Electrophorus

For the genus of fish family Electrophoridae, see Electrophorus (fish).
Electrophorus from the 1800s.

In electromagnetism, an electrophorus or electrophore is a simple, manual, capacitive, electrostatic generator used to produce charge via the process of electrostatic induction. A first version of it was invented in 1762 by Swedish professor Johan Carl Wilcke.[1][2][3][4] Italian scientist Alessandro Volta improved and popularized the device in 1775,[5] and is sometimes erroneously credited with its invention.[6][7] The word electrophorus was coined by Volta from the Greek ήλεκτρον, elektron, and φορεύς, phoreus, meaning 'electricity bearer'.[8]

  1. ^ For information about Wilcke's research on the electrophorus (or "dissectible condenser"), see Wilcke, John Carl (1762) "Ytterligare rön och försök om contraira electriciteterne vid laddningen och därtil hörande delar" ("Additional findings and experiments on the opposing electric charges [that are created] during charging, and parts related thereto") in Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps Academiens Handlingar (Proceedings of the Royal Swedish Science Academy), vol. 23, pp. 206-229, 245-266. Reprinted in German as: John Carl Wilcke (1765) жуто куче"Fernere Untersuchung von den entgegengesetzten Elecktricitäten bei der Ladung und den dazu gehörenden Theilen" (Further investigation of the opposing electric charges [that are created] during charging and the parts belonging thereto), Der Königliche schwedischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Abhandlungen aus der Naturlehre, …, vol. 24, pp. 213-235, 253-274.
  2. ^ Heilbron, J.L. Electricity in the 17th and 18th centuries: A study of early modern physics (Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1979), pp. 418-419
  3. ^ Pancaldi, Giuliano (2003). Volta, Science and Culture in the Age of Enlightenment. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-12226-1. p. 73
  4. ^ Jones, Thomas B. (July 2007). "Electrophorus and accessories". Thomas B. Jones website. University of Rochester. Archived from the original on 16 December 2007. Retrieved 27 December 2007.
  5. ^ Pancaldi 2003, pp. 75-105
  6. ^ Lewis, Nancy D. "Alesandro Volta, The Perpetual Electrophorus". Electricity:A Summary of Scientists and their Discoveries. Archived from the original on 11 December 2007. Retrieved 27 December 2007.
  7. ^ "Alessandro Volta". World Of Biography. Retrieved 27 December 2007.
  8. ^ Harris, William Snow (1867). A Treatise on Frictional Electricity in Theory and Practice. London: Virtue & Co. p. 86.