English physicist and chemist, founder of the doctrine of the electromagnetic field; author of discoveries: the law of electromagnetic induction, the laws of electrolysis, the phenomenon of rotation of the plane of polarization of light in a magnetic field.
In youth Michael Faraday He did a lot of self-education: he read literature on physics and chemistry, repeated experiments described in books in his home laboratory, and attended lectures on physics and astronomy on evenings and Sundays. A physicist noticed a talented young man Humphry Davy and involved him in his research. Over time Michael Faraday began his own research.
“At twenty-one, Faraday completed his apprenticeship in the shop and received the title of master.
Here he was lucky enough to attend lectures Humphry Davy V Royal Society. Both the lectures and the lecturer himself made an indelible impression on the young man, which predetermined his entire subsequent life.
Later Faraday recalled: “The desire to leave trade, which I considered a vicious and selfish occupation, and devote myself to the service of science, which, as I imagined, made its followers good and free, forced me at last to take a bold and naive step: to write a letter to Sir Davy.”
With his request to hire him, Faraday included an original gift - notes from Davy's lectures that he had made, bound in a skillful leather binding. (This three-hundred-page manuscript is still carefully preserved in the Royal Society.) Davy met with the applicant, thanked him for the gift, but rejected the request. There was no happiness, but misfortune helped.
During the next explosion in the laboratory, Davy injured his eye, and he needed an assistant to record the results of the experiments. Then he remembered Faraday, his good handwriting, accuracy and willingness to do any work.
Michael began his duties on March 1, 1813, and in the fall Davy invited Faraday to accompany him on a European tour that lasted two years.
It was far from a pleasure trip, at least for Faraday. He played the role of Figaro: he wrote down the master’s thoughts, carried numerous trunks, cleaned his clothes and walked with his pug “Madame”.
But at the same time he eagerly absorbed the content of Davy’s conversations with Ampere, Volta, Gay-Lussac And Chevrolet, grasping their thoughts on the fly, studied the ingenious instruments in their laboratories and helped Davy set up his own experiments.
One of them went down in the history of science. In Florence, Davy first proved that diamond is pure carbon. To do this, they had to burn several diamonds, including a large diamond from the ring of the Duke of Tuscany, but science requires sacrifice. In essence, Davy reproduced the experience of medieval Florentine scientists, making a significant change to it.
He […] placed the diamond in a glass vessel filled with oxygen, sealed it, and then focused a sunbeam on the diamond; the diamond “evaporated”, and the only substance that could be detected in the vessel was carbon dioxide.
Upon returning to London, Davy began to trust Faraday to carry out some experiments, entrusted him with independent research and contributed to the publication of his first scientific articles.
Erlich Hermann, Gold, bullet, life-saving poison. 250 years of nanotechnology, M., “Kolibri”, 2012, p. 174-175.
“Electrical energy is known to mankind in three forms:
1) static electricity, known more or less to everyone, since its manifestations occur most often: this is the electricity of lightning, electricity obtained from the friction of glass on skin in electric machines, amber on cloth, resinous substances on fur or cloth, gutta-percha comb on hair and so on;
2) dynamic electricity obtained from the chemical action of some substances on others (galvanism);
3) inductive electricity caused by the action of electric currents on closed conductors.
Before Faraday Only the first two types of manifestation of electrical energy were known, and electricity until then could not play a significant role in technology, and therefore in human life, due to the characteristics of static electricity and galvanic current.
Devices with the help of which static electricity is produced (with a glass circle) provide energy with significant voltage, but in small quantities: even an ordinary “electric machine”, installed for educational purposes, is able to provide electrical energy of such high voltage that the discharge of the machine can kill a large animal, but at the same time such a small amount of this energy is obtained that the discharge of a machine charged with great difficulty lasts only the most insignificant moment. Obviously, for practical purposes, electrical energy in this form cannot have any meaning. Galvanic devices based on the chemical interaction of substances produce direct current, but of such weak strength that to obtain energy of the same voltage as an ordinary electric machine with a glass disk provides, it is necessary to have tens and even hundreds of galvanic “pairs”.
