“If Newton was the last of magicians, Faraday was the last of the modern scientists to live in the dark, regarding the light.” Lawrence M. Krauss. Michael Faraday was born in 22 September 1791 in Newington, Surrey, England. He was a son of poor family and he left the school in his 13. He began to earn money by working for a bookbinder. He was hardworking and curious child and this curiosity led him to read books. There was no hope for him in his childhood until he received an opportunity to attend chemical lectures of Sir Humphry Davy at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London. This time his curiosity lead him to London and he attended series of lectures. At the end of lectures he bind his notes that were taken during lectures and sent them to Davy. Davy fascinated by these notes and offered Faraday a position as an assistant. It has been said that Faraday was Davy's greatest discovery.
In 1812, Faraday was ready to change the world and there are lots of things to learn and practice. His science career started in Davy's chemist lab as an assistant of Chemistry. Faraday learned chemist during 8 years, his apprenticeship came to an end in 1820. He was a chemist from now on. His most important success in chemist was the isolating and describing of benzene.
However, his ability to change the world laid in electricity. There were lots of different experiments and inventions on his lab. He was chemist however he was interested in optics, electricity and sound too. It is said that William Gladstone, later to be British Prime Minister, heard of Faraday's laboratory, full of weird devices, and asked in 1850 what the practical value of all this study in to electricity was. Faraday was purported to have replied. “Why, sir, there is every probability that you will soon be able to tax it.”
Electricity was known in those days (1820) however it was mystery to produce it and use it in useful ways. On the other hand the phenomenon of magnetism was known too, however it was recently found by Hans Christian Orsted that the flow of electric current creates a magnetic field. Newton was a man who describe the interaction between masses, he showed that there was not any angel behind this interaction even though it was argued like that in many holy books. And Faraday would be the man who describe interaction between electricity and magnetism.
Faraday was not a mathematician, furthermore he was very bad in maths. Because of that he always tried to prove his theories with experiments and drawings. So, he began to his work by imagining the electrical field, which was not known whether it exists or not. He put arrows from electrical charge to outside whose numbers change with the magnitude of charge and directions change according to + or -. By this image he could easily define the movements and interactions of charges. Also this could be applied to magnetism too and it did not take long for Faraday to recognize if these fields can produce movement, movement can produce electrical or magnetic field. His legendary invention born at that point. Electrical motors. If you are able to turn a magnet which is attached to a mill, then you would produce magnetic field and if this magnetic field is close enough to produce electrical current in a wire, than you would have electricity.
Prometheus was the god who gave fire to mankind and Faraday be the man who gave electricity which would power up our civilization, to mankind.
Faraday was a deeply religious man, he belonged to a Christian sect, Sandemanians. His Christianity played major role in both his career and life. He refused knighthood and presidency of Royal Institute. He gave free lectures to young in Christmas in order to motivate them in science. Though there was limitless resources to invent something, he refused to work for British army to invent chemical weapons in Crimea War.
He died in 25 August 1867 and was buried in Highgate Cemetery, London, leaving as his monument a new conception of physical reality.
