Benjamin Franklin Research Paper
How could the inventions of one man change the whole world? The person would have to create many inventions that modernized and changed the world in many different ways. Benjamin Franklin was one such man. He created many different inventions that helped the world change in a positive way. Because of his interest in science, Franklin created inventions that have changed society in a favorable manor. One of Franklin’s most used inventions is the lightning rod. Franklin studied electricity in a small laboratory. He assumed lightning was electricity he but wanted to prove it. “On a stormy night in 1752, he conducted a life threatening experiment to demonstrate that lightning is the result of electrical buildup. He constructed a kite that carried a metal spike and flew it into the thunderstorm” (Bhunoo 201). Franklin reeled his kite back in to study it. He was trying to get the lightning to strike the key and see if his theory was correct. “Franklin noticed that it sparked as he brought his knuckles close to it” (Bhunoo 201). As the lightning sparked he understood that it was electricity. Even though some people credit Franklin with the invention of electricity, electricity was in existence long before he was born. Franklin invented an iron rod to conduct the lightning. He noticed that the highest piece of metal around was hit by lightning, so Franklin devised a plan to place the rod next to buildings and run it into the ground, causing the electricity to hit the ground and be absorbed. This protected buildings from lightning damage. Franklin later realized that a sharp rod worked better than a blunt rod, because the tip was a little higher than the rest and the shock hit the tip first. Ben Franklin spent some of his time in London and while, he was there he attended a Richard Puckridge concert. Puckridge played the armonica, or singing glasses. Franklin loved the sound as he first heard it, but he decided to make a few changes. First, he removed the stems
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