It is obvious that using galvanic currents for practical purposes is both inconvenient and unprofitable, since the cost of the substances consumed, the chemical interaction of which causes the current, significantly exceeds the cost of the work obtained. The third type of manifestation of electrical energy, discovered by Faraday, induction electricity, is distinguished by the fact that it combines the advantages of the first two types - static and galvanic electricity - and is free from their disadvantages. Inductive electricity, having a significant voltage, manifests itself easily in significant quantities; giving a strong blow, it at the same time acts constantly; giving, like static electricity, long, lightning-like sparks, it at the same time heats bodies, heats them up and melts them; finally, it can be conveniently controlled, which is why this type of electrical energy can, at will, manifest itself in any quantities and any voltage.”
Abramov Y.V., Michael Faraday: his life and scientific activities / Lavoisier. Faraday. Lyell. Charles Darwin. Karl Baer: Biographical narratives (reissue of the biographical library of F.F. Pavlenkov), Chelyabinsk, “Ural”, 1998, p. 102-104.
U Faraday but it was exceptionally rich, “fiery,” as they say Tyndall, imagination. His flow of thoughts often became so rapid that, for example, during a lecture, when he began to express his thoughts too quickly, his assistant had to place a board in front of him on the table at the lectern with the inscription “Slow!”
Lapshin I.I., Philosophy of invention and invention in philosophy. Introduction to the history of philosophy, M., “Republic”, 1999, p. 206.
Michael Faraday (1791-1867) was a famous British scientist who became famous in the field of experimental physics. Known for his discovery of electromagnetic induction, which later formed the basis for the industrial production of electricity. Faraday was a member of numerous scientific organizations, including the Royal Society of London and the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. He is rightfully considered the largest experimental scientist in the history of science.
Michael Faraday was born on September 22, 1791 into a working-class family. His father and older brother were engaged in blacksmithing. They lived very modestly in one of the poor quarters of the British capital. Chronic poverty did not allow the boy to receive a full education, and from the age of 13, instead of going to school, he worked as a newspaper delivery boy, and then got a job in a bookstore. A hard life only strengthened his thirst for knowledge, and young Michael enthusiastically read any book that came his way.
He experienced particular satisfaction from becoming acquainted with scientific literature, primarily on physics and chemistry, as well as articles on electricity. Working as a bookbinder allowed him to get acquainted with various experiments, which the inquisitive young man tried to repeat with enviable regularity at home. As a result, over 7 years of working in the shop, Faraday learned more than many of his peers within the walls of educational institutions. Using his small earnings, the young man purchased chemicals with which he conducted various experiments. The family shared Michael's hobbies and his older brother paid 1 shilling for him to attend lectures at the Philosophical Society.
On the way to a dream
During these classes, the future scientist showed a remarkable interest in science, as one of the workshop’s clients learned about. He helped the enthusiastic young man attend lectures by the then famous English chemist Gemfi Davy, whose statements Faraday carefully took notes on. He subsequently bound these notes and sent them to Davy along with the letter. It was a bold and desperate step by Michael, which Davy did not appreciate. However, a few days later, during another experiment, Gemfi injured his eye and urgently needed an assistant. This is where Faraday’s request for a job came in handy. Moreover, at this time he quit the workshop, since work in it began to distract from scientific activities.
The scientist invited the young man to be an assistant at the Royal Institute. Soon Faraday, together with his mentor, went on a trip to the scientific centers of the Old World. The two-year journey was very useful - the aspiring scientist met many luminaries of science, among whom were M. Chevrel, J.L. Gay-Lussac and others. They noted the great talent of the young Englishman.
