The Beginning of Electronics
GEOFFREY W.A. DUMMER · 2021
For hundreds of years, two phenomena have been known to exist: static electricity and magnetism. By the early 1800s, work by Galvani, Oersted and Faraday on galvanism, electromagnetism and electromagnetic induction opened up a new field of experimental work which ultimately paved the way to present-day electronics. Static electricity had been known for many centuries as some substances, when rubbed together, produced static charges which could generate sparks and, in other cases, could attract small pieces of paper and other materials. In 1729, Stephen Gray distinguished between conductors and insulators. In 1730, Charles Fry discovered that electricity induced by rubbing could be of two kinds—positive and negative. Magnetism has also been known for centuries. It was exhibited in lodestone, found in the vicinity of Magnetia in Asia Minor and termed ‘magnetite’.