米利都的泰勒.docVIP

Thales of Miletus , an ancient Greek philosopher, writing at around 600 BCE, described a form of static electricity , noting that rubbing fur on various substances, such as amber , would cause a particular attraction between the two. He noted that the amber buttons could attract light objects such as hair and that if they rubbed the amber for long enough they could even get a spark to jump. At around 450 BC Democritus , a later Greek philosopher, developed an atomic theory that was remarkably similar to our modern atomic theory. His mentor, Leucippus, is credited with this same theory. The hypothesis of Leucippus and Democritus held everything to be composed of atoms . But these atoms , called atomos, were indivisible, and indestructible. He presciently stated that between atoms lies empty space, and that atoms are constantly in motion. He was incorrect only in stating that atoms come different sizes and shapes. Each object had its own shaped and sized atom. An object found in Iraq in 1938, dated to about 250 BCE and called the Baghdad Battery , resembles a galvanic cell and is believed by some to have been used for electroplating in Mesopotamia , although this has not yet been proven. 19th century developments In the 19th century, the subject of electrical engineering, with the tools of modern research techniques, started to intensify. Notable developments in this century include the work of Georg Ohm , who in 1827 quantified the relationship between the electric current and potential difference in a conductor, Michael Faraday , the discoverer of electromagnetic induction in 1831, and James Clerk Maxwell , who in 1873 published a unified theory of electricity and magnetism in his treatise on Electricity and Magnetism . In the 1830s, Georg Ohm also constructed an early electrostatic machine. The homopolar generator was developed first by Michael Faraday during his memorable experiments in 1831. It was the beginning of modern dynamos — that is, electrical generator