When Faraday broke the mould
Michael Faraday recorded in his laboratory diary on October 28th, 1831, that he was "making many experiments with the great magnet of the Royal Society." He demonstrated the link between magnetism and electricity, and went on to invent the dynamo, precursor of the electric motor, as well as laying the groundwork for the understanding of electromagnetic radiation.
The young Michael Faraday, born in Southwark in 1791, was the third of four children born to a blacksmith who'd just moved from Westmorland. Faraday, having only the most basic school education, had to educate himself by reading books, and devoured scientific books.
When he was 20, Faraday attended lectures by the renowned chemist, Humphry Davy of the Royal Institution and the Royal Society. When he sent Davy a 300-page bound copy of the notes he'd taken, Davy employed him as his personal assistant, and as Chemical assistant at the Royal Institution.
Faraday made a major discovery when he wrapped two insulated coils of wire around an iron ring, and found that upon passing a current through one coil, a momentary current was induced in the other coil. This phenomenon is now known as mutual induction. He deduced that there was only one type of electricity, contrary to the prevailing view that there were several, and he showed that changing the values of the quantity and the intensity – today's current and voltage – would produce different effects.
Faraday's work changed the world, and lies behind today's power generation, and his discoveries and developments underpin every electric motor in use today. He was remarkably modest. He refused a knighthood, having a religious objection to earthly rewards, and declined the offer of burial in Westminster Abbey, though there is a plaque honouring him near Newton's memorial.
Faraday undertook a series of Christmas lectures for young people at the Royal Institution, a series that continues today. Their aim was to present science to the general public in the hopes of inspiring them. His lectures were described as joyful and juvenile, and he would fill soap bubbles with various gasses (in order to determine whether or not they are magnetic) in front of his audiences, and demonstrated the rich colors of polarized light.
Albert Einstein used to have Michael Faraday's picture in his office, along with Isaac Newton and James Clerk Maxwell. There is a statue of Faraday in Savoy Place, London, outside the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and innumerable laboratories and university buildings are named after him.
Faraday showed that someone from a humble background, but someone with a thirst for discovery and an ambition to find out how the universe works, could write important pages in the catalogue of knowledge. He never patented any of his discoveries, leaving them open source for humankind, and he never tried to make money from them. He was quoted as saying: “I can at any moment convert my time into money, but I do not require more of the latter than is sufficient for necessary purposes.”
Humankind could use more Faradays to improve its condition and enlarge its choices, and there ought to be ways in which we can spot potential ones early and ensure that they are not held back by pressures to conform and to fall in with consensus. Faraday was a mould breaker, and we should strive for an educational system that encourages young minds to emulate him.