Electricity - Spigot Science

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Social Studies ConnectionWho Was the Father of Electricity?By Brooke ReedlunnThere were several inventors who contributed to the development of electricity as we know it today. Mostpeople have heard of Thomas Edison but fewer know about Nikola Tesla. Edison and Tesla worked together atfirst and then were rivals. They both worked obsessively, sleeping only 2 hours a night, but that is where thesimilarities end. Get to know the facts about both inventors by reading the notes below. Decide for yourself―whowas the father of electricity?Thomas Edison (1847-1931) Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)Was a talented businessman (started his first businessat age 12) but had little formal education.Had a talent for practical, money-making inventions.Protected his patents in court when otherinventors stole his ideas.Improved the light bulb design so that it waspractical and widely used.Championed Direct Current (DC) as a safe wayto use electricity, even though it cost more andwas less powerful than Alternating Current (AC).Invented a power station that ran on DC. It couldtransmit power a mile and a half from the station.Tried to convince people that AC was unsafe bypublicly electrocuting animals and funding theinvention of the electric chair.Created many inventions, including: the stockticker, phonograph, kinetoscope (early motionpicture camera), telephone receiver, and fluoroscope(X-ray machine). He held a total of 1,093patents.Profited greatly by being one of the first to useassembly lines to mass produce his inventions.Went to college for electrical engineering in EasternEurope but moved to New York to work forThomas Edison.Was humble, precise, and eccentric (was afraidof germs, had few friends, and may have had Asperger’s,a form of autism).Could see and test inventions in his mind beforebuilding them.Was promised $50,000 by Edison for improvinghis DC power plants. When Tesla succeeded, Edisonsaid he was joking, so Tesla quit.Invented a motor and power plants that couldsafely run on AC (the kind of electricity we usetoday). Power could be transmitted for long distancesfor less money.With his partner, Westinghouse, Tesla lit the1893 World’s Fair in Chicago with AC power,convincing the public that AC was superior.Created many inventions including: the x-ray machine,remote control, radio, automobile speedometer,airplane engine, and geothermal powerplant. Even though he held 300 patents, he did notpatent most of his other inventions.Always struggled to find money to build his inventions.Tesla died alone and penniless in a hotelroom.Continued on next pageSpigot Science - http://www.spigotscience.com 24 Electricity
Social Studies ConnectionWho Was the Father of Electricity, continuedLibrary of CongressThomas EdisonNapoleon Sarony,Wikimedia CommonsNickola TeslaDeciding Who Should Be Called the Father of ElectricityDiscuss and then list the characteristics of a person you would choose as the Father of Electricity.Example of a characteristic: The person should have developed ways to make practical uses of electricity.Option 1 – Discussion/Agreementa. Choose either Edison or Tesla. Match your characteristics list to the notes about that person in thisarticle. You may want to do additional research in books or the Internet to help you make yourdecision.b. Compare your notes with the notes of someone who researched the other person (Edison or Tesla).c. Through discussion, come to an agreement regarding who should earn the title Father of Electricity.Option 2 - Debatea. Pick Edison or Tesla. Do research to learn more about your choice.b. Match your choice to the points on the characteristics list you made.c. List arguments that you think will prove that your pick is the best choice.d. Debate who should earn the title Father of Electricity with someone who chose the other person.e. Have someone else listen to your debate and determine who the winner is.There are many other people besides Tesla andEdison who made discoveries that improved our understandingand use of electricity. Here are just a fewthat you may want to do additional research on: About 2000 years ago, people of Bagdad, Iraqdeveloped an early form of the battery now calledthe Bagdad Battery. Benjamin Franklin discovered that lightning waselectricity by doing kite experiments. Count Allesandro Volta built the first battery.Other Pioneers of ElectricityThe volt, a measure of the charge of a powersource, was named for him.Michael Faraday built the first electric motor.James Clark Maxwell proved that electricity andmagnetism are related. He also showed that lightis composed of electromagnetic waves.Heinrich Hertz and Jagadishchandra Boseshowed how electromagnetic waves could betransmitted.Spigot Science - http://www.spigotscience.com 25 Electricity
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