Benjamin Franklin's Hypothesis for explaining… Thunder, Lightning & Rain 1752
£59
SKU: P-6-109570
A New Hypothesis for explaining the Phenomena of Thunder, Lightning, and Rain, being an extract from B. Franklin’s Experiments and Observations on Electricity. [An article outlining Benjamin Franklin's groundbreaking theory that lightning is a form of electricity]
An extract from Benjamin's Franklin’s Hypothesis on Thunder and Lightning, printed in the Gentleman’s Magazine, London, May 1752. This landmark article, titled “A New Hypothesis for explaining the Phenomena of Thunder, Lightning, and Rain”, presents Benjamin Franklin’s groundbreaking theory that lightning is a form of electricity. Published just weeks before his famous kite experiment in June 1752, the article lays out Franklin’s reasoning by drawing analogies between the observable characteristics of lightning and the behaviour of artificial electrical charge—such as sparks, crackling noise, attraction, and flashes of light. He suggests that thunderclouds carry electrical fire, and that pointed metal rods fixed atop buildings could safely discharge this fire into the ground. Franklin’s ideas marked a turning point in Enlightenment science, blending speculative theory with practical application. Though he had already proposed his invention of the lightning rod in an earlier 1750 letter (also published in The Gentleman’s Magazine), this 1752 article goes further in systematically presenting the electrical nature of storms. The hypothesis was spectacularly confirmed a month later when Franklin famously flew a kite during a thunderstorm, successfully drawing sparks from a key attached to its wet string—thereby proving lightning was indeed electrical. This article is a foundational document in the history of electricity, showcasing Franklin’s inventive mind and the Royal Society’s role in disseminating colonial American science to a European readership.
Size 20 x 13 cm | 8.0 x 5.0 inches
Date Published: May 1752
Type: Four antique copperplate pages, on three sheets
Author: Franklin, Benjamin
Publication: Gentleman's Magazine
Condition: Good |
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