Previous work The Ancient Greeks already knew that pieces of amber could attract lightweight particles after being rubbed. The amber becomes electrified by the triboelectric effect, mechanical separation of charge in a dielectric material. The Greek word for amber is ἤλεκτρον ("ēlektron") and is the origin of the word "electricity". Thales of Miletus, a pre-Socratic philosopher, is thought to have accidentally commented on the phenomenon of electrostatic charging, due to his belief that even lifeless things have a soul in them, hence the popular analogy of the spark.Iverson, Paul. 2012. A life of its own: The tenuous connection between Thales of Miletus and the study of electrostatic charging. Journal of Electrostatics. Volume 70, Issue 3, June 2012, Pages 309-311 Around 1650, Otto von Guericke built a crude electrostatic generator: a sulphur ball that rotated on a shaft. When Guericke held his hand against the ball and turned the shaft quickly, a static electric charge built up. This experiment inspired the development of several forms of "friction machines", which greatly helped in the study of electricity.
Previous work The Ancient Greeks already knew that pieces of amber could attract lightweight particles after being rubbed. The amber becomes electrified by the triboelectric effect, mechanical separation of charge in a dielectric material. The Greek word for amber is ἤλεκτρον ("ēlektron") and is the origin of the word "electricity". Thales of Miletus, a pre-Socratic philosopher is thought to have accidentally commented on the phenomenon of electrostatic charging, due to his belief that even lifeless things have a soul in them, hence the popular analogy of the spark.Iverson, Paul. 2012. A life of its own: The tenuous connection between Thales of Miletus and the study of electrostatic charging. Journal of Electrostatics. Volume 70, Issue 3, June 2012, Pages 309-311 Around 1650, Otto von Guericke built a crude electrostatic generator: a sulphur ball that rotated on a shaft. When Guericke held his hand against the ball and turned the shaft quickly, a static electric charge built up. This experiment inspired the development of several forms of "friction machines", which greatly helped in the study of electricity.