Michael Faraday

Michael Faraday ( FAYR-uh-day; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was a prominent English chemist and physicist renowned for his extensive contributions to the fields of electrochemistry and electromagnetism. His seminal discoveries encompass the fundamental principles of electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and electrolysis. Despite his limited formal education, Faraday emerged as a self-taught individual and one of history's most influential scientists. Through his investigations into the magnetic field surrounding a direct current conductor, Faraday formulated the concept of the electromagnetic field in physics. He further demonstrated that magnetism could influence light rays, thereby revealing an intrinsic connection between these two phenomena. He independently elucidated the principles of electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and the laws governing electrolysis. His pioneering electromagnetic rotary devices laid the groundwork for electric motor technology, and his endeavors were instrumental in making electricity practical for technological applications. The SI unit for capacitance, the farad, is named in his honor.

Michael Faraday ( FAYR-uh-day; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English chemist and physicist who contributed vastly to the study of electrochemistry and electromagnetism. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and electrolysis. Although Faraday received little formal education, as a self-made man, he was one of the most influential scientists in history. It was by his research on the magnetic field around a conductor carrying a direct current that Faraday established the concept of the electromagnetic field in physics. Faraday also established that magnetism could affect rays of light and that there was an underlying relationship between the two phenomena. He similarly discovered the principles of electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and the laws of electrolysis. His inventions of electromagnetic rotary devices formed the foundation of electric motor technology, and it was largely due to his efforts that electricity became practical for use in technology. The SI unit of capacitance, the farad, is named after him.

In his capacity as a chemist, Faraday identified benzene and carbon tetrachloride, conducted research on the clathrate hydrate of chlorine, devised an early iteration of the Bunsen burner, established the system of oxidation numbers, and popularized terms including "anode," "cathode," "electrode," and "ion." Ultimately, Faraday attained the distinguished position of the first Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution, a lifetime appointment.

Faraday was primarily an experimentalist who articulated his concepts with clarity and simplicity, perceiving and interpreting the physical world visually rather than through linguistic or symbolic representations. His mathematical proficiency was restricted to basic algebra, not extending to trigonometry. The physicist and mathematician James Clerk Maxwell subsequently synthesized the work of Faraday and his contemporaries into a set of equations, which now serves as the foundational framework for all contemporary theories of electromagnetic phenomena. Regarding Faraday's application of lines of force, Maxwell observed that they reveal Faraday "to have been in reality a mathematician of a very high order – one from whom the mathematicians of the future may derive valuable and fertile methods."

Faraday dedicated substantial time and effort to public service initiatives. His work included optimizing lighthouse efficiency and implementing measures to protect ships from corrosion. Collaborating with Charles Lyell, he conducted a forensic inquiry into a colliery explosion at Haswell, County Durham, which for the first time identified coal dust as a contributing factor to the explosion's severity and illustrated how proper ventilation could have averted the disaster. Furthermore, Faraday investigated industrial pollution in Swansea and air pollution at the Royal Mint, and he corresponded with The Times regarding the deplorable state of the River Thames during the Great Stink. He declined to participate in the development of chemical weapons for the Crimean War, citing ethical objections. He chose not to publish his lectures, instead advocating for individuals to replicate the experiments personally to enhance their understanding of the discoveries. He famously informed a publisher: "I have always loved science more than money and because my occupation is almost entirely personal I cannot afford to get rich."

Albert Einstein prominently displayed a portrait of Faraday on his study wall, alongside those of Isaac Newton and Maxwell. Physicist Ernest Rutherford remarked, "When we consider the magnitude and extent of his discoveries and their influence on the progress of science and of industry, there is no honour too great to pay to the memory of Faraday, one of the greatest scientific discoverers of all time." He established the Royal Institution's Friday Evening Discourses and was a primary popularizer of its Christmas Lecture Series.

Biography

Early life

Michael Faraday was born on September 21, 1791, in Newington Butts, Surrey, an area now incorporated into the London Borough of Southwark. His family experienced financial hardship. His father, James, adhered to the Glasite sect of Christianity. In the winter of 1790, James Faraday relocated his wife, Margaret (née Hastwell), and their two children to London from Outhgill, Westmorland, where he had previously served as an apprentice to the local blacksmith. Michael, the third of four children, was born in the autumn of the subsequent year. Possessing only a rudimentary formal education, the young Michael Faraday was largely self-taught.

