The History of Electricity

The first person to use the term electricity was a scientist named William Gilbert in 1600. Benjamin Franklin is said to have been one of the first people to experiment with electricity when he attached a metal key to a kite and flew it during a lightning storm in 1752. But it wasn’t until the 19^th century that scientists like Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, and others made major advancements in the field. Their work led to the first electronic device, called the cat’s whisker detector, which was a radio receiver that used electrical current to receive radio waves sent long distance. Today, electrical power is the most well-known use of electricity, and many scientists are working to find ways to harness cleaner, more environmentally friendly sources.