FROM SCRATCH SERIES || CHAPTER 1: वैद्युतकषास्त्र (THE ELECTRICITY महायज्ञ) || PART 5: Electricity and the first electrostatic generator

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 Part 5 || Electricity and the first electrostatic generator ||

After Dr.Gil, the next person that comes in our trail is: Sir Thomas Browne(1605 - 1682). An English polymath, this guy has done something really SUBSTANTIAL in this whole journey: He coined the term: Electricity. 

that's it..... yeah.... That's it!
[sigh of disappointment]

Sir Thomas Browne

Sir Browne has written a book called: 'Pseudodoxia Epidemica' -1646 (latin: Pseudodox Epidemic -> meaning 'An Epidemic of False Beliefs'). This guy was a science skeptic, deeply influenced by the ideas of Dr.Gil, he challenged superstitions and "common error" made by people in their beliefs. 

Our subject of interest lies here: Book II > Chapter IV: Of Bodies Electrical. He mostly echoes Dr.Gil's reasonings on the attraction of stuff by amber: 


And here is the excerpt where he coins the term, which I found in BookI > Chapter I: Of Crystal


The source of the book is: Project Gutenberg's website. 

The next guy in our trail is... a German guy. The man himself: Otto Von Guericke(1602-1686). A German scientist, inventor, mathematician, and Physicist. 

Otto Von Guericke

His one and only major work is his book: 'Experiments Nova(ut vocantur) Madgeburgica de Vacuo Spatio' -1672 (latin: 'The new Magdeburg experiments(as they are called) on Empty Space'). This book was originally written in Latin and I couldn't find a full English translation. I was, however, able to find this partial translation by Joseph Muscat. <- Thanks, Buddy!!

So, from his article, Magdeburg was apparently a place, Guericke became a councillor and ambassador for. The primary subject of study for Guericke was vacuum. He wanted to study if it was really possible to exist. In the Book II titled: Empty Space and in Chapter III titled Vacuum, he states a counter-argument to Aristotle's argument as to why vacuum shouldn't exist. Aristotle argues: What doesn't cause anything[is not observable] -> cannot be said to exist. But in his counter, Guericke gives out an experiment where water is shown rushing to fill a vacuum. So, vacuum did cause something, it must exist. After this, there is a really beautiful and subtle argument: 


He provides an experiment on vacuum(his first one) by extracting water in Book III (titled: Experiments)> Chapter II. Here's an illustration: 


The experiments that follow this one provide a trail of attempts at creating vacuum. He designs and keeps the design for the vacuum contraption. He then moves on to other subjects like smells, fermentation, air, clouds, fire, etc. One of his most famous experiments comes at Chapter XXIII: 'An Experiment showing how air Gravity keeps 16 horses from pulling apart two hemispheres.' He basically joined them airtight and then sucked out all the air between them. 

His work of Our concern is the Electrostatic Generator. The first mention of which, was at Book IV -> titled: 'On the Virtues of the World'. 


This Globe is mentioned later in Chapter XV titled: 'An Experiment that excites the virtues in Sulfurous Globe'. 

Herein, he first describes the procedure to prepare a Sulphur globe by melting sulphur and then he goes on to demonstrate various phenomena with this globe. He instructs to rotate the globe continuously on an axle and rub it with a dry palm. He observed that this globe attracts and carries with it pieces of gold, silver foil, paper, etc. He proposes that the earth has similar causes for attraction of objects through its "24-hour spinning motion". He also discusses the "repelling virtue" of the globe in point number 3. He gives an example of a soft-feather that the globe repels away from itself until it has touched some other body. He elucidates several observations with such feather in detail, for that, refer to the book. 

he observes a sound virtue in the globe in point number 6. Wherein, he informs of a thunder sound. He also informs of a "luminous virtue" in this globe, as he observes it to glow in a dark room. 

 








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