At the age of 14, Faraday commenced a seven-year apprenticeship with George Riebau, a local bookbinder and bookseller situated on Blandford Street. During this period, he extensively read various texts, including Isaac Watts's The Improvement of the Mind, diligently applying its principles and recommendations. Concurrently, Faraday engaged in discussions with peers at the City Philosophical Society, where he attended lectures on diverse scientific subjects. This engagement fostered a profound interest in science, particularly in electricity, with Jane Marcet's book Conversations on Chemistry serving as a notable inspiration.

Adult Life

In 1812, upon completing his apprenticeship at age 20, Faraday attended lectures delivered by the distinguished English chemist Humphry Davy of the Royal Institution and the Royal Society, as well as by John Tatum, the founder of the City Philosophical Society. William Dance, a co-founder of the Royal Philharmonic Society, provided many of the tickets for these lectures. Subsequently, Faraday compiled a 300-page volume of his lecture notes and submitted it to Davy, who responded promptly and favorably. In 1813, following an accident involving nitrogen trichloride that impaired Davy's eyesight, Faraday was offered a position as an assistant. This opportunity arose coincidentally as John Payne, one of the Royal Institution's assistants, had been dismissed, prompting Sir Humphry Davy to seek a replacement. Consequently, Faraday was appointed Chemical Assistant at the Royal Institution on March 1, 1813. Shortly thereafter, Davy assigned Faraday the task of preparing nitrogen trichloride samples, an endeavor that resulted in injuries to both men due to the substance's extreme sensitivity.

Faraday married Sarah Barnard (1800–1879) on June 12, 1821. Their families facilitated their introduction at the Sandemanian church, and Faraday publicly affirmed his faith to the Sandemanian congregation the month following their marriage. The couple had no children. Faraday was a devout Christian, adhering to the Sandemanian denomination, an offshoot of the Church of Scotland. Subsequent to his marriage, he served as a deacon and completed two terms as an elder in the meeting house of his youth, located at Paul's Alley in the Barbican. This meeting house relocated to Barnsbury Grove, Islington, in 1862, where Faraday fulfilled the final two years of his second term as elder before resigning from the post. Biographers have frequently observed that "a strong sense of the unity of God and nature pervaded Faraday's life and work."

Later Life

In June 1832, the University of Oxford conferred an honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree upon Faraday. Throughout his life, he declined a knighthood, offered in recognition of his scientific contributions, citing religious objections. He believed that accumulating wealth and pursuing worldly rewards contravened biblical teachings, stating his preference to remain "plain Mr Faraday to the end." Although elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1824, he twice refused the presidency. In 1833, he became the inaugural Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution.

Faraday received numerous international academic distinctions. In 1832, he was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He became a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1838 and was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1840. In 1844, he was among eight foreign members chosen for the French Academy of Sciences. In 1849, he was elected an associated member of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands, which subsequently became the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences two years later, at which point he was designated a foreign member.

Faraday experienced a nervous breakdown in 1839 but eventually resumed his investigations into electromagnetism. In 1848, through the advocacy of the Prince Consort, Faraday was granted a grace and favour house at Hampton Court in Middlesex, free of all expenses and maintenance costs. This residence, originally the Master Mason's House, was later named Faraday House and is now identified as No. 37 Hampton Court Road. Faraday retired to this home in 1858.

Faraday, who had previously undertaken various service projects for the British government, declined a governmental request to advise on chemical weapon production for the Crimean War (1853–1856), citing ethical objections. He also rejected proposals to publish his lectures, convinced that their effectiveness would diminish without the accompanying live demonstrations. In a letter responding to a publisher's offer, he concluded: "I have always loved science more than money & because my occupation is almost entirely personal I cannot afford to get rich."

