![]() Moura went looking for widely-used illustrations of Franklin’s kite experiment. Hine’s engraving published in John Henry Pepper’s 1860 book ‘The Boy’s Playbook of Science’. That’s how it was recorded as done – but how has it been illustrated? Drawing flaws into the kite experiment Another of Moura’s studies: Henry G. This wasn’t actually the aim of the experiment – the sparks should have been possible without a lightning strike. It also ambiguously implies that lightning struck the kite, saying “ lightning descended by the hempen string”. Priestley’s version is more detailed, and emphasises different things: it downplays the fact that the person must be indoors, and includes Franklin’s son in the story – presumably William Franklin, since his other son Francis died in 1736. The person holding the kite should be protected from the charge, but will be able to get a small spark to leap from the key when they hold their finger near it. When a storm approaches, the kite is electrified by just the presence of the clouds, and falling rain makes the kite’s twine wet so that it conducts electricity. history.Alfred Jones’ vignette, produced for the American Bank Note Company, and one of the several images Moura studied – there are a few inaccuracies in it. He remains one of the leading figures in U.S. Constitution (1787).įranklin died at age 84 on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia. He is the only politician to have signed all four documents fundamental to the creation of the U.S.: the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Treaty of Alliance with France (1778), the Treaty of Paris (1783), which established peace with Great Britain and the U.S. He served as a legislator in Pennsylvania as well as a diplomat in England and France. ![]() Most significantly, Franklin was one of the founding fathers of the United States and had a career as a statesman that spanned four decades. Among other things, he developed a library, insurance company, city hospital and academy in Philadelphia that would later become the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to his accomplishments in business and science, he is noted for his numerous civic contributions. Whether or not Franklin followed this advice in his own life, he came to represent the classic American overachiever. The almanac, which Franklin first published in 1733 under the pen name Richard Saunders, included such wisdom as: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Following a brief stint as a printer in London, Franklin returned to Philadelphia and became a successful businessman, whose publishing ventures included the Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard’s Almanack, a collection of homespun proverbs advocating hard work and honesty in order to get ahead. In 1723, following a dispute with his brother, Franklin left Boston and ended up in Philadelphia, where he found work as a printer. ![]() Franklin’s formal education ended at age 10 and he went to work as an apprentice to his brother James, a printer. He also invented the lightning rod, used to protect buildings and ships.įranklin was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, to a candle and soap maker named Josiah Franklin, who fathered 17 children, and his wife Abiah Folger. ![]() He coined a number of terms used today, including battery, conductor and electrician. Franklin became interested in electricity in the mid-1740s, a time when much was still unknown on the topic, and spent almost a decade conducting electrical experiments. On June 10, 1752, Benjamin Franklin was said to have flown a kite during a thunderstorm to collect ambient electrical charge in a Leyden jar, enabling him to demonstrate the connection between lightning and electricity. ![]()
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