Electricity

Where would we be without electricity? If you ever have a blackout it is a reminder of how reliant we are on plugging things in!

Early scholars like Thales of Miletus (600 BC) and Pliny (AD 70) made the observation that amber, when rubbed, had the power to attract light objects like bits of straw and feather.

Queen Elizabeth I’s physician, William Gilbert (1544-1603), did his own research on the subject and discovered that many substances possess that same power. He called it ‘electric’ which is taken from the Greek word for amber, elektron.

This English physician and physicist was also the first to use the terms ‘electricity’, ‘electric force’ and ‘electric attraction’.

The gilbert unit of magnetomotive power is named after William Gilbert in recognition of his landmark discoveries.