ADVENT OF ELECTRICITY
1. The invention of electricity is an important stage of engineering development. The nature of electrical phenomena was unknown to science until the 18th century. The basic knowledge about electricity dates back to ancient times. Even in ancient times, people were interested in and impressed by such electrical phenomena in nature like lightning, thunderstorms and electric fish. The Greeks knew that amber could generate weak electrical charges when it was rubbed. At the same time, ancient people had very primitive knowledge about electricity. It took centuries to develop a modern type of electricity. It was not the achievement of one scientist but the efforts of many people.
2. The word "electricity" was introduced by an English scientist and physicist William Gilbert in 1600. It derived from the Greek word "electron" and meant amber. The first electric generator that produced static electricity was invented by the German scientist Otto von Guericke. In 1675, an Irish chemist and physicist Robert Boyle discovered that electrical energy could be transmitted through a vacuum.
3. In 1729, an English scientist Stephen Gray discovered electrical conductivity. In 1733, Charles Francois du Fay, the French chemist, identified negative and positive forms of electricity. In 1745, Pieter van Musschenbroek, professor of Physics at Leiden University, developed the first electrical capacitor known as the Leyden jar. It was a glass jar with water and a brass wire inside. Static electricity was produced by friction and the wire was used to store it inside the jar. The jar helped to keep the electrical charge. In 1732, an American scientist and engineer Benjamin Franklin proved the electrical nature of lightning. To explain this idea, he took a kite and tied a metal key on its string and flew the kite during the thunderstorm. The electricity of the lightning was conducted through the key.
4. In 1800, an Italian researcher Alessandro Volta invented an electric battery, the first direct current source. The "volt", a unit for measuring the potential difference was named in his honor. In 1827, George Simon Ohm, a German physicist, determined the relationship between voltage and electric current. It is now known as Ohm's law. In the 19th century, the English chemist and physicist Michael Faraday developed the first electric motor, a generator and a transformer. Thomas Alva Edison created the first light bulb in 1879. In this way, electricity appeared in all houses, streets and many other places.
Choose the correct answer to the following question:
What does the word "electron" mean?