Faraday passed away at his Hampton Court residence on August 25, 1867, at the age of 75. Although he had previously declined an offer for interment in Westminster Abbey, a memorial plaque dedicated to him is located there, adjacent to Isaac Newton's tomb. His burial took place in the dissenters' (non-Anglican) section of Highgate Cemetery.

Scientific Achievements

Chemistry

Faraday's initial contributions to chemistry occurred during his tenure as an assistant to Humphry Davy. His research encompassed the study of chlorine, leading to the discovery of two novel chlorine-carbon compounds: hexachloroethane, synthesized through the chlorination of ethylene, and carbon tetrachloride, derived from the decomposition of hexachloroethane. Furthermore, he performed the preliminary experiments on gas diffusion, a phenomenon initially identified by John Dalton, whose physical significance was later elucidated by Thomas Graham and Joseph Loschmidt. Faraday successfully liquefied various gases, explored steel alloys, and developed several innovative types of glass for optical applications. A specific sample of this heavy glass later gained historical prominence when Faraday observed the rotation of the plane of polarized light upon its placement in a magnetic field. This particular specimen also marked the first substance discovered to be repelled by magnetic poles.

Faraday developed an early prototype of the Bunsen burner, an apparatus that remains widely utilized in scientific laboratories globally as an efficient heat source. His extensive work in chemistry included the discovery of chemical substances like benzene, which he termed "bicarburet of hydrogen," and the liquefaction of gases such as chlorine. The successful liquefaction of gases contributed to the understanding that gases are essentially vapors of liquids with exceptionally low boiling points, thereby strengthening the concept of molecular aggregation. In 1820, Faraday documented the initial synthesis of carbon and chlorine compounds, C₂Cl₆ and CCl₄, subsequently publishing his findings the following year. He also ascertained the composition of chlorine clathrate hydrate, a substance first identified by Humphry Davy in 1810. Furthermore, Faraday is credited with formulating the laws of electrolysis and popularizing key electrochemical terminology, including anode, cathode, electrode, and ion, terms largely proposed by William Whewell.

Faraday was the pioneering researcher to document what subsequently became known as metallic nanoparticles. In 1857, he observed that the optical characteristics of gold colloids diverged from those of the equivalent bulk metal. This finding likely represents the earliest recorded observation of quantum size effects and can be regarded as a foundational moment for nanoscience.

Electricity and Magnetism

Faraday's most renowned contributions pertain to his investigations into electricity and magnetism. His initial documented experiment involved assembling a voltaic pile using seven British halfpenny coins, seven zinc sheet discs, and six pieces of salt-water-moistened paper. Utilizing this apparatus, he directed an electric current through a magnesium sulfate solution, successfully achieving the decomposition of the chemical compound (as documented in his first letter to Abbott, dated July 12, 1812).

Following the 1821 discovery of electromagnetism by Danish physicist and chemist Hans Christian Ørsted, Humphry Davy and William Hyde Wollaston attempted, unsuccessfully, to develop an electric motor. Michael Faraday, after engaging in discussions with both men regarding the challenge, proceeded to construct two apparatuses designed to generate what he termed 'electromagnetic rotation.' One of these devices, subsequently identified as the homopolar motor, produced continuous circular motion. This motion originated from the circular magnetic force surrounding a wire immersed in a mercury pool containing a magnet; the wire would then rotate around the magnet when energized by a chemical battery. These foundational experiments and inventions laid the groundwork for contemporary electromagnetic technology. However, Faraday's enthusiastic publication of his findings omitted any acknowledgment of his collaborative efforts with Wollaston or Davy. This oversight sparked a controversy within the Royal Society, which strained his mentorship with Davy and potentially led to Faraday's redirection to other projects, thereby precluding his participation in electromagnetic research for several years.

