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**Topic: Benjamin Franklin discovers electricity**
** Sources **
 * Source #1:** Krider, E. Philip. (2006, January). Benjamin Franklin and lightning rods. //Physics Today,// 59(1), 42-48.


 * Summary:** The discovery of electricity led to the development of modern physics and the lightning rod.


 * Quotes:**
 * "The French results were important because they called attention to ** Franklin **'s small pamphlet. Experiments and Observations on ** Electricity **, Made at Philadelphia in America, ( [|n3] ) that helped to stimulate other work in ** electricity ** and contributed to the beginning of modern physics.( [|n4] ) The observations also validated the key assumptions that lay behind ** Franklin **'s supposition that tall, grounded rods can protect buildings from lightning damage."
 * "It is difficult for us living in an electrical age to appreciate how important ** lightning ** conductors were in the 18th century. The discovery that thunderclouds contain electricity and that ** lightning ** is an electrical discharge revolutionized human perceptions of the natural world, and the invention of protective ** rods ** was a clear example of how basic, curiosity-driven research can lead to significant practical benefits, In his later years."


 * Paraphrase:** Observations made with electricity gave contributions to modern physics and proved that ground rods can protect buildings from lightning. Lightning conductors used to be very important and such discoveries about lightning significantly changed views of the world around us.


 * Source #2:** Whitney, W. (1938, September 15). It's called electricity: we have hardly made a start.//Vital Speeches of the Day,// 4(23), 712-715.


 * Summary:** This speech tells us that the discovery of electricity has provided us with protection for our buildings, aided the production speed of automobiles, and enabled the invention of radio.


 * Quotes:**
 * "So he broadcast his new idea saying, "May not the knowledge of this power of points be of use to mankind in preserving houses, churches, ships, etc., from the stroke of lightning." (Quote from Ben Franklin)
 * "Conceptions of electricity will continually change by expanding as they have always done."
 * "Electricity is less likely to be confined by our limited concepts the more we know about it . But we may always continue to find more uses for it."
 * "A new steel mill making automobile sheets, now rolls hot ingots continuously into thin strips 8 ft. wide and hundreds of feet long. The maximum delivery speed of the hot mill is about that of a good trotting horse . The mill operates by electricity."
 * " In our radio sets a suitable antenna picks up from space electrical influences called waves, which are reinforced, come from the electrical loud speakers as waves of air in imitation of noises or music actually made at some distant place."


 * Paraphrase:** Lightening rods have preserved buildings. Electricity has made many changes and was utilized in steel mills in order to make production quicker. Electricity has also played a key role in the process of developing radio.


 * Source #3:** Nilsson, J. (October, 2009). Twelve inovations that changed our world. //Saturday Evening Post,// 281(5), 44.


 * Summary:** Franklin's discovery caused other Americans to pursue experiments with nature. Electricity led to the development of TVs, washing machines, radios, and computers.


 * Quotes:**
 * "Benjamin Franklin was the first major innovator in America. Through his experiments and writings, he educated the world on the nature of electricity, how it was conducted, and how it might be stored. He also helped reconcile religious leaders to scientific truths."
 * "Franklin's work as a diplomat for science inspired other Americans to wrestle new destinies from the elemental forces."
 * "Later, in the 1960s, physicists Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley developed a replacement for the electronic vacuum tube. Their transistor, a small and simple device, marked the beginning of solid-state electronics and much smaller appliances. Televisions were no longer the size of washing machines. Portable radios could be hidden in a pocket. And computers shrank from the size of buildings to something that could slip down between the couch cushions."


 * Paraphrase:** Ben Franklin inspired others to experiment with the natural world to progress with scientific discoveries. Electricity enabled physicists to develop a device that made electronics and devices, such as TVs, washing machines, radios, and computers, much smaller and more portable.

