Electricity: Crash Course History of Science #27

The study of electricity goes all the way back to antiquity. But, by the time electricity started to become more well known, a few familiar names started to appear. Edison, Galvani, and a few others really changed the way the world worked.
***
Crash Course is on Patreon! You can support us directly by signing up at / crashcourse
Thanks to the following Patrons for their generous monthly contributions that help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever:
Mark Brouwer, Kenneth F Penttinen, Trevin Beattie, Satya Ridhima Parvathaneni, Erika & Alexa Saur, Glenn Elliott, Justin Zingsheim, Jessica Wode, Eric Prestemon, Kathrin Benoit, Tom Trval, Jason Saslow, Nathan Taylor, Brian Thomas Gossett, Khaled El Shalakany, Indika Siriwardena, SR Foxley, Sam Ferguson, Yasenia Cruz, Eric Koslow, Caleb Weeks, D.A. Noe, Shawn Arnold, Malcolm Callis, Advait Shinde, William McGraw, Andrei Krishkevich, Rachel Bright, Mayumi Maeda, Kathy & Tim Philip, Jirat, Ian Dundore
--
Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?
Facebook - / youtubecrashcourse
Twitter - / thecrashcourse
Tumblr - / thecrashcourse
Support Crash Course on Patreon: / crashcourse
CC Kids: / crashcoursekids

[@zoe_alva86]

I was going to mention Tes.... *looks at comments* Oh, nevermind.

[@LuisSierra42]

Same here

[@ngelistrikdotcom]

same with me, hahaha

[@simonramos485]

DONT YOU ALL GET IT..? clearly he is being backed by globalist scum... real intelligent humans ought to find it easy to see he had everything else right and threw out clues that electricity had to be monetized by bankers... 😂 if he admits reality is based on Tesla they will turn off his electricity and funding as well...

[@Hazellites]

Why no Tesla

[@crashcourse]

Excellent question. We will be talking about Tesla in a future episode :) Nick J.

[@gibranhenriquedesouza2843]

@@crashcourse He deserves an entire episode.

[@antonevan443]

@@gibranhenriquedesouza2843 he already has his own episode on Scishow

[@augustinnoci9487]

what happen to john green

[@augustinnoci9487]

nevermind

[@macrossactual]

Oh, we're referring to AC as "Westinghouse's" now, instead of Tesla's? GOT IT.

[@jaredpekar4386]

I was hoping they would mention Oliver Heaviside. His contributions to the Electrical Sciences are extremely important and I think he deserves way more recognition.

[@TheMediaLunchBreak]

Hank: "Edison promoted capital punishment using an electric chair." Me: "....Wait. What?" Hank: "Next time we'll follow Edison during the second industrial revolution." Me: "No wait-" Hank: "Crash Course History of Science is filmed in the Dr. Cheryl C. Kinney Studio-" Me: "Hang on go back. What did you say about the electric chair??"

[@culwin]

How did you quote exactly what he said, if you missed what he said? That doesn't even make sense. What more do you want? Edison promoted the electrical chair using AC current. It's always brought up by people who hate Edison for various reasons. It's not false, though.

[@ElderGod4]

Haha

[@seanwaddell2659]

@@culwin It's a joke

[@culwin]

@@seanwaddell2659 I was joking, wow, can't believe you didn't get that.

[@seanwaddell2659]

@@culwin Literally none of what you said implies that

[@DarkshadowXD63]

This video was obviously funded by Edison

[@moonlight_tbtg6978]

Lmao

[@TRYtoHELPyou]

Feels that way :/

[@george-educational9894]

DarkshadowXD63 so true tbh

[@kwecsk9132]

It was sponsored by jp Morgan

[@DaDunge]

No but it was made possible by Edison.

[@MyuuMuad]

before calling it "electricity" what did they call the phenomenon these people were studying?

[@MrGustaphe]

You actually pronounced an Ø somewhat correctly! You may have offended the Tesla crowd, but Scandinavia is proud of you!

[@jessephillips1233]

Love how hank is trying not to laugh when he says "Newington Butts London".