Following his initial breakthrough in 1821, Faraday persistently engaged in laboratory research, investigating the electromagnetic characteristics of various materials and accumulating essential expertise. In 1824, he briefly configured a circuit to ascertain if a magnetic field could influence current flow in an adjacent conductor, but observed no such correlation. This investigation mirrored a similar experiment conducted three years prior, involving light and magnets, which yielded comparable negative outcomes. Over the subsequent seven years, Faraday dedicated substantial effort to refining his formulation for high-quality optical glass, specifically lead borosilicate, which he later employed in his investigations into the relationship between light and magnetism. Concurrently, he continued to publish his experimental findings on optics and electromagnetism and maintained correspondence with scientists he had encountered during his European travels with Davy, many of whom were also researching electromagnetism. In 1831, two years after Davy's passing, Faraday commenced a significant series of experiments that culminated in the discovery of electromagnetic induction, noting in his laboratory diary on October 28, 1831, his engagement in 'making many experiments with the great magnet of the Royal Society'.

Faraday's pivotal discovery occurred when he wound two insulated wire coils around an iron ring and observed that a momentary current was induced in one coil upon the passage of current through the other. This effect is now recognized as mutual inductance. The original iron ring-coil apparatus remains exhibited at the Royal Institution. In subsequent investigations, he determined that an electric current was generated in a wire loop when a magnet was moved through it, and similarly, when the loop itself was moved over a stationary magnet. These demonstrations conclusively established that a fluctuating magnetic field generates an electric field. This fundamental relationship was later mathematically formalized by James Clerk Maxwell as Faraday's law, which subsequently became one of Maxwell's four equations and has since developed into the broader concept of field theory. Faraday later applied these discovered principles to construct the electric dynamo, a precursor to contemporary power generators and electric motors.

In 1832, Faraday concluded a series of experiments designed to explore the fundamental characteristics of electricity. He employed various sources, including static electricity, chemical batteries, and 'animal electricity,' to generate phenomena such as electrostatic attraction, electrolysis, and magnetism. His findings led him to assert that, contrary to prevailing scientific beliefs of the era, the distinctions among different 'types' of electricity were superficial. Instead, Faraday posited the existence of a singular 'electricity,' with variations in its quantity and intensity (current and voltage) accounting for the diverse range of observed phenomena.

Faraday posited, late in his career, that electromagnetic forces permeated the void surrounding a conductor. This concept initially met with scientific skepticism, and Faraday did not witness its eventual adoption by the scientific community. Approximately fifty years elapsed before electricity found technological application, exemplified by the Savoy Theatre in London's West End, which became the world's inaugural public edifice illuminated by electricity, utilizing incandescent light bulbs developed by Sir Joseph Swan. The Royal Institution noted, "Faraday invented the generator in 1831 but it took nearly 50 years before all the technology, including Joseph Swan's incandescent filament light bulbs used here, came into common use."

Diamagnetism

In 1845, Faraday identified that numerous materials display a subtle repulsion from a magnetic field, a phenomenon he designated as diamagnetism.

Faraday further ascertained that the polarization plane of linearly polarized light could be rotated through the application of an external magnetic field, provided it was aligned with the light's propagation direction. This phenomenon is presently known as the Faraday effect. In September 1845, he documented in his notebook, "I have at last succeeded in illuminating a magnetic curve or line of force and in magnetising a ray of light."

In 1862, during his later years, Faraday employed a spectroscope to investigate another light alteration: the modification of spectral lines by an applied magnetic field. Nevertheless, the instrumentation at his disposal proved inadequate for a conclusive assessment of spectral shifts. Subsequently, Pieter Zeeman utilized enhanced equipment to examine this identical phenomenon, publishing his findings in 1897 and being awarded the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics for his achievement. Zeeman acknowledged Faraday's contributions in both his 1897 publication and his Nobel acceptance address.

Faraday Cage

Through his investigations into static electricity, Faraday's ice pail experiment illustrated that electrical charge exclusively resided on the external surface of a charged conductor, and that this external charge exerted no influence on any object contained within the conductor. This occurs because the external charges redistribute themselves, causing their resultant internal fields to nullify each other. This principle of electrostatic shielding is applied in what is currently termed a Faraday cage. In January 1836, Faraday constructed a 12-foot square wooden frame, supported by four glass posts, to which he affixed paper walls and wire mesh. He then entered this structure and electrified it. Upon exiting his electrified enclosure, Faraday had effectively demonstrated that electricity constituted a force, rather than an imponderable fluid, as was widely believed during that era.

