Michael Faraday was born on 22 September 1791 in the southern part of London. Due to his disadvantaged background, he was not able to attend full education only achieving basic literacy (Faraday 1). At the age of 14, he apprenticed under a local bookbinder. For the next 7 years, he educated himself by reading books on a wide range of subjects mostly scientific (Hamilton 23; Scientific papers). In 1812, at the age of 20, Faraday received some tickets for a series of lectures conducted by the eminent scientist Humphrey Davy of the Royal University of Great Britain. He attended four lectures and was very impressed with the scientist that he applied for a position as an assistant in the lab. Initially, Davy turned down his request; however, when Faraday sent him a 300-page document with notes on the lectures, the scientist was impressed to the point of employing him. Michael Faraday started working at the Royal institute lab assistant in 1813 and progressed in leaps and bounds to become a Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the same institution by the time he died in 1867 (Hamilton 24).
A year after his appointment, Faraday got the opportunity to accompany Davy and his spouse on a tour of Europe. For 18 months, they travelled through Switzerland, France, Italy and Belgium and met many influential scientists. On their return, Faraday immersed himself in his work assisting both Davy and other scientists in their experiments.
Michael Faraday was also a devout Christian. He was a member of the Sandemanian denomination an offshoot of the Church of Scotland. After his marriage, he served the church in various capacities, first as a deacon then later as an elder. Bibliographers have attributed his success in his scientific work to his strong belief in the unity of God and nature (Agassi). When asked about the afterlife, he was quoted as saying, “I shall be with Christ and that is enough”.
Chemistry
The earliest work he conducted in chemistry was in his duties as an assistant to Humphrey Davy. He studied chlorine and discovered two new compounds of both carbon and chlorine. He conducted rough experiments on the diffusion of gases. He successfully liquefied several gases such as chlorine, investigated steel alloys, and produced new types of glass for optical purposes (Agassi). A specimen from one of these glasses later became historically important through his experiments. Faraday observed that when put in a magnetic field, the glass allowed him to determine the plane of polarization of light. This specimen became the first substance to be repelled by magnetic poles (Agassi).
Faraday is also credited with the invention of the earliest form of the Bunsen burner, which provides convenient source of heat in the laboratory. The experiments he conducted on liquefaction of gases helped to understand that gases are liquids with a low boiling point (Scientific papers). In 1820, he successfully synthesized two compounds from chlorine C 2CL 6 and C2 CL4 and published the results (Scientific papers). He is also credited with the discovery of the laws of electrolysis. He popularized the use of scientific terms such as anode, cathode, ion and electrode. These terms were however proposed by William Whewell (Howard, and Faraday 5). Michael was also the first to report that the optical properties of gold colloids were different from those of the bulk metal. This began the discovery of metallic nanoparticles and started the journey towards what is now known as nanoscience (Howard, and Faraday 6).
Electricity and Magnetism
Michael Faraday’s work in electricity and magnetism is what makes him a renowned scientist. The first recorded experiment was the voltaic pile, which had 7 halfpence pieces stacked with sheets of zinc and paper moistened with salt water (Howard, and Faraday 5). This pile enabled him to decompose sulphate of magnesia.
Davy Humphrey and a fellow British scientist William Hyde Wollaston attempted and failed to design an electric mortar to describe electromagnetism a phenomena discovered by Danish scientist Hans Christian. After consulting with the two gentlemen, Faraday went ahead to build two devices, which produced what he termed as “electromagnetic rotation” One of the devices the homopolar motor produced a continuous circular motion created by a circular magnetic force around a wire, dipped in a pool of mercury (Howard, and Faraday 7). When supplied with a current from a chemical battery, the wire rotated around the magnet. These experiments were the basis of modern day electromagnetic technology. Michael went ahead and published these results without acknowledging the input of Davy of Wollaston. This brought controversy within the Royal Society and affected his working relationship with Davy. Consequently he was not able to conduct any meaningful research until 1831 two years after the death of Davy.
In 1824, he conducted an experiment to study whether a magnetic field could affect the flow of current in an adjacent wire. He set up a circuit, which found that no such relationship existed (Howard, and Faraday 8). He had earlier conducted similar work using light and magnets but came up with similar conclusions. Michael Faraday spent much of his time creating optical quality glass, a borosilicate of lead, which he used in his studies into the relationship between light and magnetism. In his spare time, he conducted correspondence with scientists across Europe who he met during his travel with Davy. He also continued to publish his results on optics and electromagnetism.