[@noxabellus]

Ok I'm not religiously offended like some in these comments but it is *very odd* you didn't mention Tesla, considering you talk about Westinghouse and _he is often credited with the invention of AC_ ... Regardless of whether you'll be covering him in future episodes, its a huge oversight for this video as a unit.

[@Udontkno7]

He finna have his own episode. Like Shakespeare in the theatre series.

[@AlipashaSadri]

I think this video had a nice logical consistency. There was no "he invented AC"; it was "Edison's DC versus Westinghouse's AC". I think the context here clearly implies that he is talking about industrial production and "brands"; having mentioned that Edison was trying to create a market for electricity. Westinghouse was the first to generate AC and sell it to people in US. He used Tesla's patents in the process. So it was a rivalry between Edison and Westinghouse as far the "consumer" market is concerned.

[@Ceidonianphysicist]

Tesla didn’t Invent AC. AC was invented before Tesla was even born. He invented a specific ac motor which ended up not really influencing future ac motors that much. His legacy has been massively inflated by falsehoods developed by clueless people on the internet.

[@noxabellus]

@@Ceidonianphysicist Ok, well, if that's the case I think it only serves to solidify my core point that leaving his name out of this episode was an oversight.

[@noxabellus]

@MisterLister68 AC doesnt exist in nature lol

[@tarungmusic]

I really appreciate how well all of the developments in electromagnetism were covered in a few minutes, without leaving any of the scientists involved. Next week's episode is displayed as "Thermodynamics", and not The Second Industrial Revolution. I kindly request you to edit it in the description. This is an absolutely remarkable video series and that's why I want it to stay awesome!

[@elizabethstranger3122]

Everyone, crash course said they're going to talk about Nikola Tesla in a future episode, so take it easy, please:). Dear crash course, I watch your channel almost every day and Nikola Tesla is my biggest hero, so imagine how sad I was to find that he wasn't given a mention in this video, but it's okay, as long as you do dedicate some screen time for him because more people need to know about Tesla and he truly is important to the history of science, no doubt about that. I hope you keep your word, crash course. Other than that, great video, fabolus animations, as per usual. Keep up the good work. Thanks! :D

[@KhunkhaoOldChannel]

Q: How to kill someone who is already dead? A: Never mention their name when you're suppose to.

[@cagethemouse]

Very grateful for this series, thank you for the knowledge.

[@aadesh_kale]

This is why I love this channel! Amazing facts.

[@ScienceCommunicator2001]

James Clerk Maxwell was a great mathematical genius. He should have had his own episode!!!

[@Frahamen]

I'm sure scientists those days started a bit of a resistance after Ohm published his piece, though they immediatly saw the potential use of Volta's work.

[@ShawnNac]

5:10 you show the wires repel when the current flows opposite directions but you have the magnetic field going in the same direction. One of those wires should be showing the magnetic field going clockwise. Both wires are showing counterclockwise. Use the right-hand rule your thumb shows the direction of the current and your fingers curl in the direction of the magnetic field.

[@Musiccat1145]

No Tesla, No mention of Maxwell's laws. No mention of the Faraday cage. This should have been two more episodes.

[@narnigrin]

There _is_ mention of Maxwell's laws at 8:15-8:20. So yeah, there's literally _mention_, although not much more. :)

[@PatrickAllenNL]

This was an electrifying episode! It's Greased Lightning!

[@kysier6015]

Oh, btw. Edison didn't invent the light bulb. He "perfected" it.... and by perfected i mean he invented a version that would eventually blow, creating a need to continue buying them. (He saw potential for profit in light bulbs, but didn't like fact people would only need to buy them once every 10-15 years or so). *Humphrey Davy and Joseph Swan* were the real inventors of the light bulb, and yes, their version could easily last 10+ years. In fact, they were developing bulbs that would Never blow before Edison stole their research, and developed a much lower quality bulb. (They were actually 2 of the countless people who won lawsuits against Edison). This video has quite a few errors.... and btw yes, Edison was not an inventor. He was a ruthless businessman who was exceptionally good at stealing research (and credit).

[@DaDunge]

He didn't steal he commercialized.

[@victorjozwicki8179]

Commercialized it*

[@PizzaManager101]

then why were davy & swan unable to sell their better bulbs, did edison have them murdered in a conspiracy or something?