Royal Institution and Public Service

Faraday maintained an extensive affiliation with the Royal Institution of Great Britain. In 1821, he was designated Assistant Superintendent of the Royal Institution's House. His election as a Fellow of the Royal Society occurred in 1824. By 1825, he had assumed the role of Director of the Royal Institution's Laboratory. Six years subsequent, in 1833, Faraday was appointed the inaugural Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, a lifetime tenure that exempted him from lecturing duties. This professorship was established specifically for Faraday by his patron and mentor, John 'Mad Jack' Fuller.

In addition to his scientific inquiries into fields such as chemistry, electricity, and magnetism at the Royal Institution, Faraday engaged in numerous, frequently time-intensive, service initiatives for both private industry and the British government. These endeavors encompassed investigations into coal mine explosions, serving as an expert witness in legal proceedings, and, in collaboration with two engineers from Chance Brothers c. 1853, the production of high-quality optical glass essential for Chance's lighthouses. In 1846, alongside Charles Lyell, Faraday co-authored an extensive and comprehensive report concerning a severe explosion at the Haswell colliery in County Durham, which resulted in 95 fatalities. Their report constituted a meticulous forensic examination, indicating that coal dust exacerbated the explosion's intensity. Marking the first instance where explosions were linked to dust, Faraday subsequently provided a lecture demonstration illustrating how proper ventilation could mitigate such risks. Although this report should have alerted coal mine proprietors to the dangers of coal dust explosions, the hazard remained unaddressed for more than six decades, until the 1913 Senghenydd Colliery Disaster.

Given his esteemed scientific standing within a nation possessing significant maritime interests, Faraday dedicated considerable effort to initiatives including lighthouse construction and operation, as well as developing methods for preventing ship hull corrosion. His original workshop, located at Trinity Buoy Wharf above the Chain and Buoy Store, remains extant beside London's sole lighthouse, a site where he conducted pioneering experiments in electric lighting for lighthouses.

Faraday also engaged in activities that would now be categorized as environmental science or engineering. His work included investigating industrial pollution in Swansea and providing consultation on air quality issues at the Royal Mint. In July 1855, Faraday authored a letter to The Times addressing the severe pollution of the River Thames, an action that subsequently inspired a widely circulated cartoon in Punch.

Faraday contributed to the Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park, London, by assisting with exhibit planning and serving as a judge. Additionally, he provided counsel to the National Gallery regarding the conservation and preservation of its art collection and participated in the National Gallery Site Commission in 1857. Education constituted another significant area of Faraday's public service; he delivered lectures on the subject at the Royal Institution in 1854 and presented his perspectives on British education to a Public Schools Commission in 1862. Furthermore, Faraday expressed strong disapproval of the public's preoccupation with phenomena such as table-turning, mesmerism, and seances, thereby critiquing both societal credulity and the national educational framework.

Prior to initiating his renowned Christmas lectures, Faraday presented chemistry lectures for the City Philosophical Society between 1816 and 1818, a period during which he honed his lecturing proficiency. These engagements represented his sole lecturing activities conducted independently of the Royal Institution.

From 1827 to 1860, Faraday delivered a series of nineteen Christmas lectures for young audiences at the Royal Institution in London, a tradition that persists to the present day. These lectures aimed to introduce scientific concepts specifically to young individuals and the broader public, with the dual purpose of fostering inspiration and securing financial support for the Royal Institution. In 1825, he also established the Friday Evening Discourses, a forum where lecturers presented their most recent research findings to members. Both lecture series became prominent fixtures in the social calendar of London's elite, largely due to Faraday's exceptional lecturing abilities. In correspondence with his close friend Benjamin Abbott, Faraday articulated his principles for effective lecturing, stating that "a flame should be lighted at the commencement and kept alive with unremitting splendour to the end". Characterized by their joyful and engaging nature, his lectures often included demonstrations such as filling soap bubbles with different gases to investigate their magnetic properties, yet they also conveyed profound philosophical insights. He consistently encouraged his audiences to contemplate the underlying mechanics of his experiments, posing questions such as: "you know very well that ice floats upon water ... Why does the ice float? Think of that, and philosophise". His lecture topics encompassed Chemistry and Electricity, with specific examples including: 1841: The Rudiments of Chemistry, 1843: First Principles of Electricity, 1848: The Chemical History of a Candle, 1851: Attractive Forces, 1853: Voltaic Electricity, 1854: The Chemistry of Combustion, 1855: The Distinctive Properties of the Common Metals, 1857: Static Electricity, 1858: The Metallic Properties, 1859: The Various Forces of Matter and their Relations to Each Other.

