Aa100_Faraday

Part 1. Faraday. According to the author of the extract from the Assignment Booklet, p23, what aspects of Faraday’s life and work contributed to his reputation' The author of the extract is obviously an avid fan of Faraday and writes with enthusiasm and great respect for the scientist and lecturer. The author starts off by mentioning the ‘beauty of some of the experiments was remarkable’ and thus hints at the simplicity of many of Faraday’s experiments that are now taken for granted. His electrical discoveries alone turned Faraday into one of the great scientists in our history. Faraday was not interested in material possessions and the author mentions that he could have made a fortune out of benzol or some of his other discoveries. He chose not to as ‘he felt that he had other work to do’ and it was this attitude that won him many admirers. He was also a self-made man who had not studied at University but had still aspired to laying Nature’s mysteries bare. The Victorians believed Faraday was how a scientist should be and that ‘he lived simply, with few wants’ further proved his focus on science and all it’s secrets. The author writes that ‘his eye was fixed upon the truth itself and not upon the useful results that might come from the knowledge of it’ which highlights how Faraday was not particularly interested in creating new material technologies but more the truth behind them. This allowed Faraday to work on many different things and start off a chain of thought in a certain direction. It was because of Faraday’s expansive studying that so many technologies were attributed to him such as the electric light, the telephone, the electric motor, etc. As more inventions were assigned to the work that Faraday had done his reputation increased to such an extent that the Faraday centenary celebrations took place. How does the picture presented in the extract compare to the picture of Faraday’s reputation in his own lifetime presented in Book 1, Chapter 4' The editorial from The Times was written with the governing classes and scientists in mind and didn’t portray how Faraday managed to educate and fascinate the public from all social classes, particularly in the lectures he gave. Faraday came from a working class background and gained his education by reading books and attending lectures which may have allowed him to ‘view things from a different perspective and ‘think outside the box’ (Falconer with James, 2011, p.91) rather than the normal scientific route of attending University. He appealed to the governing classes ‘for being a self-made man and for the purity of his life (Falconer with James, 2011, p.91) and yet he also gained popularity with the general public with his lectures and his religious beliefs. As an elected Deacon of the Sandemanian Church Faraday found himself visiting the sick and the poor and as an Elder he baptized infants and gave support to other congregations. His beliefs had a huge effect on his scientific studies and many of the decisions he made were debated publically in the media thus enhancing his reputation further. Part of Faraday’s genius was his awareness of the public view of science and he set up Discourses and Christmas lectures to increase public support and interest. There is no doubt that Faraday was an amazing talent in the laboratory and gained respect from peers and other leading scientists from his discoveries alone. Faraday increased his reputation with the general populous by way of his public lectures and his way of life and moral code that he followed. In conclusion, the editorial was aimed and written for the upper classes of the time, whereas in reality, Faraday was very conscious of opening up science to the masses and there were certain aspects of his lifestyle that anyone could appreciate and feel they had something in common. Word Count – 597 Bibliography. Falconer, I with James, F, (2011), ‘Fame and Faraday’, in Moohan, E., (ed) Reputations (AA100 Book 1), Milton Keynes, The Open University. ‘Faraday’ (2011) (AA100 ‘Reputations’ DVD), Milton Keynes, The Open University. The Open University (2011), AA100 Illustration Book, Plates for Books 1 and 2, Milton Keynes, The Open University