Faraday did many of the lectures at the Royal Institute on a wide variety of topics. Among them were rubber, a condensing gas engine, pens from quill and steel, ancient vases, and wood engraving. “One of the secrets of their success was that they gave explanations for many of the technological advances, the applications of science, that were becoming everywhere visible: the railway, tarmacadam roads, gas lighting and macintoshes” (A Life of Discovery 196-7, 205-6).
In the second half of the 1820’s Faraday was gradually released from the influence and interference of Sir Humphrey Davy. The last surviving letter from Davy came in 1823, and since then the two men had a repprochement, coming together to cooperate on a practical application of the electro-chemistry of copper and zinc, to protect the bottoms of ships from corrosion from sea water. That wasn’t very successful due to unexpected consequences (216).
Faraday also spent much time on experiments on optical glass for the Admiralty, which was criticized for a lack of results and frustrated Faraday. Faraday did extensive experiments with “crispations” – vibrations formed in one body being struck by another, e.g. a bow on a violin.
The discoveries that Faraday made in science in the 1830’s had electricity as their vibrant center. In this decade Faraday transformed the public’s perception of electricity from a novelty with limited uses to a power which would light cities or drive ships. From 1831-1855 he recorded the core of his electrical researches in a series of papers, numbering forty-five, under the general title Experimental Researches in Electricity. An 1831 discovery was the principle of electromagnetic induction. His discoveries and inventions led to a wide variety of achievements, for example, railways, steel production, spinning and weaving machinery, microscopes and telescopes, and printing and image-reproduction (245-272).
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