National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1820 1829
Hans Christian Orsted's accidental discovery that an electrical current moves a compass needle rocks the scientific world; a spate of experiments follows, immediately leading to the first electromagnet and electric motor.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1775 1799
Scientists take important steps toward a fuller understanding of electricity, as well as some fruitful missteps, including an elaborate but incorrect theory on animal magnetism that sets the stage for a groundbreaking invention.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1700 1749
Aided by tools such as static electricity machines and Leyden jars, scientists continue their experiments into the fundamentals of magnetism and electricity.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1900 1909
Albert Einstein publishes his special theory of relativity and his theory on the quantum nature of light, which he identified as both a particle and a wave. With ever new appliances, electricity begins to transform everyday life.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1870 1879
The telephone and first practical incandescent light bulb are invented while the word "electron" enters the scientific lexicon.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1850 1869
The Industrial Revolution is in full force, Gramme invents his dynamo and James Clerk Maxwell formulates his series of equations on electrodynamics.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1960 1979
Computers evolve into PCs, researchers discover one new subatomic particle after another and the space age gives our psyches and science a new context.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1940 1959
Defense-related research leads to the computer, the world enters the atomic age and TV conquers America.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1930 1939
New tools such as special microscopes and the cyclotron take research to higher levels, while average citizens enjoy novel amenities such as the FM radio.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1840 1849
The legendary Faraday forges on with his prolific research and the telegraph reaches a milestone when a message is sent between Washington, DC, and Baltimore, MD.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 600 Bc 1599
Find out how humans discovered the magnetic lodestone as well as the attracting properties of amber. Advanced societies, in particular the Chinese and the Europeans, exploited the properties of magnets in compasses, a tool that makes...
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1910 1929
Scientists' understanding of the structure of the atom and of its component particles grows, the phone and radio become common, and the modern television is born.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1890 1899
Scientists discover and probe x-rays and radioactivity, while inventors compete to build the first radio.
Florida State University
Florida State University: Magnet Lab: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1750 1774
With his famous kite experiment and other forays into science, Benjamin Franklin advances knowledge of electricity, inspiring his English friend Joseph Priestley to do the same.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Put a Spark in It! Electricity
Uncountable times every day "with the merest flick of a finger"each one of us calls on electricity to do our bidding. What would your life be like without electricity? Students begin learning about electricity with an introduction to the...
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Science Snacks: Magnetic Pendulums
See how electricity and magnetism interact with this activity. Activity has students creating a current by swinging a copper coil through a magnetic field. The copper coil will start a second coil swinging as well.
Physics4kids
Physics4 Kids: Electricity and Magnetism: Resistance
Explains electrical resistance and how it is measured using the formula for Ohm's Law.
Canada Science and Technology Museum
Canada Science and Technology Museum: Background Information for Electricity
The Canada Science and Technology Museum answers some of the most common questions about electricity. For example, get the definition of electricity, the difference between alternating and direct currents, and learn how a fuse works.
Read Works
Read Works: Electric and Magnetic Forces and the Modern Day Compass
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about how a compass works using electromagnetic force. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Hans Christian Orsted
A discovery by Hans Christian Orsted forever changed the way scientists think about electricity and magnetism. While preparing to perform an experiment during a lecture at the University of Copenhagen, he found that the magnetized needle...
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Schweigger Multiplier 1820
Spurred by Hans Christian Orsted's discovery of a relationship between electricity and magnetism, German chemist Julian Schweigger immediately began tinkering and soon came up with a very early galvanometer known as the Schweigger...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Mri Safety Grand Challenge
This module was written for a first year accelerated or AP physics class. It is intended to provide hands on activities to teach end of the year electricity and magnetism topics including the magnetic force, magnetic moments and torque,...
Utah State Office of Education
Utah Science: Magnetized
A unit all about magnets! Explore magnetic forces, types of magnets, and more through these informative activities.
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Electric Hockey
Play hockey with electric charges. Place charges on the ice, then hit start to try to get the puck in the goal. View the electric field. Trace the puck's motion. Make the game harder by placing walls in front of the goal. This is a clone...