[@kysier6015]

@@PizzaManager101 They didn't have the capability to mass produce, or to market the product. They eventually tried, but was too late by then.

[@alexixeno4223]

Is a simple geek. Hears Magneto, checks comments for X-men jokes.

[@dgdalt1518]

6:25 I suppose that means my friends in DM's respect me when they type my name with a lower case letter. I've learned even more that this video intended to provide, i guess. Thanks.

[@Benjamin-bs9eb]

This guy kills us with information, yet so easy to comprehend

[@ajb6013]

Haha make a “cloud baby” 😂💕 lol love you guys videos!

[@hotdrippyglass]

Nicely Done Team Crash Course !

[@benyamin6085]

Where’s mr Telsa on this story?!?!

[@ElGringoCastellano]

He developed AC for Westinghouse. He didn't have money but Westinghouse did.

[@zoe_alva86]

@@ElGringoCastellano I suspected so... but... still.

[@DaDunge]

Making up inventions that could never work no doubt it is his thing. Oh and berating scientists much smarter than him.

[@DaDunge]

@@ElGringoCastellano He was one of the people who developed AC for Westinhouse.

[@allangustavobs]

CrashCourse, Do a serie about history of medicine, surgery, antybiotics or something about

[@ChessMasteryOfficial]

*Resist much, obey little.*

[@Beryllahawk]

The number of puns in this episode is Yeah I'm going to say it Shocking.

[@ragibahsan8026]

Can you make an episode on the history of wireless electric communication? Starting from the Telegraph or may be before to the latest satellite/submarine cable communication? And the physicists behind it? Thanks.

[@imaneennabihi151]

Thank you ! Love from Morocco .

[@SotraEngine4]

Applause for pronouncing ø right Also, Tesla was crucial in making components for alternating current (which will be what I'll blame on if I fail at the exam) Also, without alternating current, only the very rich could have afforded electricity. This would have happened if Eddison won the war of currents

[@6alecapristrudel]

But muh laws of electrolysis!!1! - Faraday, probably

[@narnigrin]

So many puns here that aren't even acknowledged. ... who first saw the _potential_ ... ... [bringing electric light to New York] was _blindingly_ amazing ... ... utterly _transform_ the world ...

[@harm3825]

Yeah, new video!

[@KhunkhaoOldChannel]

"This Episode is Powered by General Electric"

[@antonevan443]

Careful there, you're triggering Tesla's fanboys

[@petercarioscia9189]

Well, he's a huge part of the history and development of electricity and our modern world. Not a single mention of him? That's not 'trggering fanbois' that's just negligence. Like not mentioning Newton when talking about physics.

[@Udontkno7]

Exactly. Crash course responded to two comments saying he's having his own episode.

[@antonevan443]

@@Udontkno7 Tesla already has his own episode though, in Scishow.

[@Udontkno7]

@@antonevan443 scishow isn't crash course. They might be related, but they're not the same.

[@antonevan443]

@@Udontkno7 are we ignoring that both this episode and the tesla episode is narrated by this same guy (Hank)?

[@TheWELLRESPECTED]

Post notifications are now on. The thermodynamics course will be 🔥.

[@realmaml]

Hank needs a plaid t-shirt to complete this ensemble.

[@grobanlover292]

Boy, Im really Amp-ed by this episode.

[@shawnsea624]

Thanks!

[@kimberlymartinez4067]

It's so crazy how in the 1870s, people didn't see the need for electricity. I, as well as everyone else here, probably could not imagine our world without electricity today.

[@robertstuckey6407]

So is there going to be an episode on Hamilton Euler and Gauss about the advances in mathematics during the 16th century?

[@Dayglodaydreams]

Ion: Magnet's how the ******** do they work? Plato: Well...the Stone of Hereclea...

[@donsample1002]

Franklin is the guy who came up with the positive and negative nomenclature for talking about electrical charge, causing generations of electrical engineers to curse his name. Because of Franklin electricity flows from the negative side to the positive side over a voltage potential.

