Historical Works on Energy
"Guilielmi Gilberti Colcestrensis, medici londinensis, De magnete, magneticisque corporibus, et de magno magnete tellure : physiologia noua, plurimis & argumentis, & experimentis demonstrata. "On the magnet, on magnetic bodies, and on the great magnet of by Call Number: QC751.G44 1600Publication Date: 1600William Gilbert (1544-1603) was physician to Queen Elizbeth I and an experimental physicist born in Colchester, England. His major work, Guilielmi Gilberti Colcestrensis, medici londinensis, De magnete, magneticisque corporibus, et de magno magnete tellure : physiologia noua, plurimis & argumentis, & experimentis demonstrata, published in 1600, investigated the phenomenon known today as static electricity, which was first described by Gilbert using the adjective ‘electricus’ from the Latin electrum and the Greek electron. The terms ‘electricity’, ‘electric force’, and ‘electric attraction’ also appear for the first time. Gilbert is also given credit for coining the words equator, terrella, versorium, magneticum and verticitas. De Magnete takes 6 parts, covering the magnetism of the earth and its poles, the distinction between magnetism and electricity, magnetic declination, magnetic dip and terrestrial rotation. De Magnete is particularly important as a foundational document of the experimental method, with clear illustrations and instructions.
A treatise on electricity by Call Number: QC516 W53 1750Publication Date: 1750Benjamin Wilson (1721-1788) holds the distinction of being the finest, most well remembered portrait painter-cum-electrical scientist of the 18th century. A fan of Isaac Newton, his 1750 book A Treatise on Electricity directly refuted Benjamin Franklin’s work. A large part of his argument was in favour of rounded tip lightning rods, which he believed worked better than the tapered rods that Franklin touted. There was also the issue of Wilson being a Royalist and Franklin being on the side of the Americans despite living in London since 1757. Wilson, despite years of portrait painting alongside greats such as William Hogarth and Joshua Reynolds, is primarily remembered for his work with electricity. He was made secretary of the Royal Society, and in 1760 was awarded the prestigious Copley Medal for his electromagnetic experiments involving tourmaline and amber. Rubbing the mineral and the resin together would result in the harder of the two being electrified positively, and the other negatively.
The history and present state of electricity: with original experiments by Call Number: QC516.P95 1769Publication Date: 1769Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) was a chemist, theologian and philosopher and will be known by most as the discoverer of oxygen, but he is also considered the first true historian of the science of electricity. His book, The History and Present State of Electricity, first published in 1767, was encouraged by his friend Benjamin Franklin. It brought together historic and contemporary knowledge of electricity, including electrical machines. The figures shown here are of hand cranked electrical wheels by a Dr. Watson and a Mr. Wilson, and Priestly remarks of figure 2:
“One of the most complete machines, and one that had the greatest power of any that I have seen, except my own, is of this construction.”
Priestley also added his own discoveries, such as the conductive properties of charcoal. The account of Franklins famous key experiment within The History and Present State of Electricity is described thoroughly and is generally considered the authoritative record.
Experiments and observations on electricity, made at Philadelphia in America by Call Number: QC516 .F85 1774Publication Date: 1774Most of us know Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) from his time as a politician and diplomat of the young United States as well as his infamy in what has become known as ‘the kite experiment’, wherein he tied a key to a kite and flew it into a thunderstorm. The string of the kite became wet, and Franklin was able to charge a Leyden jar. He shared these findings in a letter on October 19th 1752, to botanist Peter Collinson (1694-1768) of London, who would then present these findings on Franklin’s to the Royal Society. The foundation of the present theory of electricity, that of positive and negative charges, was conceived in these experiments, in a verification to the earlier idea of ‘virtuous and resinous’ states of electricity by Charles François de Cisternay du Fay (1698-1739). The book was almost immediately translated into German, French and Italian and remains one of the world’s most influential works, not only on electricity, but also Franklin’s meteorological studies, including this image of a waterspout (known then as a ‘whirling’).
Trattato completo d'elettricita teorica e pratica, con sperimenti originali. Complete treatise on theoretical and practical electronics, with original experiments by Call Number: QC516.C38 1779Publication Date: 1779Cavallo, Tiberius (1749-1809) was a distinguished Italian natural philosopher who made many observations on the phenomena of electricity in glass tubes of mercury during his career in London. His 1795 edition of the Treatise mentions the possibility of "transmitting intelligence via combinations of sparks and pauses" using brass wires, gunpowder and a Leyden jar. The Leyden jar would become widely used in electrotherapy during the 19th century. In 1780 he published Essay on the Theory and Practice of Medical Electricity, explaining how to use electrical machines to cure everything from deafness to ulcers. During his life he studied air and air travel, contributing to the beginnings of aeronautics and balloon travel, publishing History and Practice of Aerostation in 1785.
De viribus electricitatis in motu musculari: commentarius by Call Number: WZ260.G26 1791Publication Date: 1791Luigi Galvani (1737-1798) was an 18th century physician and physicist who, with his wife, experimented with electricity’s effect on mammals at the University of Bologna. He deduced from his experiments on frogs’ legs that an ‘electrical fluid’ existed within the body which he dubbed 'Animal Electricity'. Anticipating a negative reaction from his fellow scientists, he delayed publication of De viribus electricitatis in motu musculari, commentarius until 1791. This was proved particularly true in his adversary, Alessandro Volta (1745-1798), who believed that the twitching was simply a side effect of the electricity moving between the two metal plates attached to the frog. Both men were to be proved partially correct, and Volta coined the term ‘Galvanism’, which is still in use today. Galvani’s work, and that of his nephew, Giovani Aldini (1962-1834) after him, is generally considered the birth of electrophysiology. Aldini is often credited with laying the groundwork for the treatment of mental disorders by electroconvulsive therapy, popular through the 19th and mid-20th centuries.