After returning home, Michael worked with Davy for some time, and then began independent research. By that time, he had become a full-fledged scientist, having published about 40 works in the field of chemistry. During his experiments, he managed to liquefy chlorine and also obtain benzene and ammonia. Faraday discovered the hypnotic effect of ether vapor. At the same time, he conducted an experiment in smelting steel with the addition of nickel, as a result of which the properties of stainless steel were discovered.
In 1820, the Danish physicist G. Oersted described the magnetic effect of current and this aroused Faraday's great interest in studying the connection between electric and magnetic fields. A year later, he created a prototype electric motor by observing the rotation of a magnet around a current-carrying conductor. Soon his work “The History of the Success of Electromagnetism” was published, in which the author stated that electric current is capable of turning into magnetism.
Relations with Davy began to deteriorate and although both complimented each other behind their backs, and Humphrey generally called the “discovery of Faraday” his best achievement, the alienation grew. In 1824, Michael was elected a member of the Royal Society, but it was Davy who spoke out against this.
Scientific achievements
While studying the relationship between different types of energy, Faraday decided to turn magnetism into electricity. And he accomplished this task brilliantly. Michael tried to use the properties of an electromagnet in reverse to produce an electric current using a magnet. In August 1831, the scientist managed to discover the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction, which helped him create the first electric generator on the planet. Modern devices for household and industrial use have become several orders of magnitude more complex, but they continue to work based on the principles laid down by the brilliant English physicist. This is how locomotives operate and how generators in power plants generate energy.
In support of the open law of electromagnetic induction, the scientist created a visual device for transforming mechanical energy into electrical energy, called a Faraday disk. Due to a number of features, it was not widely used, but played an important role in further scientific research.
Faraday disk - the first electromagnetic generator. When the disk rotates, a constant voltage is generated
Before Faraday, mankind knew two manifestations of electrical energy - static electricity and galvanic current. Both, due to their characteristics, could not find wide practical application, which cannot be said about induction electricity. It has significant tension, acts constantly and appears in large quantities.
Unlike, Michael was not at all interested in the applied possibilities of his discoveries - the main thing for him was to study nature as deeply as possible. As a matter of principle, he did not patent his inventions and refused lucrative commercial offers.
Revolution in electrochemistry
During the period 1833-1834, Michael conducted a series of experiments related to electrochemistry, in which he studied the passage of electric current through solutions of bases and acids. As a result, the laws of electrolysis (Faraday's laws) were formulated, which played a key role in the development of the theory of discrete electric charge carriers. In subsequent years, Michael conducted a series of large-scale studies of electrical phenomena in dielectrics. Today, it is impossible to imagine the work of the chemical and metallurgical industries without electrolysis.
According to the first law of electrolysis, the amount of electrochemical action is determined by the amount of electricity in the circuit. The second law states that the amount of electricity is inversely proportional to the atomic weight of a substance. This means that the same amount of electric current is required to decompose one molecule. The scientist made significant adjustments to the conceptual apparatus of electrochemical phenomena - instead of the poles of a galvanic pair, a new term, electrode, was approved. The substance decomposed by current was called an electrolyte, and the process itself was called electrolysis.
Faraday cage
In 1836, Michael published a paper in which he proved that a charge of electricity can only affect the surface of a completely closed conductor shell, without causing harm to anyone inside it. He managed to create a device capable of shielding equipment from electromagnetic radiation, called a Faraday cage. It was made of metal with high electrical conductivity, and the structure itself was grounded. The principle of operation of the device is quite simple - when exposed to an external electric field, the electrons of the metal begin to move, as a result of which the charge on the opposite sides of the cell completely compensates for the influence of the external electric field.
To prove the presence of the described effect, Faraday himself publicly sat down inside the structure and, after electric discharges, came out alive and unharmed. Another name of the great Englishman is a cylinder, with which you can determine the completeness of the electric charge and the intensity of the particle beam.
The video shows an experiment with a Faraday cage (NRNU MEPhI).
