The rise of electricity

Published in Element Prime November issue

http://issuu.com/elementprime/docs/element_prime_-_november_2011/11

http://issuu.com/elementprime/docs/element_prime_-_november_2011/13

Comment by the Chairman, IEEEP, Tahir Saleem, Karachi Centre:

A very good article ,I appreciate your efforts.

The rise of electricity

By Noor-ul-Ain Hanif

From the doorbell that milk man, sweeper, car cleaner and vegetable seller press every morning to the heavy food items we store in our refrigerators, from the remote button that we press to turn off A/C to the other buttons , we press to turn on lights and fans, everything is the fruitful work of others. However, the main back bone to power every necessity is electricity which itself is the hard work and research of different scientist. Our elders use to say that we have opened eyes in a period in which everything works with a single click: single click of mouse on the computer screen can connects you with the whole world, single click on camera can capture the event and make it part of your sweet memories, with a single click you can talk to another person via cell phones. It’s not wrong if we say everything is on our finger tips.

The most initial need of a human being is bread, cloth and shelter, when they are fulfilled a human looks for further needs that are lights to enlighten house, fans to feel the cool air, television and radio to get entertained, computers to do work, cell phones to talk etc. All the equipments are powered by electricity.

Talking about electricity is like sprinkling salt on fresh wounds. Here, the purpose is not to hurt you but to inform you. Nowadays phrases like “no electricity” or “alas! Electricity failure”, are present on everyone’s tongue but no one really knows from when and where the electricity come from? Who are the inventers of electricity? No doubt the fruits that we are using in our modern life are the great effort and research work of the researchers of different centuries. At every century, scientist added their efforts and forward it to the new generation and this process of forwarding is still following in the modern age. There is a misconception that electricity is invented by Benjamin Franklin or Edison which is not true. This misconception is due the story of Ben's famous kite flight, although he made significant discoveries and advancements, but Ben did not invent electricity. However, he invented the lightning rod which protected buildings and ships from lightning damage. On the other hand Edison invented the electric bulb.

The most frequently revised term electricity is the flow of electrons between the clouds and ground which is also known as lighting that is usually visible during storms. It’s the first evidence of the presence of electricity. Historical records show that static electricity was already known to the ancient Greeks. In 16^th century, the Greek scientist Thales of Miletus discovered that rubbing a fur would make a couple of objects attract one another. This research was further expanded by the Italian physicist, Girolamo Cardano, who involve electrical and magnetic forces in his work. After which one of his associate, William Gilbert, further elaborates his theories.

Between 17^th to 19^th centuries, when the first capacitor was invented, it was finally determined that static electricity could be transformed into an electric current. This was the time when Benjamin Franklin performed his famous thunderstorm kite flight experiment that discovery the link between lightning and electricity. The work of Franklin and his contemporaries gave rise to some of the biggest names in the electrical field. These personalities included the names:

 Michael Faraday, Andre Ampere, Georg Simon Ohm, Luigi Galvani, and Alessandro Volta; all of you are familiar of their sir name as they are the measurement units of electricity.

Once the basic formula was out, different companies started working in order to make life easier through electricity. This work was done in early 19^th century. There were two famous personalities; Werner von Siemens and John Pender, who established the first companies whose main purpose was to examine electricity and its potential to make life easier for humanity.

Following the formula, great minds came out with great innovations. It include scientist like Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Samuel Morse, Antonio Meucci, George Westinghouse, and Alexander Graham Bell who worked to create some of the most incredible inventions that only runs through electricity. These inventions included the induction motor, the light bulb and a method of distributing electrical energy, the long range telegraph, the telephone, the first electrically powered locomotive, and the founding of the widely successful telephone industry.

The history of electricity is a fine example of how the works of many could be combined into one. Although they never worked together, their efforts are serving human beings. Let’s put personal grudge and discriminations aside and work and think for the betterment humanity as the great scientist did.