Michael Faraday

Biography

Born in London to a poor family, had almost no formal education. Worked as a bookbinder, then as a laboratory assistant to Humphry Davy. Became a professor at the Royal Institution, where he delivered the famous Christmas lectures. Declined many honors, including the presidency of the Royal Society.

Key discoveries

• Electromagnetic induction — showed that a changing magnetic field generates an electric current in a conductor, which became the basis of electric power generation.
• Laws of electrolysis — established a quantitative relationship between the amount of electricity passed and the mass of substance deposited.
• Faraday effect — discovered the rotation of the plane of polarization of light under the influence of a magnetic field, proving the connection between light and magnetism.
• Invention of the electric motor — created the first primitive motor converting electrical energy into mechanical energy.
• Concept of the field — proposed the idea of lines of force and fields to describe electrical and magnetic interactions.