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American printer, writer, politician, diplomat, and scientist. He invented bifocals and the Franklin stove. He also
experimented with
Leyden Jars
.
In 1752, he flew a kite attached to a silk string in a
thunderstorm, and showed that a metal key tied to the thread would charge a
Leyden jar
.
(Incidentally,
the next two people who attempted the experiment were killed in the effort.) His experiments with
Leyden
jars
showed that they discharged more easily if near a pointed surface. He thus suggested the use of
lightning rods. He named the two kinds of electricity positive and negative, unfortunately assigning negative charge to
what later was found to correspond to material with an excess of
electrons
.
Franklin, B.
Oeuvres, 2 vols.
Paris: Quillau-Esprit, 1773.
© 1996-2007 Eric W. Weisstein
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