lines of force, Maxwell wrote that they show Faraday "to have been in reality a mathematician of a very high order – one from whom the mathematicians of the future may derive valuable and fertile methods."[5] The SI unit of capacitance is named in his honour: the farad.
Albert Einstein kept a picture of Faraday on his study wall, alongside pictures of Isaac Newton and James Clerk Maxwell.[6] Physicist Ernest Rutherford stated, "When we consider the magnitude and extent of his discoveries and their influence on the progress of science and of industry, there is no honour too great to pay to the memory of Faraday, one of the greatest scientific discoverers of all time."[1]
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Michael Faraday was born on 22 September 1791 in Newington Butts,[7] Surrey (which is now part of the London Borough of Southwark).[8] His family was not well off. His father, James, was a member of the Glasite sect of Christianity. James Faraday moved his wife, Margaret (née Hastwell),[9] and two children to London during the winter of 1790 from Outhgill in Westmorland, where he had been an apprentice to the village blacksmith.[10] Michael was born in the autumn of that year. The young Michael Faraday, who was the third of four children, having only the most basic school education, had to educate himself.[11]
At the age of 14 he became an apprentice to George Riebau, a local bookbinder and bookseller in Blandford Street.[12] During his seven-year apprenticeship Faraday read many books, including Isaac Watts's The Improvement of the Mind, and he enthusiastically implemented the principles and suggestions contained therein.[13] During this period, Faraday held discussions with his peers in the City Philosophical Society where he attended lectures about various scientific topics.[14] He also developed an interest in science, especially in electricity. Faraday was particularly inspired by the book Conversations on Chemistry by Jane Marcet.[15][16]
In honor and remembrance of his great scientific contributions, several institutions have created prizes and awards in his name. This include:
Portrait of young Michael Faraday, c. 1826
Michael Faraday in his laboratory, c. 1850s
Michael Faraday's study at the Royal Institution
Michael Faraday's flat at the Royal Institution
Faraday's books, with the exception of Chemical Manipulation, were collections of scientific papers or transcriptions of lectures.[101] Since his death, Faraday's diary has been published, as have several large volumes of his letters and Faraday's journal from his travels with Davy in 1813–1815.