A Life of Discovery #4

Starting in late 1839 Michael Faraday gradually sank into a chronic depression, with physical effects such as vertigo and headaches. His writing letters and in his diary, which had been prolific, slowed. He made no diary entries for 20 months in 1840-42. Managers of the Royal Institution relieved him of his duties there. In 1844, his outlook improved, and he resumed lecturing often. In the 1850’s his health declined again. He had bouts with giddiness, headaches and memory loss, and this took a toll on his quickness of mind. He also had run-ins with church authorities.

The last 10 years of his active professional life were marked by his work as expert adviser to committees and his own interjections into public life, as much as by his scientific ideas. His scientific imagination was sometimes speculative, such as a field theory of magnetism and “gravelectricity”, a relation between gravity and electricity. He wrote a letter to The Times in 1855 to bring attention to the foul state of the River Thames in London. A cause of this was the widespread introduction of the water closet, which resulted in sewage being delivered down a drainage system and emptied into the river. He commented on the poor state of public education in the sciences.

His wife’s health deteriorated, too. Never wealthy and both sickly, Queen Victoria gave them an elegant house in 1858. The couple used it as a respite from the London smoke, but they continued living mainly at the Royal Institute. In 1865 he retired from the Institute. He died in 1867.

This is my last post on this biography of Faraday. To end on a positive note: 1. His was a fascinating and very productive life. 2. The 9th episode of the television series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, “The Electric Boy” is about Michael Faraday.

A Life of Discovery #3

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).

A Life of Discovery #2

Electrical phenomena attracted the attention of many scientists – called natural philosophers until the late 19^th century. For example, Galvani discovered in 1780 that the muscles of dead frogs' legs twitched when struck by an electrical spark. Especially, many were interested in the connections between electricity and magnets. Faraday was asked to write a paper summing up the research to date. He did and wanted to learn more, so he experimented in his lab. He used batteries, magnets, wire, glass rods, a compass, and more, especially his curiosity. It led to his inventing the first ever electric motor – observable physical motion derived from only electric power and magnetism. His apparatus was “alive with electrical movement and power, unseen and silent, but as real as the sap rising through a blade of grass in the spring” (A Life of Discovery 162-3).

Several days later he completed an article ‘On some new Electro-Magnetic Motions, and on the Theory of Magnetism’ and submitted it to the Quarterly Journal of Science. Within days of publication, he was heavily criticized by other scientific men – for not giving enough credit to others who “paved the way” to his discovery and invention. This was far from uniform – much praise came from others – but the criticism was quite a shock to Faraday. Even “Humphrey Davy did nothing to ease Faraday’s torment,” and Davy pressed Faraday with tasks that went with his being his valet (166).

Explosions echoed regularly at the Royal Institution when Faraday was working. A series of them occurred following Davy’s suggestion to Faraday to try certain experiments, injuring Faraday, including fragments of glass in his eyes (186-7). Davy even refused to support Faraday’s nomination to membership in the Royal Society. Regardless, after several membership meetings, Faraday was elected with only one no vote. Voting was secret, so who dissented is unknown (190).

A Life of Discovery #1

I have been reading A Life of Discovery, a biography of Michael Faraday by James Hamilton.

Born in 1791, Faraday was a blacksmith's son with a modest education, yet he had a rare intelligence and intuition. He was a devout member of a small Christian sect that believed in the literal truth of the Bible, yet was keenly interested in knowledge of the natural world as well. He was an insightful experimenter, ambitious, and savvy about spreading news of his work, yet he patented nothing and didn't try to commercialize his work.

At age 14 he began an apprenticeship as a bookbinder for George Riebau, a bookbinder and bookseller. He became quite skilled at it, learning the practical, technical side of it. He took advantage of it to do a lot of reading as well, including Lavoisier's Elements of Chemistry. He took long walks around London to observe machinery, steam engines, and construction. Many of Riebau's customers were artists, and he learned a lot about making art, too. Meanwhile, encouraged by Riebau, he attended lectures by John Tatum about electricity, optics, chemistry, and more. Believing his memory was sub-par, Faraday took copious notes.

After seven years as an apprentice, he knew he didn't want to be a bookbinder for the rest of his life. On the other hand, he needed income, and sought such a position. That didn't succeed, and he also looked for a job in science. He fortunately became an assistant and valet to Humphrey Davy, the foremost chemist in the world at the time. Davy was a great experimenter and a lecturer who dazzled his audiences with his discoveries, demonstrations, and delivery at the Royal Institution. Faraday assisted, keenly observed and absorbed. He helped Davy with the invention of the Davy lamp that could be used in coal mines with much greater safety for the miners. Faraday began lecturing and dazzling audiences, too.

Together they experimented with a wide variety of things --  metals, iodine, diamond, light, gases, electricity, magnets, lenses, and more. Faraday became a much sought after chemical analyst and forensic scientist for court cases on such matters. For example, he testified on behalf of an insurance company that denied a claim to a sugar refiner due to a factory fire. The insurer denied the claim because the refiner began using whale oil in a new process without telling the insurer. Faraday explained why the whale oil was much more dangerous and the steps that led to the explosion and fire. His client lost anyway, because the refiner did not intend to defraud the insurer.