Ether

Electricity is the base of various modern technologies around us today and a world without electricity is unthinkable. Electricity and magnetism are so commonly in our life that many of us don't even realize that it took centuries and hundred of noble inventive brains to actually present it to us. There were times when electricity was confused with magnetism, or when electricity was actually thought of as a fluid 'ether', and later consisting two type of fluid in opposite directions. With time, experiments and theories it was established that electricity is an intertwined system of electric and magnetic fields. As, the concepts in electricity developed, more and more complex machines and systems were designed. The trend now seems to be moving towards simplicity.

Recently there have been a very interesting development in wireless transmission of electricity. Powercast, a company, demonstrated use of RF energy to power 6 volts to a distance of 1 meter. Research is going on this technology to make our homes, offices, hospitals, schools and everyplace wireless. But, what will happen when various frequencies are intermingled during transmission, imagine your power switch frequency interfering with the frequency of critical medical instrument at a nearby hospital. There have been much debate only on the use of mobile phones, what will be the level of debate on wireless electricity. I already feel like we will be living inside a microwave oven!! 

Well jokes apart, there have been significant development in electric power in the past three centuries. So, what would be the future of electricity? Conductor or Semiconductor or Superconductor or Wireless or something never thought of?

900 BC Magetism experienced: Magnus, a Greek Shephard

600 BC Discovery of static electricity by rubbing amber on fur: Thales, Greece 

300 BC Use of magnets in compass for searching burial sites: Chinese

1200 AD Use of magnets in compass for ship navigation: Chinese

1638 Attempt to measure speed of light: Galileo

1650 Electrostatic generator invented: Otto von Guericke

1729 Discovery of electrical conductivity: Stephen Gray 

1752 Kite experiment and the principle of conservation of charge: Benjamin Franklin

1785 Inverse square relation between elctric force and distance: Charles Augustine Coulomb

1793 Invention of battery: Alessandro Volta

1820 Discovery of electric attraction and repulsion: Andre Marie Ampere

1826 Discovery that Voltage is driver of current (the Ohm's law): Georg Simon Ohm

1831 Discovery of Magnetic Induction: Michael Faraday

1879 Invention of Electric Bulb (US 223898): Thomas Alva Edison

1883 Invention of solar cell: Charles Fritts

1888 Invention of AC motor (US 373035): Nikola Tesla

1890 First convict to be executed by electric chair: William Kemmler

1902 Invention of flash light (US 737107): Conrad Hubert

1905 Theory of relativity: Albert Einstein

1905 Light is composed of photons: Albert Einstein

1911 Discovery of Superconductivity: Heike Kamerlingh Onnes

1946 Invention of modern solar cell (US 2402662): Russel Ohl

1947 Birth of transistor: Bell Lab

1964 Microwave powered helicopter to demostrate wireless electricity: William C. Brown

2007 Wireless power transfer using RF energy: Powercast

Source:

www.wikipedia.com

library.thinkquest.org

www.ideafinder.com