Benjamin Franklin Research Paper

Benjamin Franklin
This portrait, which depicts Franklin as a learned scientist and inventor, was one of his favorites. Pictured on the left is the signal-bell apparatus Franklin devised to detect the presence of electrically-charged clouds. The bolt of lightning , seen through the open window, became an attribute closely identified with Franklin. At Franklin's death French philosopher/scientist Jacques Turgot wrote: "He seized the lightning from the sky and the scepter from the hand of tyrants."

The Franklin Stove
Franklin wrote this description of the stove he had invented to promote sales of a model being manufactured by his friend Robert Grace. A series of partitioned iron plates permits a continuous supply of fresh warm air, separated
Franklin told Whately he found them particularly useful at dinner in France, where he could see the food he was eating and watch the facial expressions of those seated at the table with him, which helped interpret the words being said. He wrote: "I understand French better by the help of my Spectacles."

Experiments in Electricity
In 1751, Peter Collinson, President of the Royal Society, arranged for the publication of a series of letters from Benjamin Franklin, 1747 to 1750, describing his experiments on electricity. Franklin demonstrated his new theory of positive and negative charges, suggested the electrical nature of lightning, and proposed a tall, grounded rod as a protection against lightning. These experiments established Franklin's reputation as a scientist, and in 1753 he received the Copley Medal of the Royal Society for his contributions to the knowledge of lightning and electricity.

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He based his hypothesis on other written accounts, and used this sketch of a tube of tin foil to aid in his explanation.

Mapping the Gulf Stream
Although Spanish explorers had described the Gulf Stream, Franklin, fascinated by the fact that the sea journey from North America to England was shorter than the return trip, asked his cousin, Nantucket sea captain Timothy Folger, to map its dimensions and course. Franklin published this map and his directions for avoiding it in the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society in 1786. Systematic research, conducted by the U.S. Coast Survey, of the Gulf Stream did not occur until 1845.

Franklin Battles the Common Cold
Despite his eminence in scientific circles, Benjamin Franklin remained concerned with the more practical applications of scientific study. This sheet entitled "Definition of a Cold" is one of a series bearing Franklin's notes for a paper he intended to write on the subject. Exercise, bathing, and moderation in food and drink consumption were just some of his steps to avoid the common