Browse Information / Biographies /

Faraday Michael

Faraday, Michael (1791-1867) was a famous chemist and experimenter whose researches laid the basis of electro-chemistry and of modern atomic and electronic science. Faraday, the son of a blacksmith, as a youth was employed by a bookbinder, and his scientific interest was stimulated by studying the books that he delivered to his master's customers. He wrote a report of a lecture delivered by Sir Humphry Davy at the Royal Institution, London, and when this was seen by Davy, he appointed Faraday his assistant.

Faraday's brilliance was soon recognized and he later became lecturer and then director of the laboratory. After Davy's death, Faraday succeeded him as Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution.

Among Faraday's successes was the liquefaction of chlorine, but his greatest achievements were in the realm of electricity and magnetism; his discovery of electro-magnetic induction, which is the principle of the dynamo, being the most important.

Faraday made important discoveries in electrochemistry. He discovered the laws that govern electrolysis, known as Faraday's Laws, and introduced the terms now used in this field. He also found that a magnetic field rotates the plane of polarization of light. This effect is used in ultra-high-speed camera shutters. Faraday also found that some substances are repelled by magnetic fields. He called this effect diamagnetism. Faraday first conceived the idea of magnetic lines of force.