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Close your eyes. Imagine being sent to a world with no electronics (yes, that includes no video games!), no cars, no microwave, and the only lights in your house came from small candles. You may think, there’s no way a world like this could have existed. But, it did!

You may have heard the name “Thomas Edison” many, many times. There’s a reason why he is mentioned often. Edison was one of the greatest American inventors. He invented the phonograph (something that played music), and the first motion picture machine. However, many people argue that his greatest contribution was perfecting the light bulb. Edison’s work allowed more people to work at nighttime, stay awake longer, and read more.

WHY INVENT THE LIGHTBULB?

Remember when you closed your eyes and imagined a world without electricity? It felt strange, right? Perhaps, even scary? Before the light bulb many people were scared of the dark as well. After the light bulb was perfected in 1879, people felt safer at night. Before the light bulb, people used candles or lanterns for light at night. Candles are incredibly dangerous because they easily start fires. 

Scientists thought electricity could solve this problem. Electricity creates sparks. And, when certain conductors get hot, they also create light. Electricity does not involve a flame. It seemed like a natural fit. But, using electricity to create light was difficult! Who could solve this problem?

PERFECTING THE LIGHTBULB

Thomas Edison was very active and learned a lot as a child. He also questioned everything around him. He drove his school teachers nuts! As an adult, he became interested in electricity, and eventually started his own company in 1878. He called it the Edison Electric Light Company. Despite what some people think, Thomas Edison did NOT actually invent the light bulb. In fact, 23 light bulbs were invented before Edison made his. BUT, he was the first to create a light bulb that would be sold to most Americans. To learn more about this light bulb, check out chapter 6!

JOSEPH SWAN WHO?

Ok…So, if Thomas Edison did not create the first light bulb, who did?

A scientist named Joseph Swan invented the light bulb in 1878. Swan patented his light bulb in England (a patent stops other people from stealing an inventor’s idea). Swan used a carbon rod in his light bulb. The carbon resisted electricity. When the carbon resisted electricity heat and light was released.

Swan started his own company of light bulbs. Swan’s light bulb produced light, but did not last very long. Carbon was also dirty so it made the inside of the light bulb dirty which trapped the light. Carbon rods were not the solution, but it was a good start.

Without Thomas Edison perfecting the light bulb, we may not be able to experience electricity the way we do today. Because Edison changed the light bulb so it would be commercially successful, reliable, and practical, he is given credit for perfecting the light bulb. 

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If you want to read more, look at the Smithsonian Magazine’s article “Lamp inventors 1880-1940: Carbon Filament Incandescent”

https://americanhistory.si.edu/lighting/bios/swan.htm

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Sooo…did Benjamin Franklin discover electricity? 

No! Benjamin Franklin added many ideas and theories about electricity. But, he did NOT discover it. However, this experiment with the kite proved that lightning is electrical in nature! That might not sound like a big deal, but back then, this discovery was a huge breakthrough in science. 

Lightning was a big problem, and is still a big problem today! It’s dangerous to be outside when lightning is nearby. Houses and buildings can get struck by lightning. Most buildings in Philadelphia at this time were made of wood so they would catch on fire. Lightning made life very dangerous at this time.

Franklin’s experiment showed how electrons from lightning storms can be moved over a conductor. In his experiment, the conductor was the hemp cord. He wanted to use this knowledge to protect people. He thought he could move lightning safely. He planned to put a hemp cord from the top of a building into the ground. Franklin named this device the lightning rod.  Lightning rods attract electricity and then a cord or wire moves the electricity away safely into the ground.  This means that houses can remain undamaged and safe during lightning storms and prevent outbreaks of deadly fires.  Ben Franklin’s lightning rod captures the lightning strikes near the top of someone’s house, and then the electrical current enters the rod. The rod is connected to the ground without touching the house. So, the lightning moves safely away from the house and into the ground. The house is protected from lightning! Genius idea, isn’t it?

In summary, Benjamin Franklin was smart, creative and worked hard. He studied the dangers of electricity to help his community. He used extra protection while carrying out his experiment. He took shelter in a dry cabin and kept the strings at the end of the kite dry. Kites should never be flown in thunderstorms now that we understand these dangers! We can thank Benjamin Franklin for risking his life and establishing the connection between lightning and electricity. Without his important discovery, there would be no such things as television, phones, electric lighting in homes, heaters, and just about anything electrical!

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Want to go back in time? Here is Ben Franklin’s article in the Pennsylvania Gazette describing the experiment investigating “Electric Fire”!

“As soon as any of the Thunder Clouds come over the Kite, the pointed Wire will draw the Electric Fire from them, and the Kite, with all the Twine, will be electrified, and the loose Filaments of the Twine will stand out every Way, and be attracted by an approaching Finger. And when the Rain has wet the Kite and Twine, so that it can conduct the Electric Fire freely, you will find it stream out plentifully from the Key on the Approach of your Knuckle. At this Key the Phial may be charg’d; and from Electric Fire thus obtain’d, Spirits may be kindled, and all the other Electric Experiments be perform’d, which are usually done by the Help of a rubbed Glass Globe or Tube; and thereby the Sameness of the Electric Matter with that of Lightning compleatly demonstrated.”

