Electrostatics
Electrostatics
Electrostatics is a part of physics is that the study and analysis of electricity, its properties and its applications. Electrostatics was discovered when an ancient Greek philosopher named Thales. In 600 B.C., Thales learned that when he rubbed amber with fur, it would start to attract other lightweight objects such as feathers and dust which is now known as a process called triboelectrification. This is also how we got the word electricity, which comes from the Greek word, elektron, which means amber. Thales, who is now known as one of the Seven Wise Men, is believed to be the first person to ever experiment with electrostatics. After the death of Thales, no further experiments were conducted dealing with electrostatics until the 17th century when a man by the name of William Gilbert continued Thales’s research. He studied magnetism and static electricity. Gilbert repeated the experiment by Thales with rubbing and charging objects using friction. He later invented the word “electric” to label the forces at work for whenever an object repelled or attracted the other one. He discovered that when objects rubbed, the act removed a fluid (humour) from one of the objects and it also left an atmosphere (effluvium) around the object.
The thought that electricity could also exist as a fluid continued throughout the 18th century. In 1729, there was an English scientist named Stephen Grey who revealed that some materials, like milk, did not produce electricity. Grey’s reasoning for this is that the fluid that Gilbert describes can move through objects or be hampered from moving. This led scientist to produce jars to hold the fluid so that it could be observed and learn its effects. This jar was created by two Dutch men. Their names were Ewald von Kleist and Pieter van Musschenbroek. They named the invention the Leyden jar which is essentially a jar filled with water and a nail capable of storing an electrical charge inside of it. With just the first use of
Electrostatics is a part of physics is that the study and analysis of electricity, its properties and its applications. Electrostatics was discovered when an ancient Greek philosopher named Thales. In 600 B.C., Thales learned that when he rubbed amber with fur, it would start to attract other lightweight objects such as feathers and dust which is now known as a process called triboelectrification. This is also how we got the word electricity, which comes from the Greek word, elektron, which means amber. Thales, who is now known as one of the Seven Wise Men, is believed to be the first person to ever experiment with electrostatics. After the death of Thales, no further experiments were conducted dealing with electrostatics until the 17th century when a man by the name of William Gilbert continued Thales’s research. He studied magnetism and static electricity. Gilbert repeated the experiment by Thales with rubbing and charging objects using friction. He later invented the word “electric” to label the forces at work for whenever an object repelled or attracted the other one. He discovered that when objects rubbed, the act removed a fluid (humour) from one of the objects and it also left an atmosphere (effluvium) around the object.
The thought that electricity could also exist as a fluid continued throughout the 18th century. In 1729, there was an English scientist named Stephen Grey who revealed that some materials, like milk, did not produce electricity. Grey’s reasoning for this is that the fluid that Gilbert describes can move through objects or be hampered from moving. This led scientist to produce jars to hold the fluid so that it could be observed and learn its effects. This jar was created by two Dutch men. Their names were Ewald von Kleist and Pieter van Musschenbroek. They named the invention the Leyden jar which is essentially a jar filled with water and a nail capable of storing an electrical charge inside of it. With just the first use of