About the lecture

In this mini-lecture, we learn about the developments in the understanding of electricity and magnetism that lead to the discovery of electromagnetic induction. In particular, we consider: (i) the etymology of the word ‘electric’, which comes from the Greek word for ‘amber’ since amber gives off a strong charge when rubbed; (ii) Alessandro Volta (after whom the Volt is named), who devised the first electrical battery known as the ‘pile’; (iii) Hans Christian Øersted, who found that a current from a battery could exert magnetic effects; (iv) a demonstration of the electromagnetic effect discovered by Øersted; (v) the invention of the electromagnet; (vi) Michael Faraday’s electromagnetic rotation device and his discovery of electromagnetic induction; (vii) a demonstration of electromagnetic induction; and (viii) the Faraday coil and the importance of Faraday’s discoveries to the electrical power industry we rely on today.

About the lecturer

Bruce Hunt is a Professor in the History Department at the University of Texas at Austin. His main field is the history of science, and his research focuses on the development of electrical science and technology in the 19th century, particularly in Britain. He is the author of several books, including Imperial Science: Cable Telegraphy and Electrical Physics in the Victorian British Empire (2021), Pursuing Power and Light: Technology and Physics from James Watt to Albert Einstein (2010), and The Maxwellians (1991, reissued 2005). In 2015, Professor Hunt was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in recognition of his “groundbreaking work on the history of electromagnetism in the nineteenth century and the relationship between physics and technology.”