Commemorative Tributes

A statue honoring Michael Faraday is located in Savoy Place, along Victoria Embankment, London, adjacent to the Institution of Engineering and Technology. The Faraday Memorial, a 1961 brutalist design by architect Rodney Gordon, is situated within the Elephant & Castle gyratory system, in proximity to Faraday's birthplace at Newington Butts, London. Faraday School occupies a site on Trinity Buoy Wharf, where his workshop remains preserved above the Chain and Buoy Store, beside London's sole lighthouse. Faraday Gardens, a modest park in Walworth, London, is located near his birthplace at Newington Butts. This park is situated within the Faraday ward of the London Borough of Southwark. Michael Faraday Primary School is located on the Aylesbury Estate in Walworth.

Several academic and research facilities bear Faraday's name, including the Faraday Wing at London South Bank University, which houses electrical engineering departments and is situated near his birthplace in Newington Butts. Loughborough University dedicated a hall to Faraday in 1960, featuring a bronze casting of an electrical transformer symbol and a portrait near its dining hall entrance, both honoring him. An eight-story structure at the University of Edinburgh's science and engineering campus, a recently constructed accommodation hall at Brunel University, the primary engineering building at Swansea University, and the instructional and experimental physics building at Northern Illinois University are also named after Faraday. Additionally, the former UK Faraday Station in Antarctica was designated in his honor.

Streets commemorating Faraday are prevalent across numerous British cities, such as London, Glenrothes, Swindon, Basingstoke, Nottingham, Whitby, Kirkby, Crawley, Newbury, Swansea, Aylesbury, and Stevenage. Similar designations exist internationally, including in Paris, France; Berlin-Dahlem and Hermsdorf, Germany; Quebec City, Quebec, Deep River, Ontario, and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; The Bronx, New York, and Reston, Virginia, United States; Carlton, Victoria, Australia; and Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.

A Royal Society of Arts blue plaque, unveiled in 1876, marks Faraday's former residence at 48 Blandford Street in London's Marylebone district. From 1991 to 2001, his likeness appeared on the reverse of the Bank of England's Series E £20 banknotes, depicting him delivering a lecture at the Royal Institution with the magneto-electric spark apparatus. In 2002, a UK-wide public vote for the BBC's "100 Greatest Britons" placed Faraday at number 22.

Faraday has been honored on postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail. In 1991, he was featured in their "Scientific Achievements" issue as a pioneer of electricity, alongside innovators in computing (Charles Babbage), jet propulsion (Frank Whittle), and radar (Robert Watson-Watt). In 1999, under the theme "Faraday's Electricity," he was included in their "World Changers" issue, alongside Charles Darwin, Edward Jenner, and Alan Turing.

The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion is named after the scientist, who considered his faith integral to his scientific endeavors. The institute's logo also draws inspiration from Faraday's discoveries. Established in 2006 with a $2,000,000 grant from the John Templeton Foundation, its mission encompasses conducting academic research, fostering comprehension of the interplay between science and religion, and enhancing public understanding in both domains.

The Faraday Institution, an independent research institute focused on energy storage, founded in 2017, also bears Michael Faraday's name. This organization functions as the United Kingdom's principal research program dedicated to advancing battery science and technology, education, public engagement, and market research.

Faraday's biography and his contributions to electromagnetics constituted the central theme of "The Electric Boy," the tenth episode of the 2014 American science documentary series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, which was broadcast on Fox and the National Geographic Channel.

The author Aldous Huxley referenced Faraday in his essay titled A Night in Pietramala, stating, "He is always the natural philosopher. To discover truth is his sole aim and interest ... even if I could be Shakespeare, I think I should still choose to be Faraday." Margaret Thatcher, in a speech to the Royal Society, lauded Faraday as her "hero," proclaiming, "The value of his work must be higher than the capitalisation of all the shares on the Stock Exchange!" She subsequently borrowed his bust from the Royal Institution and arranged for its display in the hall of 10 Downing Street.

