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Benjamin Franklin Exhibit - 2006
The year 2006 marks the tercentenary of Franklin's birth. There is a Congressionally-establish Tercentenary Commission charged with creating programs to commemorate the event. A Franklin exhibit was at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia will travel across the country and eventually to Paris in 2008. The IEEE has several relevant web sites (see below). An exhibit on Franklin and his work was available in 2006 on the first floor of Walter Library, including a copy of the 5th edition of his New experiments and observations on electricity made at Philadelphia in America by Benjamin Franklin, L.L.D. and F.R.S. To which are added, letters and papers on philosophical subjects. The whole corrected, methodized, improved, and now collected into one Volume, and illustrated with Copper Plates, printed in London in 1754.
Contributions to Science
Established, in 1752, that lightning is a form of electricity, just like the "fluid" that Franklin and others had studied in the laboratory for some time. This was not only a major scientific advance that made Franklin world-famous, but was also significant in showing that a dramatic force of nature could be explained and protected against. It was not, as some thought, supernatural in origin.
Although this picture, like many others, shows a lightning bolt, it is more likely that the experiment was done after a storm had passed, while the clouds still had an electrostatic charge. Flying a kite during a thunderstorm is very dangerous and could be fatal, as an experimenter in Russia discovered.
Created the first chart of the gulf stream in the Atlantic Ocean, a current of warm water that noticeably affected the transit time of sailing ships and, it was later shown, is responsible for northern Europe being warmer than its latitude would suggest. Although the current had been known to sailors and fishermen for some time, Franklin’s chart and his measurements of its temperature profile were significant contributions. Interestingly, no copies of the original chart he printed are extant. The one pictured here is from Franklin's article "Maritime Observations" in vol. II of the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 1786.
Inventions
- Lightning Rod
- Franklin Stove
- Bifocal glasses
- Glass Harmonica
Websites:
- Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
- IEEE Virtual Museum -- Benjamin Franklin
- Ben Franklin Web Portal A portal that searches web pages specifically about Franklin.
- The Papers of Benjamin Franklin The first and only comprehensive record of Benjamin Franklin's writings. Started in 1954 by Yale University, the project will eventually total 46 volumes. The team of editors has currently compiled 36 volumes, covering the first 76 years of Franklin's life.
- Ben Franklin: In his Own Words. From the Library of Congress.
- Benjamin Franklin: A Documentary History presents a highly detailed timeline of Franklin's life by scholar Leo Lemay.
- The American Philosophical Society is a scholarly society whose establishment was advocated by Franklin. Its website hosts information about APS meetings, grants and an extensive, historical library collection.
- The Electric Franklin is a colorful and comprehensive collection of engaging writings, reliable historical information, and entertaining interactive games.
- Benjamin Franklin: An Extraordinary Life, An Electric Mind -- Companion site to the PBS television series
- The Friends of Franklin, Inc. is an international membership society which posts articles, upcoming events, and the latest books related to scholarship on Franklin.
- The Writings of Benjamin Franklin is a very valuable resource for Franklin's writings. Included here are links to versions of Poor Richard's Almanack, from 1733 to 1759; his autobiography; letters and scientific observations, and his last will and testament
- The Franklin Institute who's mission is to inspire an understanding of and passion for science and technology learning -- inspired by Benjamin Franklin.
- Socket to Me!: How Electricity Came to Be
Did you know? The IEEE logo still contains the shape of a kite.
IEEE History Center - Evolution of the IEEE Logo
Books
Benjamin Franklin’s Science, I Bernard Cohen, Harvard University Press, 1990
Walter Level F, QC16 .F68 C64 1990
Link to MNCat Record
Stealing God’s Thunder, Philip Dray, Random House, NY, 2005
Walter Level F, E302.6 .F8 D69
Link to MNCat Record