JAMILA ARIA G.

MACAGBA
2012-13341
The Brightest Minds with the Brightest Inventions
What would I be doing today if there was no electricity? How could I have typed this
paper? Would candles be the only source of light other than the moon every night? All these
questions are in my mind right now, wondering how the world would be like if the mysteries of
electricity was never known to the world. What about the electronics? Or would there be such a
thing as an electronic. Well, we all owe it to the scientists who devoted much in the world of
electricity.
Francis Hauksbee, the Head of Demonstrations that is under the hands of Isaac Newton,
was very inclined to the mysteries of electricity. Little did he know that his work, Hauksbees
machine, opened a new path that to the unraveling of the mysteries of electricity. We could say
that his experiment was like a reveille to all other scientists. It is a pity that he never saw the
significance of his work because if he saw the significance, he could have done much more
experiments to suffice his queries. It is quite amusing how the electricians use electric static and
other more as a means of entertainment. Even I, upon watching the film, was entertained with
what they were doing before. As years pass by, electricians became more curious as to not only
entertain guests but also how to control this electricity. Some electricians who contributed in
the domain of electricity are Stephen Gray and Peter van Musschenbroek. Gray concluded that
electricity moves and divided the world into two different kinds of substances: insulators and
conductors. Musschenbroek wanted to store electrical charge and accidentally come up with the
Leyden Jar.
The first American electrician, Benjamin Franklin, was famous with his kite-lightning
experiment. What took my attention was the part where it was said that the experiment was not
performed, but one of his experiments with lightning proved that lightning are produced or
produce electricity. Henry Cavendish, Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta also contributed in the
field of electricity. In Galvani and Voltas conflict, Volta would never have won if he was not
provoked with the experiments of Galvani. In a way, I can say that Galvani was also a force that
led Volta into creating the battery. Giovani Aldinis experiment was a bit creepy because he used
a dead body, but it is very significant and very useful in the medical field. The very turning point
in the world of electricity was Humprhy Davys largest battery and that led to the new era, the
era of electricity.
Michael Faraday and Hans Christian Oersted focused on the relation of electricity to
magnetic field. William Sturgeon and Joseph Henry were the ones who produced the first
electromagnet. Samuel Morse and Wildman Whitehouse were mostly concerned with the
telegraph. Thomas Edison and Joseph Swan worked in partnership for creating the incandescent
light bulb but only Edison is recognized. Even I myself did not know that Swan worked with
Edison. The conflict between Edison and Nikola Tesla was interesting in a way that both sides
are well defended but in the end, Tesla won. Not only Tesla was in favor of the alternating
current, but also George Westinghouse. If Westinghouse is in favor of alternating current, Harold
P. Brown was in favor of direct current. The conflict was measured by the safeness of the current.
Though Tesla won, his brilliant mind snapped and he developed some unusual phobias and even
fell in love with a pigeon. So maybe it is true that being too smart makes you crazy.

Some of these scientists or electricians did what they did for fame and money. Some of
the earlier electricians were just for the entertainment. Most of them are also in for their own
pleasure. Also, most of them did what they did to actually reach their goal in seeing the world lit
up by their works. Although not all of them succeeded the way they wanted to, but still, their
works helped build the world today.
If I were to be among the ranks of the inventors I have mentioned, I would like to be
somehow like Nikola Tesla. Not that I also want to have feelings for pigeons, but because I was
moved with his story. Before he died, he looked outside and saw what he did to the world. And
being able to see the world that you changed, I cannot imagine just how overwhelming and
satisfying it would be. I would like to experience that feeling and the only way to do that is to do
just as much or greater than what Tesla had done and change the world. Though I may not be as
smart as Tesla, bit by bit, I want to contribute as much as I can, maybe from a simple machine
like a solar charger to a more useful machine. And if I am to make machines/experiments, I
would like to create things that are eco-friendly and useful. I would also like to discover
something new and name it with my own name. Discoveries like new and unlimited source of
energy. Someday, in the near future, like Tesla, I would like to look outside and see what I
contributed to the world and to be able to feel satisfied and accomplished.
Though the idea of a discovery or an invention may sound impossible and trust me, it
really sounds impossible, but all those inventors and scientists might have thought of the same
thing. But look at what they did. Though something did sound impossible, they went on and now,
we have the world as it is.