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Kite experiment

Science experiment on lightning and electricity

The kite experiment is a scientific experiment in which a kite with a pointed conductive wire attached to its apex is flown near thunder clouds to collect static electricity from the air and conduct it down the wet kite string to the ground.

The experiment was first proposed in by Benjamin Franklin, who reportedly conducted the experiment with the assistance of his son William. The experiment's purpose was to investigate the nature of lightning and electricity, which were not yet understood.

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    • Combined with further experiments on the ground, the kite experiment demonstrated that lightning and electricity were the result of the same phenomenon.

    Background

    Speculations of Jean-Antoine Nollet had led to the issue of the electrical nature of lightning being posed as a prize question at Bordeaux in In , it was the subject of public discussion in France with a dissertation of Denis Barberet receiving a prize in Bordeaux.

    Barberet proposed a cause in line with the triboelectric effect. The same year, Franklin reversed his previous skepticism of electrical lightning's attraction to high points.[1] The physicist Jacques de Romas also wrote a mémoire with similar ideas that year and later defended them as independent of Franklin's.[2]

    Lightning rod experiments

    In , Franklin proposed an experiment with conductive rods to attract lightning to a leyden jar, an early form of capacitor.

    Such an experiment was carried out in May at Marly-la-Ville, in northern France, by Thomas-François Dalibard.[3] An attempt to replicate the experiment killed Georg Wilhelm Richmann in Saint Petersburg in August ; he was thought to be the victim of ball lightning.[4] Franklin himself is said to have conducted the experiment in June , supposedly on the top of the spire on Christ Church in Philadelphia.

    However, the spire at Christ Church was not added until [5]

    Franklin's kite experiment

    Franklin's kite experiment was performed in Philadelphia in June , according to the account by Joseph Priestley.[6] Franklin described the experiment in the Pennsylvania Gazette on October 19, [7][8] without mentioning that he had performed it.[9] The account was read to the Royal Society on December 21 and printed as such in the Philosophical Transactions.[6] A more complete account of Franklin's experiment was given by Priestley in , who presumably learned the details directly from Franklin, who was in London while Priestley wrote the book.[6]

    According to the Priestley account, Franklin realized the dangers of using conductive rods and instead used the conductivity of a wet hemp string attached to a kite.

    As a result, he was able to remain on the ground and let his son fly the kite from the cover of a shed close by.

    Ben franklins inventions electricity and power Did Franklin really discover electricity by getting zapped by a lightning bolt during this experiment? But is it the true story? He also had a house key, a Leyden jar a device that could store an electrical charge for later use , and a sharp length of wire. More about human behavior.

    That enabled Franklin and his son to keep the silk string of the kite dry to insulate them while the hemp string to the kite was allowed to get wet in the rain to provide conductivity. A house key was attached to the hemp string and connected to a Leyden jar; a silk string was attached to that. "At this key he charged phials, and from the electric fire thus obtained, he kindled spirits, and performed all other electrical experiments which are usually exhibited by an excited globe or tube." Contrary to popular belief, the kite was not hit by visible lightning; otherwise Franklin would almost certainly have been killed.[10][11][12] However, Franklin noticed that loose threads of the kite string were repelling one another and deduced that the Leyden jar was being charged.

    He moved his hand near the key and observed an electric spark,[6] which proved the electric nature of lightning.[13]

    References

    1. ^Pierre Zweiacker (November 24, ). Sacrée foudre&#;!: Ou la scandaleuse invention de Benjamin F. (in French).

      Ben franklins bifocals When he placed his finger near the metal key, he reportedly felt a sharp spark as the negative charges that had accumulated on the key were attracted to the positive charges in his hand. Bache grandson Richard Bache Jr. In it he gave instructions for re-creating the experiment, finishing with:. Bache grandson Louis F.

      Presses polytechniques et universitaires romandes. p.&#; ISBN&#;. Retrieved September 1,

    2. ^J. L. Heilbron ().

      Ben franklins inventions electricity and light Lightning rod experiments [ edit ]. For starters, it's a common myth that Franklin discovered electricity. He had his materials at the ready: a simple kite made with a large silk handkerchief, a hemp string, and a silk string. The last piece of the puzzle was the metal key.

      Electricity in the 17th and 18th Centuries: A Study of Early Modern Physics. University of California Press. p.&#; note ISBN&#;. Retrieved October 29,

    3. ^Jessica Riskin (December 15, ). Science in the Age of Sensibility: The Sentimental Empiricists of the French Enlightenment. University of Chicago Press.

      p.&#; ISBN&#;. Retrieved October 29,

    4. ^Vladimir A. Rakov; Martin A. Uman (January 8, ). Lightning: Physics and Effects. Cambridge University Press.

      Ben franklins inventions electricity References [ edit ]. Courtesy the University of Pennsylvania Libraries. In it he gave instructions for re-creating the experiment, finishing with: As soon as any of the Thunder Clouds come over the Kite, the pointed Wire will draw the Electric Fire from them, and the Kite, with all the Twine, will be electrified, and the loose Filaments of the Twine will stand out every Way, and be attracted by an approaching Finger. In , it was the subject of public discussion in France with a dissertation of Denis Barberet receiving a prize in Bordeaux.

      p.&#; ISBN&#;. Retrieved October 29,

    5. ^"The History and People of Christ Church". Christ Church. Retrieved April 27,
    6. ^ abcdNational Archives, The Kite Experiment, 19 October Retrieved February 6,
    7. ^Franklin, Benjamin (October 19, ).

      "The Kite Experiment". The Pennsylvania Gazette. Archived from the original on September 22,

    8. ^"Pennsylvania Gazette".

      A list of ben franklins inventions: Cambridge University Press. However, the spire at Christ Church was not added until He also had a house key, a Leyden jar a device that could store an electrical charge for later use , and a sharp length of wire. As Franklin observed his flying kite, he saw that the hemp strands stood on end as they began to accumulate electrical charge from the ambient air.

      Benjamin Franklin Historical Society. Retrieved February 6,

    9. ^Steven Johnson () The Invention of Air, p. 39 ISBN&#; Retrieved February 6,
    10. ^"Franklin Discovered Electricity with Kite". Mythbusters. April 11, Retrieved July 30,
    11. ^"MythBusters S4-E9 Episode 'Franklin's Kite'".

      Mythbusters.

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      17. March 8, Retrieved October 19,

    17. ^Ouellette, Jennifer (May 24, ). "Your fave illustration of Franklin's kite experiment is likely riddled with errors". Ars Technica. Retrieved June 29,
    18. ^"Benjamin Franklin and the Kite Experiment". The Franklin Institute.

      June 12, Retrieved April 13,

    External links