Benjamin Franklin’s Kite
It is no wonder then that Benjamin Franklin, this true icon of America, should be present on the 100 dollar bill, the largest denomination of our currency. He is the only figure represented on our money who was not a President of the United States.
Benjamin Franklin had many accomplishments, far more than those few mentioned here. However, in American popular culture he shall always be remembered for flying his kite and his “discovery” of electricity (although he did not actually discover electricity on that day). Ask any elementary school child what they know of Benjamin Franklin and it will be the first thing they mention.
The Quest to Understand Lightning
Lightning has always been with us, but it was not until the time of Franklin that it truly began to be understood. Understanding electricity was new at this time as well, although it was known what electricity was. In fact, a few years before Franklin’s famous kite flying experiment the Leyden Jar had been invented, a primitive capacitor capable of storing a small electrical charge.
It was commonly thought at the time of Benjamin Franklin that lightning was in fact electrical in nature. This was based purely on observation, however. Frankling himself categorized many of the similarities between electrical sparks and lightning, and said that they most likely were the same. However, an experiment must be designed to prove it once and for all.
A Word About Lightning
Lightning works in much the same way as the shock you receive when shuffling across a carpet and touching a door knob or light switch. The friction between your feet and the carpet is building up an excess electrical charge, which is then discharged and makes contact with the knob or light switch, giving you a shock.
Lightning works much the same way. It is the result of friction within clouds building up excess electrical charges, which must then be discharged. This charge is shot downward, meeting either the ground or some other object between the electricity-producing cloud and the ground such as a tree or tall building.
Benjamin Franklin and the Lightning Rod
Now, the experimentation process begins, and it would seem that it was time for the kite to come into play. However, this is not the case. Franklin’s original experiment did not involve a kite but rather a tall iron rod, which would be attached to a box atop a high tower or steeple.
This box would be large enough to hold a man. The man would stand inside the box, holding onto the iron rod which would extend about 20 or 30 feet up into the air. If the experimenter deemed this to be too unsafe, they could hold a wire by a wax handle which would insulate them from the electrical charge.
Ultimately this experiment would prove to be quite unsafe. In 1753 a Swedish physicist by the name of G. W. Richmann was killed performing Franklin’s experiment in Russia. It had been successfully completed before in France, England and Belgium before the first fatality.
The idea of using an iron rod to attract lightning was the first instance of a lightning rod. As lightning travels downwards from the clouds, it seeks an ending point for the electrical charge. Because metal is an electrical conductor, it will naturally attract electricity more than non-metallic objects. Because the lightning rod is also tall, it is closer to the source of the lightning and more likely to attract it.
Lightning rods are used today to protect buildings and other objects from lightning, by drawing the lightning away from these objects and towards itself.
Benjamin Franklin’s Kite
Benjamin Franklin was himself never to attempt his lightning rod experiment. After first coming up with the experiment in July of 1750 and actually performing the experiment in the summer of 1752 he had had another brainstorm.
His idea was to use a kite instead of a lightning rod. This worked better for two reasons: firstly the kite could reach a far higher elevation than the lightning rod. Secondly it was more mobile, because it did not have to be attached to any particular building. Wherever there was a thunderstorm, Frankling could bring his kite.
This Franklin did. He attached a key to the string of the kite near his hand, then let the kite fly. The kite was struck by lightning and sparks flew from the key to his hand, giving him a shock. This proved the theory that lightning was electrical in nature. Franklin and those of his compatriots who thought likewise were proved correct.
The Controversy: Was Franklin the First?
Although it has come into our common lore that Franklin was the discoverer of electricity (or more properly the discoverer that lightning was in fact electricity), there are problems with this fact. Prior to Franklin’s kite-flying experiment, in may of 1752, a French scientist named Thomas-Francois D’Alibard attempted Franklin’s lightning rod experiment successfully.
The exact time of Franklin’s experiment is unknown. Most say that he performed the experiment in June of 1752, although it could have been later in the summer. Either way D’Alibard’s successful experiment was before Franklin’s, although it was based on Franklin’s idea.
Most likely, Franklin did not know about D’Alibard’s success prior to flying his kite. To himself he was the first to prove that lightning was in fact electricity. However it had already been shown months prior. This could be part of the reason that Franklin himself did not make much mention of his kite-flying experiment (his only mention of performing the experiment came in a single sentence in 1788).
Regardless, the story of Benjamin Franklin and his kite has entered into popular American lore. Every child in the United States has heard the story, and makes reference to his discovery of electricity. It is a major piece of Americana, one that will never leave us.
