Stephen Gray: Biography and Contributions

Stephen Gray He was an English astronomer, recognized mainly for his contributions to the field of electricity. He was the first scientist to officially experiment with electric conduction systems, the fundamental basis for the use of energy in today's societies.

Until his important discovery in 1729, he had devoted his scientific career to researching how electric charges worked, particularly in terms of static; how the static worked and the charges occurred as a result of this same phenomenon.

Electrical conductor with insulation

He was the first scientific author to identify isolation and driving as separate concepts. In addition, their contributions also contributed significantly to the use of energy at a distance, which is known today as electrostatics.

Biography

Stephen Gray was born on December 26, 1666 in the city of Canterbury, England. His relatives worked mainly as carpenters and painters. In fact, he himself learned the art of painting from his father and practiced in this area professionally, apart from his development in the field of science.

From a young age he became interested in the natural sciences and particularly in astronomy. Lacking money to provide an education, he himself was educated in this area of ​​science. He obtained this thanks to the friends with great economic capacity that he had, because they had access to the best texts and scientific instruments.

One of his best friends was John Flamsteed, who was one of Isaac Newton's main scientific rivals. It is because of this friendship that he struck up with Flamsteed that Newton is thought to have blocked the publication of several of his works.

His friendship with Flamsteed was developed while working with him on the development of a map of the stars; it is believed that Gray performed this work without obtaining monetary benefit. Although most of his astronomical contributions did not bring him economic benefits, he gained the trust and friendship of his colleagues.

Life in the 1700s

His interest in electricity was documented for the first time when he was almost 50 years old, in a letter he wrote to Hans Sloane. In this, he mentioned the use of pens to detect the conduction of electricity.

His fascination with how electricity was generated by friction was easy to perceive. Thanks to this, he realized the close relationship between electric charges and light.

Despite having made countless contributions to the electrical investigations, he did not receive any money in return and found himself in a rather precarious situation. In fact, Flamsteed advocated for him to be included in the Charterhouse Pension, and that is how he lived most of his days (even as a scientist).

After a life dedicated to astronomy and electricity, Stephen Gray died in a state of indigence on February 7, 1736, seven years after he was admitted to the Royal Society of Science in England.

Contributions

Methodology

For most of his experiments he used a glass tube, which gained electrical charge when rubbed by a hand or dry paper. These tubes were ideal for their experiments, because they were easily accessible and not expensive, unlike other devices used at the time.

Discoveries about driving

While living in Charterhouse's boarding house, he noticed that one of the screws located at the end of one of the tubes used to keep out moisture and dust was loaded. When touched with a stick, the current felt on the opposite side, thanks to a small ball of ivory that he had put there.

It was through this experiment that Gray discovered that electricity is not simply a static presence, but flows from one side to another and that the same ivory ball acted similar to a glass tube.

Originally he referred to this as an electric virtue. He also experimented with using a thread to prove that the electric current could be taken to the patio of the house where he lived.

This experiment led him to conclude that electric current could flow from one side to another using an object as an intermediary. In turn, this current was not affected by the laws of gravity.

Isolation

After having discovered and created in a rudimentary way the first electricity network, he went to visit one of the relatives of Flamsteed with greater economic capacity. In his house he experimented by extending the length of the electrical system by several meters, carrying the current through a gallery in the man's mansion.

It was then that he realized the importance of insulating the conductor cable, when using silk to separate the cable from the wall. Since silk does not have the ability to conduct electricity, using this tool made Gray understand the isolation principle for the first time.

After experiencing a few more days in the family home of Flamsteed, he reported his discoveries to John Desaguilers, a friend of the Royal Society of Science, who coined the terms of conductor and insulator.

Electric induction

After having determined the importance of the insulators, Gray developed an experiment by means of which it was possible to electrically charge an object without touching it. This experiment was called the"flying child"and was applauded throughout Europe.

To make it work, he would place a child suspended in the air using silk ropes and bring his glass tube loaded to him. In doing so, the child's face continued to attract paper, which proved that he was conducting electricity satisfactorily.

Through this experiment, Gray finished defining that electric virtue was highly related to lightning, many years before Benjamin Franklin did.

In addition, after the death of Newton and with a new leader of the Royal Society already established, Gray was recognized for his discoveries in the field of electricity with two Copley medals. Such medals were granted to him for this contribution and for his discovery of isolation.

References

1. Electromagnetism: Pioneering efforts, Encyclopaedia Britannica, (n.d.). Taken from Britannica.com
2. Conduction, Insulation and Electric Current - 1729 - Stephen Gray (1666-1736), Spark Museum, (n.d.). Taken from sparkmuseum.com
3. Gray, Stephen; Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, 2008. Taken from encyclopedia.com
4. Stephen Gray (Scientist), Wikipedia en Español, December 5, 2017. Taken from wikipedia.org
5. Stephen Gray, EcuRed, (n.d.). Taken from ecured.cu