Benjamin Franklin
This is a Studio member-only feature!
Join our Studio membership and save your favourite Painters Online content, from gallery artwork to step-by-step guides, to your own online mood boards. Create your go-to place for inspiration and learning. Plus, members can also enjoy a range of exciting features including monthly art videos and a digital magazine library.
If you are already a Studio member, simply login to your account.
Not a Studio member? Why not try our free 30-day trial - no commitment, no credit card required
BORN TO BE REMEMBER AFTER 300+ YEARS ... BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ... GLASS MARKING PENCIL ON PAPER... 8 INCH 810 INCH ...2014 ... Have you ever watched lightning during a storm? Have you ever wondered about its power? Have you ever wanted to know more about it? Ben Franklin did. Actually, Ben's interest in electricity was not just limited to lightning. He received an electricity tube from his friend Peter Collinson and began to play around with it, performing experiments. However, it is Ben's interest in lightning that we best remember. Ben suspected that lightning was an electrical current in nature, and he wanted to see if he was right. One way to test his idea would be to see if the lightning would pass through metal. He decided to use a metal key and looked around for a way to get the key up near the lightning. As you probably already know, he used a child's toy, a kite, to prove that lightning is really a stream of electrified air, known today as plasma. His famous stormy kite flight in June of 1752 led him to develop many of the terms that we still use today when we talk about electricity: battery, conductor, condenser, charge, discharge, uncharged, negative, minus, plus, electric shock, and electrician. Ben understood that lightning was very powerful, and he also knew that it was dangerous. That's why he also figured out a way to protect people, buildings, and ships from it, the lightning rod. Benjamin Franklin FRS (January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705][Note 1] – April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and in many ways was "the First American". A world-renowned polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the
More by Pratim Das
Comments
Login or register to add a comment
No comments