From the Franklin Institute’s records: https://www.fi.edu/benjamin-franklin/kite-key-experiment

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You may know Benjamin Franklin as one of the founding fathers of our nation. But, did you know Ben Franklin also helped discover how electricity works?

At this time, Philadelphia was still part of England. Franklin was a famous scientist and inventor. People could see static electricity and lightning. But, they did not know much about electricity. (This was the 1740s!) Franklin was one of the few thinking about electricity at this time. After this experiment, people were excited about Franklin’s new discoveries.

Franklin loved to help people. He was a diplomat, which meant he went to other countries to explain America’s thoughts. He always wanted to help people in his community. He searched for ways to improve people’s lives.

He was also curious about things he observed. Because he thought about things that people saw every day, it made him an excellent inventor. For example, lightning interested him. He knew lightning was dangerous for his community. It started many fires and burned down many buildings. This problem made Ben Franklin interested in finding some solutions. First, he had to learn more about lightning. So, he conducted one of the most famous scientific experiments of all time.

THE EXPERIMENT THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD

Ben Franklin was the first person ever to establish the connection between lightning and electricity.

One stormy, cloudy day, thunder was loudly clashing across the sky. Two fearless individuals tried to uncover the puzzling nature of electricity. These two individuals were Benjamin Franklin and his son, William Franklin! They wanted to see if electricity and lightning are similar. Their experiment used a kite made out of silk handkerchiefs. They used silk so it would not tear in the rain or wind. At the very tip of the kite they put a wire that acted as a lightning rod. At the bottom, they attached a hemp cord and a silk ribbon. The hemp cord got wet from the rain. Since water is a good electrical conductor, it attracted electrons from the thunderstorm and built an electrical charge. The silk ribbon on the bottom stayed dry. Because it was not wet, it was safe for Ben Franklin to hold.

The last part of the experiment was a metal key that was connected to the hemp cord. Franklin and his son waited a long time, then suddenly the hemp cord began drawing electrical charges. They knew this was happening because they observed a few threads of the cord were standing up. The cord was full of electrons from the thunderstorm clouds. Then, Franklin touched his hand near the metal key, and he received a shock! How, you might ask? Well, the negative charge from the metal key wanted to get the ground. Because Ben Franklin was touching the key and standing on the ground, he became the conductor for this electricity. 

It is important to remember that Franklin kept himself and the silk ribbon dry so he would not be shocked dangerously. Someone may tell you Franklin was struck by lightning. This is NOT true! If lightning directly struck the kite or the rope, Franklin would have been dangerously electrocuted. 

This shows how Franklin set up his experiment. Franklin was not struck by lightning! Instead, the hemp rope picked up electricity buzzing in the dark, stormy clouds. The hemp cord was the conductor for the electricity. The rope conducted enough electrical charge to give Franklin a small shock when he put his hand near the metal key.

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Electricity is a type of energy. Electricity occurs naturally. That means it happens in nature. No one invented electricity. It’s always been around!

It can build in one place and then flow to another place. Electrons are small particles that have a negative charge. They are the smallest pieces of electricity. Electricity is the flow of electrons.

You probably have felt static electricity. Electricity built inside of you. Then, it flows to a doorknob or desktop. It’s a good example of electricity. Static electricity forms when electricity gathers in one place. Static electricity builds when two objects are rubbed together. When you rub a balloon on your hair, you create static electricity. Sometimes, when you run across the carpet in your fancy socks, you create static electricity. Your body received additional electrons. Then, if you touch metal (like a door knob), your hand is shocked by electricity. This happens because the additional electrons leave you and jump into door knob.

An electrical current forms when electricity moves. Electricity moves along a line. It can move in the air (lightning!). It can move along a wire (power line!). It can move along a lot of pieces. We call this current is this flow of electricity.

A conductor allows electrons to move easily. Your phone charger is a good conductor. The metal wires in your tablet also move electricity well. In fact, metal is a good conductor of electricity. That is why your metal doorknob causes shocks from static electricity. The door knob is a conductor, so if you touch it with your negatively charged hand, there is a shock! Now, if the doorknob was made out of wood, you would not receive a shock. Why? Because wood is an insulator. Insulators do NOT allow electrons to move freely. So, the wood does not allow the electrons leave your negatively charged hand.

How do we know?

People like you studied electricity. They studied things they saw for a long time. They wrote down what they saw, which is called observations. These observations are data scientists used to study electricity. Some of these scientists studied electricity over 2,500 years ago. You could be the person that makes the next event on our timeline!

Want to learn more? We like this list of electricity events!

https://www.salemelectric.com/sites/default/files/downloads/Kids_History_of_Electricity.pdf

You probably have made slime before. We make it with glue, starch and water. My grandfather would be happy to know if you use Borax in your slime fun. But, we spice it up a bit with metal filings!

The nice thing about having the space at the store is that we were able to let the magnet sit with the slime over a week! The picture above is after 24 hours. Notice that the gray color by the magnet is much darker than the gray still in the slime. It attracted a lot of the filings over the first day.

You can clearly see two circular arcs also. This shows where the magnetic fields were able to attract the slime to the magnet. Where there is still grey, the magnetic fields were not strong enough to move the filings.

This experiment shows how magnetic fields are circular.