Pioneers of Power – Michael Faraday

Born in 1791 in London he received a basic formal education. As with other pioneers of the time, Faraday was a compulsive reader and devoured texts to educate himself.

At the age of 14 he became an apprentice to a local bookbinder and for seven years had access to a treasure trove of books and rang of scientific subjects.

Faraday’s big break came in 1812 whilst attending lectures at the Royal Institute that were being delivered by chemist Humphry Davy (who would invent the field of electrochemistry).

Faraday was so impressed with Davy that he wrote to him several times asking for a job as his assistant.

A year after taking the position, Faraday joined Davy on a European tour that took him to France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland. This trip allowed him to meet with many of the leading scientists of the time.

In 1815, he continued his work at the Royal Institution, assisting Davy and during this time he published his work on electromagnetic rotation (the electric motor).

During this time his duties kept him from carrying out his own research, but in 1826 he founded the Christmas Lectures and Friday Evening discourses quickly gaining a reputation as one of the best scientific orators of his time.

Perhaps his most important discovery came in 1831 when he discovered electromagnetic induction. This principle allowed electricity to become a new and powerful technology in the form of transformers and generators.

He continued to work on his theories and ideas regarding electricity for the remainder of the 1830s and during that time he created and developed many of the terms used today.

At the end of the 1830s, Faraday suffered a nervous breakdown that took him off his work for some time. However, during the 1840s he invented the ‘Faraday cage’ which in various forms is still in use to protect sensitive equipment from electrical charges.

As well as his studies and duties at the Royal Institute Faraday also provided several services for the British government such as investigating the causes of mining accidents. This relationship came to an end in the 1850s when he was asked to advise on the production of chemical weapons for use in the Crimean War. Faraday refused to take part on ethical grounds.

Faraday kept working until 1858 when he retired and passed away in 1867 at the age of 75. During his lifetime he’d been offered a knighthood but turned it down on religious grounds. As well as that he received a wide range of accolades for his scientific works.

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