Anderson, Carolyn. (2012). Importance of Electricity- How It Changed Peoples Lives. //Articles Factory.//
 * Source #4**: http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/science/importance-of-electricity-how-it-changed-peoples-lives.html


 * Summary:** discusses the importance of electricity in todays world and how it has made things easier for us today.
 * Quotes:** Let us discuss some aspects of life that electricity has improved a lot.
 * **Communication** – This is probably the most improved aspect in people’s lives. With electrically powered gadgets and computers, people now communicate with each other no matter how far the distance is. As long as you have a source of power to use your mobile phone or the internet, you will not have any problem with long distance communication. Can you still imagine the world without your smart phones and laptops?
 * **Entertainment** – Electricity has improved entertainment a lot too. People can use televisions and radios because of electricity. It is also used for printing books and for powering microphones during events. Imagine life without these entertainment appliances and equipment. Let’s face it. Life will become very dull without it. No more game consoles to kill time with.
 * **Work** – Tell me a kind of work or profession that does not need electricity. There is none. From construction to corporate jobs, from white-collared to blue-collared work, people need electricity to operate some equipment needed to finish their daily tasks. This is the reason why when there is a shortage of energy, companies suffer a lot because they cannot operate and provide the service they promised to their clients.
 * **Transportation --** Electricity is starting to transform the transportation system in many countries. Aside from trains, cars and other vehicles are now being designed to be powered not by gas but by electricity. This is because it is eco-friendly and it does not create harmful by-products such as carbon emissions. If all modes of transportation do not use gas, air pollution and global warming will definitely be solved.
 * **Food** – The food industry also needs power to operate. It is a lot faster and easier to produce food items now because of machines. Imagine fast food chains or restaurants having no source of power. Surely, you will have to wait hours before you can eat the meal you ordered.
 * **Home** – Electricity is also very efficient for households. Homes can use air-conditioners when there the summer is on. They can also deviate from traditional heaters and choose electric heaters during the winter season. The family can bond together by watching movies on DVD or by playing games together.


 * Source #5:** http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blelectric1.htm
 * Quote:** What is electricity?
 * We get electricity, which is a secondary energy source, from the conversion of other sources of energy, like coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear power and other natural sources
 * Beginning with [|Benjamin Franklin's] experiment with a kite one stormy night in Philadelphia, the principles of electricity gradually became understood. In the mid-1800s, everyone's life changed with the inventionof the electric [|light bulb].


 * Source #6:** http://www.listenaminute.com/e/electricity.html
 * Summary**: summarizes why electricity is one of the most important inventions ever
 * Quote**:
 * Electricity is one of the most important inventions ever. It is the thing that powers the Earth. If there was no electricity, we’d be back in the dark ages. Few people stop and think just how amazing electricity is. With the flick of a switch, you can power almost anything.


 * Source #7:** Cokeley, S. (2012, October). Edison's light bulb. //American History,//74.


 * Summary:** The lightbulb was an important invention and was very popular when it was first invented.
 * Quotes:**
 * "Now he invited investors and curiosity seekers to a public display of "incandescent lamps," which he boasted could be produced for just 25 cents each. "Extra trains were run from east and west," the New York Herald reported, "and notwithstanding the stormy weather, hundreds of persons availed themselves of the privilege." The spectacle was transformative, says Hal Wallace, a curator at the National Museum of American History. "Lighting became the killer app, as some would put it today, that really sold people on electrification."

**Source #8:** Freedman, R. (2012). // Becoming Ben Franklin. // New York, NY: Holiday House.

"No one imagined that this mysterious force would one day be harnessed to create the world's most important source of light and power." -pg.19 "Before long houses all over the colonies were protected by lightening rods on the roofs and heated by Franklin stoves in their sitting rooms." -pg. 24
 * Summary:** Franklin's discovery became the ultimate source of light and power.His invention was useful to the majority of early America.
 * Quotes:**

"Batteries are a portable, cheap, and convenient way to produce electricity. They come in all shapes and sizes, from the tiny round batteries used to power watches to the large, heavy batteries found in cars and other vehicles." "It carries electrical energy from the electric cell to wherever it is needed, to power devices such as remote controls, radios, game consoles." -pg.10
 * Source #9:** Cheshire, G.(2006). //Electricity and magnetism.// London: Evans Brothers.
 * Summary:** Electricity enables us to use objected with batteries, such as cars.
 * Quotes:**

** Organization of Topics **
 * Modern Physics**
 * Source 1
 * Source 2
 * Source 5


 * Invention of the Radio**
 * Source 6
 * Source 3
 * Source 2


 * Furthered Scientific Exploration**
 * Source 4
 * Source 8


 * Furthered Medical Science**
 * Source 7
 * Source 8