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"The American" (American Philosophical Society / July 4, 2010) |
"He seized the lightning from heaven and the scepter from tyrants."
Boston, 1711.
It was the middle of the night. A terrible fork of lightning illuminated the small room and moments later deafening thunder boomed. Five-year-old Ben's brothers and sisters ran for cover.
But Ben didn't run. He gazed at the sky in fascination.
Off in the distance, lightning had struck a house.
Josiah, Ben's father, came into the room and saw the house burning.
He said solemnly. "It is the will of God."
"Our neighbors house is burning and it is the will of God, father? Why?" asked little Ben.
"No one questions the will of the Almighty, son."
His father's words filled Ben with wonderment and he felt bad for his neighbors.
In these times, people's houses were frequently destroyed by a fire created by lightning.
Abiah, Ben's mother, bustled into the room. She quieted the younger children and read them all an Aesop's Fable by candlelight.
There were 17 children. At the age of 8 Ben went to school for one year. At the age of 10, he was put to work. But Ben loved to read. And though his way was difficult, he became a success and eventually one of the richest men in the British colonies in America.
In 1749, at the age of 43, he retired and began scientific experiments.
Ben remembered his fascination with thunderstorms. He believed lightning was electricity.
Most scientists of the day already believed that lightning was electricity, but they didn't know why and they couldn't prove it.
Ben believed that the thunderclouds were full of water and when these clouds were hit by high winds, it was this that created the electricity that escaped from the clouds in the form of lightning.
He proved this by flying a kite with a metal key attached to it in an electrical storm. He succeeded in electrifying the metal key. He was lucky not to be injured as this experiment is very dangerous.
He was the first man in the world to prove that lightning was electricity.
Boston, 1711.
It was the middle of the night. A terrible fork of lightning illuminated the small room and moments later deafening thunder boomed. Five-year-old Ben's brothers and sisters ran for cover.
But Ben didn't run. He gazed at the sky in fascination.
Off in the distance, lightning had struck a house.
Josiah, Ben's father, came into the room and saw the house burning.
He said solemnly. "It is the will of God."
"Our neighbors house is burning and it is the will of God, father? Why?" asked little Ben.
"No one questions the will of the Almighty, son."
His father's words filled Ben with wonderment and he felt bad for his neighbors.
In these times, people's houses were frequently destroyed by a fire created by lightning.
Abiah, Ben's mother, bustled into the room. She quieted the younger children and read them all an Aesop's Fable by candlelight.
There were 17 children. At the age of 8 Ben went to school for one year. At the age of 10, he was put to work. But Ben loved to read. And though his way was difficult, he became a success and eventually one of the richest men in the British colonies in America.
In 1749, at the age of 43, he retired and began scientific experiments.
Ben remembered his fascination with thunderstorms. He believed lightning was electricity.
Most scientists of the day already believed that lightning was electricity, but they didn't know why and they couldn't prove it.
Ben believed that the thunderclouds were full of water and when these clouds were hit by high winds, it was this that created the electricity that escaped from the clouds in the form of lightning.
He proved this by flying a kite with a metal key attached to it in an electrical storm. He succeeded in electrifying the metal key. He was lucky not to be injured as this experiment is very dangerous.
He was the first man in the world to prove that lightning was electricity.
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