Disease and new discoveries
Long-term mental stress affected the well-being of the scientist, who in 1840 was even forced to take a break from scientific work. He was haunted by memory loss, the illness did not subside for a long time and the break lasted for 5 long years. According to another version, the deterioration in health could be associated with poisoning by mercury vapor, which was often used during experiments. During this period, Faraday lived for some time in the coastal regions of England, and then, on the advice of friends, moved to Switzerland. This contributed to improved health and a return to active work.
In 1845, he discovered a phenomenon called the Faraday effect. It belongs to a broad class of magneto-optical phenomena that arise due to the propagation of linearly polarized light through a medium that does not have natural optical activity and is located in a magnetic field. This was the first attempt to show an objective connection between optics and electromagnetism. The scientist was deeply convinced of the close unity of many physical and chemical phenomena, which became the fundamental basis of his scientific worldview.
In 1862, he put forward an assumption that stated the influence of the magnetic field on spectral lines. But then it was not possible to prove it in practice using special equipment. The scientist’s hypothesis was proven only 35 years later, for which Peter Zeeman received the Nobel Prize. The British authorities, knowing about the scientist’s flexible nature, often involved him in solving various technical issues. In particular, Faraday worked on improving lighthouses, trying to find better ways to protect sea vessels from corrosion, and also studied and described microparticles of various metals. The experiments carried out laid the foundations of modern nanotechnology.
At an advanced age, Faraday’s memory began to seriously fail him, and his health also left much to be desired. In March 1862, in his laboratory journal, Michael made the last entry of the experiment he described, which received the number 16041. The scientist spent the remaining five years of his life in the personal estate of Hampton Court, which was granted to him by Queen Victoria for lifelong ownership. Shortly before his death, one of his friends visited him and inquired about his well-being. Faraday responded wittily, “I’m waiting.” The great scientist died on August 25, 1867 in his office chair and was buried in Highgate Cemetery in London.
Character of a scientist
Having lived most of his life in poverty, Faraday remained unmercenary. He never pursued high fees and titles, being distinguished by his human kindness and responsiveness. The scientist was always friendly and stood out for his natural charm. Michael was extremely methodical in his work and, having discovered signs of a new phenomenon, tried to delve into its essence as deeply as possible. All experiments performed were carefully thought out and described in detail. Faraday often showed inner pride and self-respect, not allowing himself to be manipulated, but these qualities never developed into the aplomb characteristic of many people.
- In 1827, the scientist received a professorship at the Royal Institution, but still experienced a severe lack of funds. Friends helped Faraday get a life sentence, but the Treasury Secretary called it a waste of money to spend on him. In response, Michael proudly refused his government pension, subsequently forcing the official to publicly apologize.
- Albert Einstein called Faraday's theory of the electromagnetic field the most important achievement of science since the time of I. Newton.
- Many biographers of the scientist noted his phenomenal efficiency and constant focus on results - he literally lived in the laboratory, being ready at any moment to begin another experiment.
- For his services, Faraday was elected an honorary member of more than 70 scientific societies and academies around the world.
- The British Chemical Society named one of its most prestigious scientific awards after Faraday.
- The scientist's modesty is widely known - he rejected the offer to become president of the Royal Society and did not accept knighthood.
- Faraday introduced a number of well-known terms into scientific circulation - cathode, anode, electrolyte, ion and others.
- Michael Faraday was one of the most famous popularizers of science. His Christmas lectures, which he regularly delivered starting in 1826, are widely known. One of the most famous, entitled “The History of a Candle,” was subsequently published as a separate book, which became one of the first popular science publications.
- The scientist was a deeply religious Christian all his life and did not change his faith even after the publication of Darwin's theory. He personally preached in one of the London churches and many admirers gathered at his services.
- An off-system unit of measurement of electric discharge used in electrochemistry was named in honor of Michael Faraday.
