Who Invented Electricity

If you are looking to determine who invented electricity, then you are probably going to have a bit of difficulty finding the answer to your question.  First off, when you are posing the question “who invented electricity,” you are asking the entirely wrong question.  Why?  Electricity has been in existence long before the history of man ever began being documented.  Thus, rather than asking “who invented electricity” you must ask the question, “who discovered electricity.”  Later, the question of who invented innovative ways to use electricity would then apply, only after electricity’s initial discovery.

First, before discussing the valid question, “who discovered electricity”, we must first take a look at why one cannot pose the question, “who invented electricity.”  To examine the significant difference between such questions, it is important to understand that electricity is a natural phenomenon, one that has been studied and harnessed by inventors and scientists in the various forms that we now use electricity today.  Thus, electricity was not invented - rather it was discovered and later, scientists and inventors sought to harness the power of the discovery.

When looking to find out who discovered electricity, you will soon come to realize the well-known answer:  Benjamin Franklin.  How did Franklin discover electricity? Benjamin Franklin, an innovative genius, discovered the potential of electricity.  Franklin delighted in electrical storms and wondered about the true power of lightening.  Due to his fascination with lightening and the theory he developed that lightening was actually electricity, he decided to conduct an experiment to prove his theory.  Franklin believed that metal was a conduit for electricity - in other words, he believed that electricity could easily move through metal.  In 1752, using something as simple as a kite and a key, Franklin conducted an experiment that proved that lightening was indeed a form of electricity.

Benjamin Franklin also made other remarkable discoveries in his time and he was an extremely successful inventor.  In addition to his wonderful inventions, Franklin was a phenomenal writer and the author of “Poor Richard’s Almanac” a book that he produced that included some of the most witty and insightful writing of his time.  Conversely, as bright as Franklin was, he can not take credit for being the individual “who invented electricity”.  Rather, Franklin is the individual that discovered electricity and pondered much about its possibilities.

Later, other individuals would pursue the findings of Franklin, and such individuals sought innovate ways to harness the power of electricity.  For instance, Michael Faraday, an English chemist and physicist, designed the first electric motor after he discovered that electricity could be created inside a coil with the use of a magnet.  Thomas Edison would also follow suit with experimentation pertaining to electricity.  Edison, an incredibly inventive genius, created well over 1,000 inventions and several of them increased the use of electricity dramatically. For instance, Edison created the light bulb, and in his life time electricity became a technology used in homes everywhere.

The discovery of electricity continues to evolve as scientists examine its uses today.  For instance, as the supply of fossil fuel quickly wanes, scientists must find new and innovate ways to generate electricity.  Currently, many scientists are working toward perfecting and using alternative forms of energy to generate electricity. 

Such forms of energy include solar power, wind power, water power, and even the use of radioactive elements is being explored.  Finally, with so many hands in on the evolution of electricity and its usage, it is easy to see why we cannot question who invented electricity, but we must question who discovered its potential and who attempted to harness its possibilities for its use by mankind.

Who Invented