Awards named in Faraday's honour

In recognition and commemoration of his significant scientific contributions, several institutions have established prizes and awards bearing his name. These include:

• The IET Faraday Medal
• The Royal Society of London Michael Faraday Prize
• The Institute of Physics Michael Faraday Medal and Prize
• The Royal Society of Chemistry Faraday Lectureship Prize

Gallery

Bibliography

Apart from Chemical Manipulation, Faraday's published works primarily comprised compilations of scientific papers or transcribed lectures. Posthumously, his diary, along with extensive volumes of his correspondence and his travel journal from the 1813–1815 European tour with Davy, have been released.

• Faraday, Michael (1827). Chemical Manipulation: Instructions to Students in Chemistry. John Murray.Faraday, Michael (1839). Experimental Researches in Electricity, Volumes I and II. Richard and John Edward Taylor.Faraday, Michael (1859). Experimental Researches in Chemistry and Physics. Taylor and Francis.Faraday, Michael (1861). Crookes, W. (ed.). A Course of Six Lectures on the Chemical History of a Candle. Griffin, Bohn & Co.Faraday, Michael (1873). Crookes, W. (ed.). On the Various Forces in Nature. Chatto and Windus.Faraday, Michael (1932–1936). Martin, T. (ed.). Diary. G. Bell.Faraday, Michael (1991). Bowers, B. and Symons, L. (eds.). Curiosity Perfectly Satisfyed: Faraday's Travels in Europe 1813–1815. Institution of Electrical Engineers.Faraday, Michael (1991). James, F.A.J.L. (ed.). The Correspondence of Michael Faraday. Vol. 1. INSPEC, Inc. ISBN 978-0-86341-248-6.Faraday, Michael (2008). Jenkins, Alice (ed.). Michael Faraday's Mental Exercises: An Artisan Essay Circle in Regency London. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.Faraday (unit) – A physical constant representing the electric charge of one mole of electrons.Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Faraday (unit) – Physical constant: Electric charge of one mole of electronsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Forensic engineering – The investigation of failures linked to legal intervention.
  • Nikola Tesla – A Serbian-American engineer and inventor (1856–1943).
  • Timeline of hydrogen technologies.
  • Timeline of low-temperature technology.
  • Zeeman effect – The splitting of spectral lines in a magnetic field.

  References

  Sources

  • Cantor, Geoffrey (1991). Michael Faraday, Sandemanian and Scientist. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-58802-4.Hamilton, James (2004). A Life of Discovery: Michael Faraday, Giant of the Scientific Revolution. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6016-0.Thomas, J.M. (1991). Michael Faraday and The Royal Institution: The Genius of Man and Place (PBK). CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-7503-0145-9.Thompson, Silvanus (1901). Michael Faraday, His Life and Work. London: Cassell and Company.Biographical Works

    Biographies

    Biographical Resources

    Biographies

    • Biography available from The Royal Institution of Great Britain.
    • Faraday as a Discoverer by John Tyndall, accessible via Project Gutenberg.
    • The Christian Character of Michael Faraday.
    • The Life and Discoveries of Michael Faraday by J. A. Crowther. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1920.

    Other Resources

    • Works by Michael Faraday available through Project Gutenberg.
    • Works by or concerning Michael Faraday housed at the Internet Archive.
    • Works by Michael Faraday available as public domain audiobooks via LibriVox.
    • The Complete Correspondence of Michael Faraday: Searchable full texts of all letters exchanged by Faraday, based on the standard edition by Frank James.
    • Video Podcast featuring Sir John Cadogan discussing Benzene in the context of Faraday's work.
    • The Letters of Faraday and Schoenbein, 1836–1862. This 1899 publication includes notes, comments, and references to contemporary correspondence.
    • Faraday School, situated on Trinity Buoy Wharf.
    • "Profiles in Chemistry: Michael Faraday" on YouTube, Chemical Heritage Foundation