Michael Faraday was born on September 22, 1791 in the village of Newington Butts, which is located next to,.
Michael's father, James Faraday, was a blacksmith.
Mom, Margaret, took care of the house and children, and before she married James, she worked as a maid.
Michael had a brother, Robert, and two sisters, Elizabeth and Margaret.
It is interesting that the poor scientist never received a full education. This is due to the fact that the Faraday family lived poorly, and therefore when Michael was 13 years old, he dropped out of school and got a job as a delivery boy in a London bookstore.
Having successfully completed a probationary period at this job, he was accepted as an apprentice bookbinder.
There, in the bookstore, Faraday began self-study; there were a lot of different books there. In his memoirs, Faraday noted the books on electricity and chemistry that he read there and the first independent experiments that he began to conduct while studying these books.
The family, namely his brother and father, supported Michael in his passion for science and provided him with support, both moral and material. They also helped him make the Leyden Jar.
At the age of 19, Faraday attended evening lectures on physics and astronomy and participated in debates at the City Philosophical Society.
One of the visitors to the bookstore, musician William Dance, gave Michael a ticket to a series of public lectures at the Royal Institution by the famous chemist and physicist, discoverer of many chemical elements, Humphry Davy.
After Faraday listened to the lectures, he wrote it down and bound it, and then sent it to the author along with a cover letter in which he asked to hire him.
A few months later, Michael was hired as a laboratory assistant at the Royal Institution.
While working, he also tried to gain new knowledge, carefully listened to all the lectures of the lecturers and professors of the institute.
In the fall of 1813, Professor Davy took Faraday with him on a trip to the scientific centers of Europe, thanks to which Michael met such famous scientists as Andre-Marie Ampère, Michel Chevreul, Alexandro Volt and others.
After returning, Faraday continued to work at the institute, and at the age of 24, in 1816, he gave his first lecture on the properties of matter.
In 1821, Michael was promoted to the position of head of the facilities and laboratory of the Royal Institution. That same year, Michael Faraday married Sarah Barnard, who was the sister of his friend. The Faradays had no children.
In 1824 Faraday became a member of the Royal Society, which meant that he became a real scientist.
And in 1833, Michael Faraday took the position of professor of chemistry at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, where he worked until the end of his life.
Michael Faraday: discoveries
- In 1821 - the discovery of electromagnetic rotation.
- In 1823 - gas liquefaction and refrigeration
- In 1825 - discovery of benzene
- In 1831 - Faraday's law, formula, physics of electromagnetic induction (more details in the article)
- In 1834 - the laws of electrolysis
- In 1836 - the invention of the shielded camera
- In 1845 - discovery of the Faraday effect - magneto-optical effect
- In 1845 - the discovery of diamagnetism as a property of all matter
Biography
early years
Michael was born on 22 September 1791 in Newton Butts (now Greater London). His father was a poor blacksmith from the London suburbs. His elder brother Robert was also a blacksmith, who in every possible way encouraged Michael’s thirst for knowledge and at first supported him financially. Faraday's mother, a hardworking and uneducated woman, lived to see her son achieve success and recognition, and was rightfully proud of him. The family's modest income did not allow Michael to even graduate from high school; at the age of thirteen he began working as a supplier of books and newspapers, and then at the age of 14 he went to work in a bookstore, where he studied bookbinding. Seven years of work in a workshop on Blandford Street became for the young man years of intense self-education. All this time, Faraday worked hard - he enthusiastically read all the scientific works he bound on physics and chemistry, as well as articles from the Encyclopedia Britannica, and repeated the experiments described in books on homemade electrostatic devices in his home laboratory. An important stage in Faraday’s life was his studies at the City Philosophical Society, where Michael listened to popular science lectures on physics and astronomy in the evenings and participated in debates. He received money (a shilling to pay for each lecture) from his brother. At the lectures, Faraday made new acquaintances, to whom he wrote many letters in order to develop a clear and concise style of presentation; he also tried to master the techniques of oratory.
