How was electricity discovered?

Electricity is indispensable in our daily lives. Almost every activity requires electricity either directly or indirectly. With the 21st century advancements in the fields of science and technology, numerous methods have emerged in terms of the production and usage of electricity. Now, utmost importance is being given to sustainable electricity in an attempt to combat climate change. Here, we take you through the fascinating story behind the discovery of electricity.

How was electricity invented?

Electricity exists in nature as a natural force. There is no particular way to “invent” electricity. However, at the beginning, electricity had to be discovered in a systematic, calculated way and then studied in order to be fully understood. The credit for doing so goes to Benjamin Franklin, whose experiments related to its understanding set the course of the study, usage and implementation of electricity. However, historians believe that people had perhaps discovered it before Benjamin Franklin. Evidence has been found suggesting that the idea of electricity was played around with even in the ancient times, around 2000 years ago!

Benjamin Franklin’s discovery of electricity

Hailed to be one of the most remarkable scientists in history, Benjamin Franklin developed an interest in the study of electricity during the 1700s. Prior to Franklin’s scientific contributions in this subject, scientists were concerned merely with static electricity. Thus, all the experimentation revolved around the same. Benjamin Franklin went beyond this and suggested new theories related to electricity. He suggested that electricity has positive and negative elements through which it flowed. He conducted his famous kite experiment to showcase this.

Benjamin Franklin’s kite experiment

Franklin conducted his famous kite experiment in 1752. He wanted to prove that lightening was a form of electricity. In order to do so, he tied a metal key to the kite string (to conduct electricity) and flew the kite through a thunderstorm. Like he suspected, the electricity from the lightening transferred and travelled down towards him, giving him a shock. Since his seminal discovery, scientists started doing more research about electricity which eventually led to Thomas Edison’s invention of the light bulb in the year 1879.