Experimental Researches in Technology by Call Number: QC503.F212 1839Publication Date: 1839Michael Faraday (1791-1867), one of the most famous scientists in history, is well known for his commonly cited inventions like the Faraday Cage and the discovery of electromagnetic induction, known as Faraday’s Law. Faraday worked for over ten years to generate electricity from magnetism, but his discovery eventually came to fruition in only ten days. In December 1831, Faraday initially took his findings to the Royal Society and was credited with the discovery of electromagnetic induction just before American scientist Joseph Henry (1797-1878), who published his take in 1832. Faraday’s Law is fundamental to the operation of generators, transformers and electric motors, among many other technologies. In Experimental Researches in Technology, Faraday’s readings at the Royal Society in London from 1831-1838 have been compiled in three volumes, published in 1839, 1844 and 1855.
The battery and the boiler, or, Adventures in the laying of submarine electric cables by Call Number: PZ6 1883.B344Publication Date: 1883When author and illustrator Robert Ballantyne (1825-1849) was 16 years old, he signed a five-year contract with the Hudson’s Bay Company. He would spend the following years in what is now central Canada, keeping journals and sending letters home describing his work in the fur trade. A family friend in Edinburgh suggested he have his letters published, which is what he did in 1848, with his own illustrations. This led to a long and influential career authoring what were known as ‘Boys Adventure’ novels, over one hundred titles in his lifetime. Ballantyne wrote adventures featuring new technologies, such as electricity and undersea diving. The Battery and the Boiler is unique, it follows the travels of an electrician who is laying cables under the sea for telecommunications. This electrician is regaled of a story from ‘the East’, of a tiger taking offense to being shocked while scratching himself on a telegraph pole, and the ensuing fight between the animal and electricity is illustrated.
Water-powers of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta by Call Number: F5504.4 C2Publication Date: 1916The Commission of Conservation of Canada ran from the years 1909-1921, with a goal of providing the most up to date scientific data relating to the conservation of natural resources. The hope was to slow down the ongoing exploitation of the land due to population increase. The Commission was designed to be non-partisan and to take an advisory role only. The water and hydro power committee played a major part in this Commission, by mapping and photographing the hydrographic network of the country. The commission promoted relatively limited dam development and opposed large operations. This was controversial, as Canada was exporting electricity to the United States, the Commission was heartily nationalistic in its views of keeping Canada’s resources at home. The Commission published over 200 reports, but these records were destroyed. However, some specialists who contributed to the Commission kept their work, which is how this copy of Water-powers of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta survived and made its way into UBC’s collection.
References
General
Dibner, B. & Burndy Library. (1955). Heralds of science: As represented by two hundred epochal books and pamphlets selected from the Burndy Library: Vol. no. 12; Burndy Library.
Mottelay, P. F. & Universal Library. (1922). Bibliographical history Of Electricity and Magnetism. Charles Griffin and Company Limited.
Gilbert
400 Years of “De Magnete.” (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2023, from http://www.phy6.org/earthmag/
BBC - History - Historic Figures: William Gilbert (1544 - 1603). (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2023, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/gilbert_william.shtml
Wilson
Benjamin Wilson (1721-88)—A short view of electricity / B. Wilson. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2023, from https://www.rct.uk/collection/1090155/a-short-view-of-electricity-b-wilson
Graciano, A. (2012). The Memoir of Benjamin Wilson, Frs (1721-88): Painter and Electrical Scientist. The Volume of the Walpole Society, 74, 165–243.
Franklin
Schiffer, M. B., Hollenback, K. L., & Bell, C. L. (2003). Draw the Lightning Down: Benjamin Franklin and Electrical Technology in the Age of Enlightenment. University of California Press.
Cavallo
The History and Practice of Aerostation. (n.d.). Science History Institute Digital Collections. Retrieved September 14, 2023, from https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/pz50gx12x
Galvani and Aldini
Laboratory, N. H. M. F. (n.d.). Luigi Galvani—Magnet Academy. Retrieved September 14, 2023, from https://nationalmaglab.org/magnet-academy/history-of-electricity-magnetism/pioneers/luigi-galvani/
Giovanni Aldini. (n.d.). The Linda Hall Library. Retrieved September 14, 2023, from https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/giovanni-aldini
Faraday
Applications of electromagnetic induction. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2023, from http://physics.bu.edu/~duffy/py106/Electricgenerators.html
Ballantyne
Ballantyne, Robert Michael (1825–1894), author. (n.d.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/1232
Canada. Commission of Conservation
Girard, M. (1991). The Commission of Conservation as a Forerunner to the National Research Council 1909-1921. Scientia Canadensis : Canadian Journal of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine / Scientia Canadensis : Revue Canadienne d’histoire Des Sciences, Des Techniques et de La Médecine, 15(2), 19–40. https://doi.org/10.7202/800326ar
Hall, D. J. (2007). The Commission of Conservation (1909–1921). In The Commission of Conservation (1909–1921) (pp. 236–263). University of British Columbia Press. https://doi.org/10.59962/9780774857116-013