Getting started at the Royal Institution
Faraday gives a public lecture
Paying attention to the young man’s craving for science, in 1812 one of the visitors to the bookbinding workshop, a member of the Royal Society of London Denault, gave him a ticket to a series of public lectures by the famous physicist and chemist, the discoverer of many chemical elements, G. Davy at the Royal Institution. Michael not only listened with interest, but also wrote down and bound four lectures in detail, which he sent along with a letter to Professor Davy asking him to hire him at the Royal Institution. This “bold and naive step,” according to Faraday himself, had a decisive influence on his fate. The professor was surprised by the young man’s extensive knowledge, but at that moment there were no vacancies at the institute, and Michael’s request was granted only a few months later. Davy (not without some hesitation) invited Faraday to fill the vacant position as a laboratory assistant in the chemical laboratory of the Royal Institution, where he worked for many years. At the very beginning of this activity, in the fall of the same year, together with the professor and his wife, he made a long trip to the scientific centers of Europe (1813-1815). This trip was of great importance for Faraday: he and Davy visited a number of laboratories, where he met many outstanding scientists of that time, including A. Ampere, M. Chevrel, J. L. Gay-Lussac and A. Volta, who in turn, they paid attention to the brilliant abilities of the young Englishman.
First independent research
Faraday experimenting in the laboratory
Gradually, his experimental research increasingly shifted to the field of physics. After H. Oersted's discovery of the magnetic effect of electric current in 1820, Faraday became fascinated by the problem of the connection between electricity and magnetism. An entry appeared in his laboratory diary: “Convert magnetism into electricity.” Faraday's reasoning was as follows: if in Oersted's experiment the electric current has a magnetic force, and, according to Faraday, all forces are interconvertible, then magnets should excite the electric current. In the same year, he attempted to find the polarizing effect of current on light. By passing polarized light through water located between the poles of a magnet, he tried to detect the depolarization of light, but the experiment gave a negative result.
In 1823, Faraday became a member of the Royal Society of London and was appointed director of the physical and chemical laboratories of the Royal Institution, where he conducted his experiments.
In 1825, in the article “Electromagnetic Current (Under the Influence of a Magnet),” Faraday describes an experiment that, in his opinion, should show that the current acting on a magnet is counteracted by it. The same experience is described in Faraday's diary dated November 28, 1825. The experiment scheme looked like this. Two wires, separated by a double layer of paper, were placed parallel to each other. In this case, one was connected to a galvanic cell, and the second to a galvanometer. According to Faraday, when a current flows in the first wire, a current should be induced in the second, which would be recorded by a galvanometer. However, this experiment also gave a negative result.
In 1831, after ten years of continuous searching, Faraday finally found a solution to his problem. There is an assumption that Faraday was prompted to this discovery by a message from the inventor Joseph Henry, who also conducted induction experiments, but did not publish them, considering them insignificant and trying to give his results some systematicity. Henry, however, published a message that he had succeeded in creating an electromagnet capable of lifting a ton. This became possible due to the use of wire insulation, which made it possible to create a multilayer winding that significantly enhances the magnetic field.
Faraday describes his first successful experiment:
Two hundred and three feet of copper wire in one piece were wound around a large wooden drum; another two hundred and three feet of the same wire was laid in a spiral between the turns of the first winding, the metallic contact being everywhere eliminated by means of a cord. One of these spirals was connected to a galvanometer, and the other to a well-charged battery of one hundred pairs of plates, four inches square, with double copper plates. When the contact was closed there was a sudden but very weak effect on the galvanometer, and a similar weak effect took place when the contact with the battery was opened
In 1832, Faraday discovered electrochemical laws, which form the basis of a new branch of science - electrochemistry, which today has a huge number of technological applications.
