Publisher's Synopsis
Contains: Lecture I. The Force Of Gravitation, Lecture II. Gravitation-Cohesion, Lecture III. Cohesion-Chemical Affinity, Lecture IV. Chemical Affinity-Ceat, Lecture V. Magnetism-Electricity and Lecture VI. The Correlation Of The Physical Forces. Michael Faraday, FRS (1791-1867) was an English chemist and physicist (or natural philosopher, in the terminology of the time) who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. Faraday studied the magnetic field around a conductor carrying a DC electric current, and established the basis for the magnetic field concept in physics. He discovered electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and laws of electrolysis. He established that magnetism could affect rays of light and that there was an underlying relationship between the two phenomena. His inventions of electromagnetic rotary devices formed the foundation of electric motor technology, and it was largely due to his efforts that electricity became viable for use in technology. As a chemist, Faraday discovered benzene, investigated the clathrate hydrate of chlorine, invented an early form of the bunsen burner and the system of oxidation numbers, and popularized terminology such as anode, cathode, electrode, and ion. He was the first and foremost Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, a position to which he was appointed for life. He was highly religious, and was a member of the Sandemanian Church, a Christian sect founded in 1730 which demanded total faith and commitment.