[@aspiahmacaurog4354]

Basically, electricity is one of the most important factor in running out an industry together with the development of economy. Actually due to the hard works and determinations of our inventors, electricity were develop little by little until electricity develop. It was actually Thomas Alva Edison who give a good idea of electricity in which resulted to the growth of industry, and economy of our country. And of course electricity gives life all over the world. I can't really imagine a life without electricity especially nowadays. Sir Thomas help us to see people clearly in the night.

[@SunjayVideos]

i got chiiillls they're multiplyin' and i'm loooooosing control

[@geoffreywinn4031]

Educational!

[@indigo4416]

No mention of Nikola Tesla or Humphry Davy...? It's only true if it's red, white and blue...?

[@smartmetfone7835]

Thank you

[@billboyd2009]

They sold 2 electric chairs to the Royal family of Ethiopia, which had no electrical generators at the time. They were used as thrones! Thanks QI

[@paulpeterson4216]

Come on Hank, I want to hear about Maxwell's silver hammer.

[@Bastispark]

Die herrschende Geschichte ist die Geschichte der Herrschenden.

[@benjaminchiu6423]

guys they're gonna cover Tesla in a future episode they replied to the comments :^) yall can chill now

[@TiananmenSquareMassacre1989]

It was never stated in Frankenstein that electricity was involved in the "monster's" creation. That comes from movie adaptations.

[@theyhaveitcannedbread1988]

Wee need a whole video on Tesla now

[@heroknaderi]

Interesting 😎👍

[@Ganymedescup]

Mary Shelley's novel contains one paragraph mentioning electricity: "Before this I was not unacquainted with the more obvious laws of electricity. On this occasion a man of great research in natural philosophy was with us, and excited by this catastrophe, he entered on the explanation of a theory which he had formed on the subject of electricity and galvanism, which was at once new and astonishing to me. All that he said threw greatly into the shade Cornelius Agrippa, Albertus Magnus, and Paracelsus, the lords of my imagination; but by some fatality the overthrow of these men disinclined me to pursue my accustomed studies. It seemed to me as if nothing would or could ever be known. All that had so long engaged my attention suddenly grew despicable. By one of those caprices of the mind which we are perhaps most subject to in early youth, I at once gave up my former occupations, set down natural history and all its progeny as a deformed and abortive creation, and entertained the greatest disdain for a would-be science which could never even step within the threshold of real knowledge. In this mood of mind I betook myself to the mathematics and the branches of study appertaining to that science as being built upon secure foundations, and so worthy of my consideration."

[@Tfin]

"That science" being...?

[@Ganymedescup]

@@Tfin From context, it looks like "electricity and galvanism."

[@Tfin]

Yeah. Shelley, not knowing enough about the New Thing to write on it, just says that that's Frankenstein's field of study, and hand waves the details. There was another post saying that the story never says it was electricity that was used to reanimate the body, but that's the obvious implication.

[@SomethingStrange1579]

Wishing all a beautiful week

[@camiloiribarren1450]

Hank should’ve been a science major. He’d be an amazing student.

[@TlogicoP]

This is a poor digest of wikipedia articles. 1) No one knew that lightning was 'energy', or even the same kind of thing as static in Antiquity. In general, electrical phenomena like static was widely considered a 'fluid' into the 19th century. 2) Many of the 'parlor tricks', like Stephen Gray's, served two purposes: to entertain, and to show something experimentally, i.e., that the human body is a good conductor. 3) Hauksbee didn't discover that spinning a glass sphere generated static. He built the device because he already knew it would work. People had been making tables of materials ordered by how much static they generated from friction since at least Gilbert's time. Glass was high on the list. It was actually a suggestion of Newton's to replace the sulphur sphere of von Guericke for better results. 4) The 'electrostatic generator' was not known as an 'electrical generator' because electricity itself was not a unified concept yet. 5) Benjamin Franklin and his circle were extremely prolific and DID CONTRIBUTE EPISTEMICALLY to the history of electricity. For one, he showed that both lightning and static could charge a leyden jar and perform the same experiments, meaning (to him and most others) that lightning and static had an underlying similarity. Joseph Priestley called this the greatest discovery since Newton's law of universal gravitation. 6) Galvani did not himself demonstrate the existence of 'animal electricity', which was part of the controversy with Volta. His more convincing proof appeared in an appendix to his last work in which he showed that you could get the legs to twitch without using metal connections. These experiments were popularized by his nephew, Aldini, after his death. 7) Galvani did not 'inspire Volta to push his work on nerves furthur'. Volta was not convinced of the existence of animal electricity. He thought the leg twitches were the result of using different metal connections. He invented the voltaic pile to prove this effect and disprove the existence of animal electricity. 8) Volta did not invent the first practical method of generating electricity. You already mentioned electrostatic generators. 9) The voltaic pile is not the first 'battery'. The term 'battery' was coined by Franklin to refer to a series of Leyden jars. They could store large quantities of charge. They just could not give you a continuous current. 10) Understanding the voltaic pile does not require knowledge that electricity and magnetism are related. It is a chemical effect. At Volta's time, it appeared that there were multiple kinds of electricity: static, lightning (though Franklin unified this), animal, and chemical. Magnetism and light were on the list, but only by remote analogy. 11) Faraday did not simply 'get to work inventing electromagnetic motors'. In fact, his famous electromagnetic motor was actually an experimental setup to prove the convertibility of magnetism and chemical electricity. He performed many experiments with different kinds of electricity to show they all produced the same effects, thus 'unifying' the pantheon. I don't have the energy to go through the rest. All-in-all, your history is extremely whiggish and poorly researched.

