It is almost impossible to imagine a world without batteries. Although electricity has always been present in nature, even in our own bodies. Today we recall the moment when Benjamin Franklin imagines an electric battery for the first time. In other words, a bank of storage cells in a series so they are the sum of their individual parts.
Franklin Was Generous With His Ideas
Franklin was a pioneering American scientist, who contributed to early understanding of electricity as a tool. He was also one of modern America’s founding fathers, but we’ll leave that to historians to ponder. However he never patented his own inventions, because of this remarkably generous thought in his autobiography:
As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously.
The great American pioneering scientist began his research after he learned of the phenomenon of electricity. He imagined this ‘new energy’ as a ‘fluid’ under various ‘pressures’. He became the first person to describe these as ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ phenomena. Moreover, there is general consensus he first conceived the principle of ‘conservation of charge’.
Benjamin Franklin Imagines a Battery as Artillery
Franklin lived through the turbulent times of early American independence, that pioneers defended through barrels of guns. And so he would have been familiar with the concept of increasing firepower by using artillery batteries.
The Smithsonian Institute describes a remarkable moment in the history of storage cells. This was when Franklin joined multiple Leyden cells in series, and found this increased the total amount of charge. ‘Eureka’, he must have said or words similar. ‘I just invented an electrical battery.’ Imagine that!
More Information
Introduction To The History of Batteries
Back to Basics: How Does a Battery Work?
Preview Image: A Battery of Cannons
