A Brief History: Electricity

Electricity is a naturally occurring form of energy, so it wasn’t ‘invented’; rather, it was ‘discovered’!

• True

• False

More than 2500 years ago, in about 600BC, the Ancient Greeks discovered static electricity. What did they rub to discover this phenomenon?

• Amber and fur

• Silver and paper

• Zinc and copper

• Gold and silk

In the 1600s, William Gilbert coined a new Latin word, electricus, meaning ‘like amber’. What was the purpose of the term ‘electricus’?

• To describe how objects become attracted to other materials

• To name a battery

• To describe lightning

• To name a scientist

Who developed the first instrument to measure the presence of electricity, called the electroscope?

• William Gilbert

• Alessandro Volta

• Benjamin Franklin

• Michael Faraday

In 1752, Benjamin Franklin carried out his famous kite experiment, where he demonstrated that lightning was electricity. What did he tie to the kite string?

• A key

• A battery

• A piece of amber

• A voltmeter

Alessandro Volta was an Italian physicist who invented the electric battery. The battery was made up of disks of zinc, silver and paper or cloth (soaked in salt water or sodium hydroxide). What was Volta’s invention known as?

• Voltaic pile or voltaic current

• Electroscope

• Leyden jar

• Lightning rod

Volt and voltage were named after which scientist?

• Alessandro Volta

• James Watt

• Michael Faraday

• André-Marie Ampère

In 1831, Michael Faraday created the electric dynamo, which was an early power generator. What did this invention generate?

• Water

• Electric current

• Heat

• Light

Who was credited with inventing the modern light bulb in 1878?

• Michael Faraday

• Thomas Edison

• Harvey Hubbell II

• Nikola Tesla

In 1904, Harvey Hubbell II patented the first detachable electric plug in the USA. This invention revolutionised how ______ were connected and disconnected from power sources.

• appliances

• vehicles

• buildings

• computers