[@wesleyrm76]

I'm sure Tesla will be a part of an episode with other pioneers of telecommunications like Marconi and Bell. In the meantime, don't get so riled up that you forget that Faraday and Maxwell are possibly the two greatest scientists of all time.

[@RedziRekuEdze]

I love electricity, it represents light and information and it can't be weponized. Electricity is my friend. I have electric bike and it helps me to become an electric flow, both physically and mentally in the lovely streets of Amsterdam. Seriously guys, it's surreal, unreal, so grateful.

[@godwantsplastic]

Insightful Daily. Transcending thought rail gun, electric chair, electro shock therapy, interrogation... you can definitely hurt people with electricity.

[@RedziRekuEdze]

@@godwantsplastic as Mass weapon, something armies would use you silly sally.

[@godwantsplastic]

Insightful Daily. Transcending thought rail guns...

[@RedziRekuEdze]

@@godwantsplastic bad as weapon but still it can't do much damage to significant amount of people so it does not qualify as mass destruction weapon.

[@godwantsplastic]

Insightful Daily. Transcending thought they can destroy buildings or ships or trains or airplanes... I think you may have transcended a little too far beyond thinking?

[@chetanrawatji]

Interesting ❤

[@NorthernGuyRob]

This is very obscure..... But your jacket reminds me of Chris Hadfield (astronaut) Both time I've met him, he had a very similar jacket on

[@aadesh_kale]

10:00 strange line for todays basis, cause it's now a basic need.

[@hektzu573]

I've noticed that a lot of these KZbin educational channels do not mention Nikola Tesla as much as they should, when they even mention him at all... What's going on?

[@superdau]

Because Tesla is hyped way beyond his actual achievements. Sure he was an inventor, but he wasn't someone special (except for his personality traits) compared to his contemporaries.

[@LuisSierra42]

@@superdau Yeah, he was a "mad scientist"

[@PaleBlueDott]

@@superdau You repeat the same comment on multiple comment threads. It's almost as if someone hired you to defame Tesla. Very suspicious indeed.

[@lordspongebobofhousesquare1616]

@@PaleBlueDott it is just the truth

[@PaleBlueDott]

@@lordspongebobofhousesquare1616 it is suspicious and quite pathetic to try so hard to talk down about someone

[@greensteve9307]

Why has nobody commented on the fact that they didn't mention Tesla?

[@AccidentalNinja]

Congratulations, you're now a standard unit?

[@simonkeverett]

Are you going to have an episode on psychology?

[@VarretInxve]

Will there be a second episode on thermodynamics or is it a mistake? 11:50

[@hyun-shik7327]

It's a good thing all these scientists had interesting names. Otherwise we'd all have to measure things like smithage.

[@GuilhermeVieiraSechat]

It's okay a "history of science" not having Tesla... it's not ok actually the fact that Hertz was forgotten

[@RKBock]

finally a yt video about electricity that doesn't say that tesla invented AC!