Election to the Royal Society
In 1824, Faraday was elected a member of the Royal Society, despite the active opposition of Davy, with whom Faraday's relationship had become quite complicated by that time, although Davy liked to repeat that of all his discoveries, the most significant was “Faraday's discovery.” The latter also paid tribute to Davy, calling him a "great man." A year after his election to the Royal Society, Faraday was appointed director of the laboratory of the Royal Institution, and he received a professorship at this institute.
Faraday and religion
Michael Faraday was a believing Christian and continued to believe even after learning about Darwin's work. He belonged to the Sandimanian ( English) a sect whose members interpreted the Bible literally. The scientist was chosen as an elder of the sect in 1840, but in 1844, along with 13 other people, he was expelled from it for unknown reasons. However, within a few weeks Faraday was accepted back. Despite the fact that in 1850 he was again on the verge of expulsion from the sect, which, according to its rules, would mean lifelong exclusion, in 1860 Faraday was chosen as an elder for the second time. He held this post until 1864.
Works in Russian translations
- Faraday M. Selected Works on Electricity. M.-L.: GONTI, 1939. Series: Classics of Natural Science. (Collection of various works and fragments).
- Faraday M. Forces of matter and their relationships. M.: GAIZ, 1940.
- Faraday M. Experimental Research in Electricity. In 3 vols. M.: Publishing house. USSR Academy of Sciences, 1947, 1951, 1959. (Original title: Experimental Researches in Electricity).
see also
| Michael Faraday in Wikiquote | |
| in Wikisource | |
| Michael Faraday on Wikimedia Commons |
Notes
Literature
- Radovsky M. I. Faraday. M.: Magazine and Newspaper Association, 1936. Series: Life of Remarkable People, issue 19-20 (91-92).
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Michael Faraday is a brief biography of the English experimental physicist and chemist, the founder of the doctrine of the electromagnetic field. The biography will help you write a message about Michael Faraday.
Michael Faraday short biography and his discoveries
Born on September 22, 1791 in a village near London in the family of a blacksmith. There were five children in the family, they lived poorly. At the age of 13, he was forced to leave school and work as a delivery boy in a bookstore. And from 14 to 21 - he worked as a bookbinder in a bookstore
All this time he is engaged in self-education. Michael's favorite sciences are chemistry and physics. He sets up a home laboratory in which he conducts experiments and manufactures electrostatic devices. At the same time, he visited the City Philosophical Society and took part in debates on physics and astronomy.
In 1812, a minor event occurred that became a turning point in Faraday's life. One of the workshop's clients gave the young bookbinder tickets to lecture evenings by Humphry Davy, who spoke at the Royal Institution. Having attended Davy's lectures several times, Michael sends him a letter asking him to hire him at the Royal Institute. Davy was amazed by the young man’s knowledge, but there were no open vacancies at the institute at that time. Michael had to wait a few months, and then he began to serve as a laboratory assistant in the chemical laboratory at the institute. Soon after this, Davy, who goes on a trip to Europe with his wife, takes Faraday with him. During this trip, Michael met Gay-Lussac, Ampère, Volt and some other prominent scientists of the time.
In 1815, at the end of the trip, Faraday began to work very actively, focusing on independent scientific research. Already next year, at the Society for Self-Education, Michael began giving a course of lectures on chemistry and physics.
In 1821, Faraday created the first model of an electric motor. Over the next decade, the scientist studies the relationship between magnetic phenomena and electricity. In 1824, Michael was elected a member of the Royal Society.
In 1831, as a result of many years of work, Faraday discovered the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction. Soon the scientist deduces the basic laws of the phenomenon. Today, all alternating and direct current generators operate precisely thanks to Faraday's discoveries.
In 1833, he formulated the laws of electrolysis, also known as Faraday's Laws. The phenomena of diamagnetism and paramagnetism were discovered by scientists in the 1850s.
Michael Faraday died in August 1867 in London at his home at his desk.