Have you ever wondered who made it possible for us to flip a switch and light up a room?
We can thank a brilliant English scientist named Michael Faraday, born on September 22, 1791. He’s one of the main reasons we understand electricity today — so much so that people often call him “The Father of Electricity!”
Today, we’re celebrating his life, contributions, and how his discoveries helped bring about the cheap energy plans we use to power our modern homes.
Who was Michael Faraday?
Michael Faraday began working at a young age to support his family. He worked as a bookbinder’s apprentice, which gave him the chance to read many books about science, including the “electricity” entry in Encyclopedia Brittanica. His curious mind and love of learning would later aid his scientific discoveries.
What were Faraday’s most significant contributions to science?
In his lifetime, Michael Faraday contributed many laws, theories, and discoveries to the scientific community.
Faraday worked under a renowned chemist, Sir Humphry Davy, as a laboratory assistant and learned chemistry at the elbow of one of the greatest practitioners of the day. It has been said that Faraday was Davy’s greatest discovery. In addition to other chemistry-related achievements, he isolated an oily residue from gas lamps, later termed benzene.
Electric motor and electrical generator
He then moved on to electricity and electrochemistry. In 1821, he used a permanent magnet and an electric current to produce mechanical motion — a precursor of the electric motor. In 1831, he invented the world’s first electrical generator by converting magnetic force into electric force.
Two laws of electrochemistry
While proving that electricities produced by various means are identical, he also discovered the two laws of electrochemistry, which describe the relationship between electricity and chemical changes:
- “The amount of a substance deposited on each electrode of an electrolytic cell is directly proportional to the quantity of electricity passed through the cell.”
- “The quantities of different elements deposited by a given amount of electricity are in the ratio of their chemical equivalent weights.”
The relationship between electricity and magnetism
Building on Michael Faraday’s previous studies and ideas, Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell was able to demonstrate that the electric and magnetic fields could be unified into one field and that the energy of the electromagnetic field propagated through empty space as waves.
What impact did Michael Faraday have on electricity?
Without Faraday’s scientific experiments and discoveries, we might not have electric power as we know it today. Most electricity made today uses the same principles he used to create the first electric generator. That makes it possible for people to power their homes with convenient, cheap energy plans.
Find cheap electricity plans for your home
We can power our homes affordably thanks in part to “The Father of Electricity,” Michael Faraday. If you’re looking for a cheaper electricity plan, visit our search page to find the right plan for your family and budget.