Talk:Michael Faraday/Archive 2

The following paragraph represents material I found in Hamilton's work which supports most of material currently written.

While working as a lab assistant at the Royal Institution, Faraday grew excited by the prospects in a new field of study, electricity and magnetism. Prompted for a summary on this subject by Richard Phillips, editor of the Annals of Philosophy, Faraday repeated the published labs on the subject to develop an overview on this groundbreaking topic . He began his review on the topic with observations that an electric current flowing in a straight wire caused magnetized needles to move. Upon lengthy reflection, Faraday expanded on this concept to create an electrical circuit that allowed the “live” wire to rotate around a magnet, thereby producing the first electric motor . In his excitement, Faraday rushed to publish his observations of all the laboratory work without acknowledging the initial contributions of Royal Society member’s Wollaston and Davy. The resulting controversy within the Royal Society strained his mentor relationship with Davy and may well have contributed to Faraday’s assignment to other activities thereby removing him from electromagnetic research for several years .

¹ p. 162. James Hamilton’s “A Life of Discovery.” The original source for this note lies in the Annals of Philosophy NS vol. 2 (1821), pp.195-200 and 274-90.

² pp. 163-4.

³ pp. 165-71, 183, 187-90. p 183 can be further supported with correspondence with M. Ampere (notable French Scientist of the day). I have not taken the time to locate this item though it might be a noteworthy find.

The next paragraph opening contradicts earlier sections of this article.

At this stage, there is also evidence[citation needed] to suggest that Davy may have been trying to slow Faraday's rise as a scientist (or natural philosopher as it was known then). In 1825, for instance, Davy set him onto optical glass experiments, which progressed for six years with no great results. It was not until Davy's death, in 1829, that Faraday stopped these fruitless tasks and moved on to endeavors that were more worthwhile.

Faraday was looking for the connection between electromagnetism and light for most of his career. This period of research with optics gave him an opportunity to explore the linkage from the other side. While he did not achieve the breakthrough he found with the electric motor, he simply found paths that did not support this connection. As Davy was the more senior member of the Royal Society, it only makes sense that Faraday found greater opportunities with Davy's passing. From what I gather, the Royal Institution was a meagerly staffed non-profit entity of the day that performed research in support of the crown. There were not that many researchers and a lot of organizations that needed technical answers to their questions. It is reasonable to say that these Royal Society researchers had BUSY schedules. (Hamilton - 2004)

JamAKiska (talk) 22:57, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Included footnotes to this material, and italicized the biased material currently in Faraday EM section.JamAKiska (talk) 13:02, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Added citations from Thompson's Michael Faraday, his life and work (1901). to augment controversy discussion. Also added suggested substitution for the opening of the paragraph following picture to help bridge Faraday's early work with EM to his later work. JamAKiska (talk) 18:11, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

Adjusted punctuation and word choice for clarity and to establish linkage to evolving relationship with Davy. JamAKiska (talk) 21:41, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

Consolidated material to this location.CUoD (talk) 03:23, 19 February 2010 (UTC) Completed formatting for archive set-up.CUoD (talk) 11:44, 19 February 2010 (UTC)