Michael Faraday’s biggest scientific breakthrough came when he created the iron ring-coil apparatus. He created it by wrapping an iron ring with two insulated coils of wire. He found that when he passed an electric current through one coil, a temporary current was induced in the other coil. This is currently known as mutual induction. He also discovered in subsequent experiments that moving a magnet through a loop of wire produced electric current in the wire (Howard, and Faraday 47). He also found that current was produced when the wire loop was passed over a stationery magnet. These experiments essentially established that a changing magnetic field does produce an electric field. Due to his poor mathematical ability, his findings were modelled into mathematical equations by James Clerk Maxwell. These equations are presently known as Faraday’s Laws and are part of Maxwell equations. From the principals he discovered in these experiments, Faraday went ahead to build an electric dynamo. These principals gave birth to the modern power generators.
Michael faraday also corrected the notion that different types of electricity existed. At the time, scientists believed that electricity could be classified as static, batteries and animal electricity. He completed a series of experiments in 1839, which led him to the conclusion that only one type of electricity existed. The difference only lay in the varying value of quantity and intensity or current and voltage as is measured presently.
He also proposed that electromagnetic forces extended to the space around a conductor. This idea was rejected by fellow scientists at the time. The idea was later accepted but unfortunately, Faraday did not live to see this happen. His visualization of magnetic fields as flux coming from a charged body greatly helped in the development of electrochemical devices, which were engineered in the later years of the 19th century.
Diamagnetism
In 1945, Michael discovered a phenomenon he later termed as diamagnetism. In his experiments, he discovered that many materials exhibited a weak repulsion in a magnetic field. He also discovered that a magnetic field applied in the direction of moving light could rotate the plane of a linearly polarized light. In his notebook, he wrote of the discovery as having finally succeeded in illuminating a magnetic curve/line force and magnetizing a ray of light (Howard, and Faraday). This effect is now known as the Faraday Effect.
In 1862, Faraday conducted experiments to search for alteration of light and the change of spectral lines of light by applying magnetic fields. The materials available to him at the time could not allow him to reach any definite conclusions. His work however provided a basis on which Pieter Zeeman conducted his studies on this phenomenon. He went ahead to receive Nobel Prize of Physics in 1902 (Hermann, William, and Faraday). During his acceptance speech, he acknowledged the work done by Michael Faraday.
Faraday’s Cage
Faraday also conducted studies on static electricity. Using the ice pail experiment, Faraday demonstrated that static charge was only on the outer surface of the charged conductor. He also found that the charge on the exterior had no effect on anything enclosed within the conductor. He explained that the charges on the exterior redistributed such that the fields caused on the interior cancelled (Hermann, William, and Faraday). This shielding effect has been used to create what is currently referred to as the Faraday Cage.
Public Service and the Royal Institute
Michael Faraday was appointed as the first Fullerian Professor of Chemistry of the Royal Institute of Great Britain. He was appointed to this position for life and was under no obligation to give lectures. He still gave a series of successful lectures on chemistry and physics. These were the first in a series of lectures to young people, which came to be known as Christmas lectures, which are still given each year.
Apart from his scientific work, Faraday also contributed to public service by working for the government. In 1946, he worked with Charles Lyell to prepare a detailed report on the hazards of coal dust explosion following a coalmine accident. He was also involved in the construction of lighthouses and protection of ships from corrosion.
He is also famously known for refusing to consult for the government on the development of chemical weapons for the Crimean war of (1853-1856). His refusal was based on his Christian faith. He viewed this request as being unethical.
Later life and death
In 1839, Faraday suffered a mental breakdown from which he never fully recovered. By 1840, his health had deteriorated forcing him to cut down on heavy research work. He was elected to the Royal Swedish academy of Sciences and the French Academy of sciences as a foreign member (Faraday 1). Faraday rejected knighthood and refused to become the President of the Royal Society twice.
He was given a grace and favour accommodation in the Hampton Court in honor of his contribution to science. He died in his on August 25, 1867 at the age of 75 (Faraday 2). He left behind a list of discoveries and great contribution to modern science. His contributions are made even more impressive because he lacked formal training in science and mathematics but was still able to engage in meaningful studies.
Work Cited
Agassi, Joseph (1971). Faraday as a Natural Philosopher. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Faraday, Michael. Michael Faraday (1791-1867). National Geographic Magazine. 95.4:2p
Hamilton, James (2004). A Life of Discovery: Michael Faraday, Giant of the Scientific Revolution. New York: Random House
Hermann, Helmhotz, William, Baron, and Faraday, Michael. Scientific Papers: Physics, Chemistry, Astrology, Geology, Volume 30. BiblioLife, LLC. 2010. Print
Howard, Fisher, and Faraday, Michael. Faraday’s Experimental Researches in Electricity: Guide to a First Reading. New Mexico: Green Lion Press. 2001. Print
Scientific papers: physics, chemistry, astronomy, geology, with introductions, notes, and illustrations. New York, P. F. Collier & son [c1910], Harvard Classic
