Chapter 1 – Course Introduction

I. Introduction
Electricity is a form of energy tied to the existence of electrical charge and, as a result, is
related to magnetism. It plays a fundamental role in all the technologies we use today.
Everyday work and play activities through manufacturing and scientific research use electricity
as a source of energy. In this chapter, the theory of electricity, fundamental units, and costs are
introduced.

II. History of Electricity

The study and development of electricity occurred over many centuries. It has its roots
about 600 B.C.E. when a Greek mathematician named Thales documented what eventually
became known as static electricity. He recorded that after rubbing amber, a yellowish,
translucent mineral, with a piece of wool or fur other light objects such as straw or feathers
were attracted to the amber. For centuries this distinctive property was thought to be unique
to amber.
There was little development in the understanding of electricity until about 1600 when
English scientist William Gilbert described the electrification of many substances. He coined the
term electricity, which is derived from the Latin term electricus, meaning to “produce from
amber by friction.” It has its roots in the Greek term elektor, which means, “beaming sun.”
Gradual improvements in the understanding of electricity have led to the invention of motors,
generators, telephones, radio and television, and computers.
In 1660, a German experimenter named Otto von Guericke built the first electric
generating machine. It was constructed of a ball of sulfur, rotated by a crank with one hand and
rubbed with the other. Other experimenters recognized that other substances, such as copper,
silver, and gold, did not attract anything. An Englishman, Stephen Gray, distinguished between
materials that were conductors and nonconductors in 1729.
About 1746, Ewald Georg von Kleist, a German inventor, and Dutch physicist Pieter van
Musschenbroek of the University of Leyden, working independently, invented an electrical
storage device called a Leyden jar, a glass jar coated inside and outside with tin foil. Static
electricity could be discharged by simultaneously touching the inner and outer foil layers. It
demonstrated that electricity could be stored for future use.
In 1747, American inventor and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, suggested the existence
of an electrical fluid and surmised that an electric charge was made up of two types of electric
forces, an attractive force and a repulsive force. To identify these two forces, he gave the
names positive and negative, which are still in use today. Franklin conducted his famous kite
experiment in 1752. He flew a kite with a stiff wire pointing upward as a thunderstorm was
about to break. He attached a metal key to the other end of the hemp string, and let it hang
close to a Leyden jar. Rain moistened the string, which could then conduct electricity. Sparks
jumped from the key to the jar. Although there was no lightning, there was enough electricity in
the air for Franklin to prove that electricity and lightning are the same thing.
In 1786, an Italian anatomy professor, Luigi Galvani, observed that a discharge of static
electricity made a dead frog’s leg twitch. Ensuing experimentation produced what was a simple
electron cell using the fluids of the leg as an electrolyte and the muscle as a circuit and
indicator. Expanding on Galvani’s findings, Alessandro Volta, another Italian, built the voltaic
pile, an early type of electric cell or battery.
In 1820, H. C. Oersted, a Danish physicist, discovered that a magnetic field surrounds a
current-carrying wire, by observing that electrical currents affected the needle on a compass.
Within two years Andre Marie Ampere, a French mathematician, observed that a coil of wires
acts like a magnet when electrical current is passed through it. Shortly thereafter, D. F. Arago
invented the electromagnet and Joseph Henry, an American, demonstrated an electromagnetic
device that was capable of lifting over a thousand pounds. Also as the result of the newly
discovered electromagnet, Michael Faraday, an English-man, developed a crude electric motor
in 1831, but a practical motor was not developed until 1870. Both Faraday and Joseph Henry,
working independently, invented the electric generator with which to power the motor.
In 1831, American Samuel Morse conceived the idea of sending coded messages over
wires using the electromagnetic telegraph and a code of electrical impulses identified as dots
and dashes that eventually became known as “Morse Code.” The first message sent by the
electric telegraph was “What hath God wrought,” from the Supreme Court Room in the U.S.
Capitol to the railway depot at Baltimore on May 24, 1844. Morse’s electric telegraph is
recognized as the first practical use of electricity and the first system of electrical
communication.
Charles de Coulomb was the first person to measure the amount of electricity and
magnetism generated in a circuit. G. S. Ohm, a German college teacher, formulated a law
showing the relationship between volts, amps, and resistance. Henry and Ohm demonstrated
that in a long electric line it was better to have relatively high voltage and low current.
Additionally, J. P. Joule, G. R. Kirchhoff, and J. C. Maxwell also developed mathematical
relationships and rules concerning electrical circuiting.
In the late 1800s, electric lighting was viewed as an ideal use of electrical energy.
Although arc lights were invented and put to practical use for lighting streets by 1860, it was
not until 1879 that a practical incandescent lamp was developed independently by Thomas
Edison in America and Joseph Swan in England. Edison was the first to patent the commercially
feasible incandescent lamp so he is recognized as the inventor.
In 1882, the Edison Electric Light Company, later known as General Electric, successfully
demonstrated the use of artificial lighting by powering incandescent streetlights and lamps in
London and New York City. By the end of the 1880s, small electrical stations based on Edison’s
designs were in use a number of U.S. cities. However, each power station was able to power
only a few city blocks. Edison’s designs still serve as the basis of how we to distribute electricity
from power stations with the exception that Edison’s systems were direct current systems.
Direct current systems had the problematic characteristic that current could not be
economically transmitted over long distances.
American Nikola Tesla of Croatian descent, one of Edison’s former employees and a rival
of Edison at the end of the 19th century, is the inventor of 3-phase power distribution, the
alternating current motor, wireless transmission. He began experimenting on generators in
1883, and discovered the rotating magnetic field. This phenomenon serves as the basic
principle of the alternating current generator. Tesla then developed plans for an alternating
current induction motor, which become the first step towards the successful utilization of
alternating current.
In 1885, George Westinghouse, head of the Westinghouse Electric Company, bought the
patent rights to Tesla’s alternating current system.
In 1888, the alternating current motor was introduced and ultimately became the most
commonly used electric motor in buildings (e.g., for fans, air conditioners, and refrigerators). L.
Caulard and J. D. Gibbs announced the first transformer in 1883. This allowed alternating
current power to be generated at low voltage, then stepped up to high voltage for efficient
transmission, and then stepped down to an even lower voltage for safety reasons.
Reliance on electricity has grown significantly over the past decade in all countries. In
less than a century, the developed world has become extremely dependent on electricity and
problems have occurred because of this dependence. The effects of shortages and blackouts
experienced by the general public have under scored the significance of electricity in everyday
life.