[@mrcroob8563]

Pretty sure there wasnt the shock to life part in the original story of Frankenstein

[@PatrickAllenNL]

All inventions seem to be named after somebody

[@spqr0a1]

Was hoping for a mention of Joseph Henry, he invented insulated wire, practical electromagnets, electrical communication at a distance, discovered inductance, and has an SI unit in his name.

[@nickzivanovic]

I see I'm super late to the party. What SI unit is the edison again? I think I must have missed that. The tesla, for those playing at home, is the SI unit of magnetic field strength. "They say in physics the greatest honor is when your name starts to be spelled with a lower-case letter."

[@gardenhead92]

At 5:09, the magnetic field lines around the current should be reversed when the current is reversed.

[@yangashi]

Can't wait for the new Volta and Ampere cards, ...oh wait, wrong video.

[@cardinal_thrill5]

Something about this mans hands wigs me out

[@yisraelkatz1958]

I was taught that, depressing as it is, it's more likely thatvFranklin's kite in a hurricane experiment was merely a thought experiment, and he (probably) didn't do it.

[@allahwithmeneverbedeprived3494]

Tomorrow i w'll hve ELECTRICITY Examination, Thanks it helps Me alot👈👃👉

[@guillaumelucas2431]

Tomorrow I'll have a fluid mechanic exam ! This won't help me at all, but thanks anyway !

[@chriscockrell9495]

Hauksbee Grey Galvani - frog Mary Shelley Volta - battery Orstead - compass Ampere- math - his law Ohm Faraday Maxwell - light, electricity, magnetism Edison Manhattan Current wars

[@mantunes339]

weird coincidence: a prisoner was westinghoused with electricity in tennessee today (the first time in a long while)

[@lead_downpour8854]

Frankenstein had nothing to do with electricity. The method for giving life was never described in the book, the shocking was added in the movie.

[@Tfin]

Frankenstein studied electricity, and it led to all that happened.

[@lucillem7706]

Mary Shelley was strongly influenced by Galvanism regardless, that's where she got the idea of "bringing a corpse (or bits of corpses sewn together I guess) back to life" although the technique itself is never explicitly described.

[@kevinkrummel4638]

It was described, insomuch as it was referred to as being accomplished through a chemistry process

[@paulsheehan6123]

Do a video on the life of Patrick Buchanan

[@DonaldSleightholme]

i want a photovoltaic hauksbee generator 🤔

[@thekitteyaden5665]

And no mention of the greatest. Tesla.

[@LJMownage]

Tesla is overrated, James Clerk Maxwell and Micheal Faraday are actually the greatest. But he certainly deserved a mention.

[@wesleyrm76]

@@LJMownage Somebody had to say it.

[@DaDunge]

Volta Ohm Ampere Faraday and especially Maxwell were much greater than Tesla.

[@DonaldSleightholme]

two magnets repelling each other inside a coil of copper wire might work? i don’t that Michael Faraday tried it... 🤔🤷‍♂️💡

[@AlipashaSadri]

I am still wondering about the Leibniz ... You got Amper and Ohm pronunciations correctly.

[@Sophistry0001]

How would a DC grid system even work? Without induction (inherent to AC) you can't transform voltage up high enough (dropping current low enough) to transmit over long distances without losing a lot of power to heat from the resistance of the transmission cables themselves.

[@maggsgorilla]

how could you not mention Tesla?

[@Cavs191]

Maggs Gorilla bc he is overstated in the early development of electromagnetics.

[@maggsgorilla]

@@Cavs191 no.

[@maggsgorilla]

@@DaDunge not.

[@filmfan4]

Leyden jar, i.e. the capacitor?Pieter van Musschenbroek?

[@nolandda]

I agree. There was a lot to cover, but leaving out the Leyden Jar seems a big oversight.

[@TheTravelerww]

Are you going to mention that Tessa may be a vampire

[@axelasdf]

Wasn't the kite key at the bottom with a leden (sp?) Jar?

[@erichewes3288]

where can i get those beautiful gear bookends?

[@luckwinvarghese9325]

At 5:10, loops in diagrams need editing.

[@hoey2323]

No mention of Tesla?