Comparison: Benjamin Franklin And Lightning Strikes
Jonathan Erb
Mrs. Valeri
English 8B
13 November 2017
The Lightning Rod Lightning can exceed over 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (Daniels); The National Lightning Safety Institute estimates that "annually in the USA lightning cause more than 26,000 fires with damage to property in excess of $5-6 billion." In 1749, Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod. The lightning rod not only helped prevent many rural fires and dangerous lightning strikes, it also provided the electricity from a lightning strike a safe path to the ground. Benjamin Franklin, born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts was the 15th child and the youngest son of his family (“Benjamin Franklin”). You may know Benjamin Franklin for helping draft the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution or you might have seen him on the $100 bill. Benjamin first came upon other scientists’ experiments in 1746. Using items he found throughout his house he turned his home into a little laboratory. When Franklin accidentally shocked himself during an experiment he described the shock as
“…a universal blow throughout my whole body from head to foot, which seemed within as …show more content…
Instead of going inside like many others, Benjamin Franklin went to fly a kite. He wanted to demonstrate that lightning was electricity. Electricity is an electric current or change (“Electricity”). The Franklin Institute states “He [Franklin] had his materials at the ready: a simple kite made with a large silk handkerchief, a hemp string, and a silk string. He also had a house key, a Leyden jar (a device that could store an electrical charge for later use), and a sharp length of wire. His son William assisted him.” William, who was 21 years old at the time, was the only one to see this famous kite-key experiment. On October 19,1752, Benjamin Franklin’s own description of the kite-key-experiment arose in the Pennsylvania Gazette, he finished off the description by
Mrs. Valeri
English 8B
13 November 2017
The Lightning Rod Lightning can exceed over 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (Daniels); The National Lightning Safety Institute estimates that "annually in the USA lightning cause more than 26,000 fires with damage to property in excess of $5-6 billion." In 1749, Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod. The lightning rod not only helped prevent many rural fires and dangerous lightning strikes, it also provided the electricity from a lightning strike a safe path to the ground. Benjamin Franklin, born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts was the 15th child and the youngest son of his family (“Benjamin Franklin”). You may know Benjamin Franklin for helping draft the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution or you might have seen him on the $100 bill. Benjamin first came upon other scientists’ experiments in 1746. Using items he found throughout his house he turned his home into a little laboratory. When Franklin accidentally shocked himself during an experiment he described the shock as
“…a universal blow throughout my whole body from head to foot, which seemed within as …show more content…
Instead of going inside like many others, Benjamin Franklin went to fly a kite. He wanted to demonstrate that lightning was electricity. Electricity is an electric current or change (“Electricity”). The Franklin Institute states “He [Franklin] had his materials at the ready: a simple kite made with a large silk handkerchief, a hemp string, and a silk string. He also had a house key, a Leyden jar (a device that could store an electrical charge for later use), and a sharp length of wire. His son William assisted him.” William, who was 21 years old at the time, was the only one to see this famous kite-key experiment. On October 19,1752, Benjamin Franklin’s own description of the kite-key-experiment arose in the Pennsylvania Gazette, he finished off the description by