Faraday

[ far-uh-dee, -dey ]

noun
  1. Michael, 1791–1867, English physicist and chemist: discoverer of electromagnetic induction.

  2. a unit of electricity used in electrolysis, equal to 96,500 coulombs.

Words Nearby Faraday

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Faraday in a sentence

  • Ten years later Faraday explained and applied the laws of Induction, basing them upon the demonstrations of Ampre.

    Steam Steel and Electricity | James W. Steele
  • The story of electricity, as men studied it in the primary school of the science, ends where Faraday began.

    Steam Steel and Electricity | James W. Steele

British Dictionary definitions for faraday (1 of 2)

faraday

/ (ˈfærəˌdeɪ) /


noun
  1. a quantity of electricity, used in electrochemical calculations, equivalent to unit amount of substance of electrons. It is equal to the product of the Avogadro number and the charge on the electron and has the value 96 487 coulombs per mole: Symbol: F

Origin of faraday

1
C20: named after Michael Faraday

British Dictionary definitions for Faraday (2 of 2)

Faraday

/ (ˈfærəˌdeɪ) /


noun
  1. Michael. 1791–1867, English physicist and chemist who discovered electromagnetic induction, leading to the invention of the dynamo. He also carried out research into the principles of electrolysis

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for faraday (1 of 2)

faraday

[ fărə-dā′ ]


  1. A measure of electric charge equal to the charge carried by one mole of electrons, about 96,494 coulombs per mole. The faraday is used in measurements of the electricity required to break down a compound by electrolysis.

Scientific definitions for Faraday (2 of 2)

Faraday

[ fărə-dā′, -dē ]


  1. British physicist and chemist whose experiments into the connections between electricity, magnetism, and light laid the foundation for modern physics. In addition to discovering electromagnetic induction, he invented the electric motor, generator, and transformer, and he discovered the carbon compound benzene.

biography For Faraday

The nineteenth century saw rapid growth in the understanding of electricity and magnetism, and much of this progress was due to Michael Faraday. There was no hint from his humble beginnings that he was to become a great scientist. Born in 1791, the son of an English blacksmith, Faraday received little formal schooling. At 14 he was apprenticed to a bookbinder, and it was during this time that he developed an interest in science. In 1812 he attended a series of lectures by Humphry Davy, the well-known chemist. Later in the year, Faraday sent Davy his notes on the talks, asking to become his assistant. When an opening became available, Davy took him on. Faraday, a truly gifted experimenter, started amassing an impressive body of work, converting electrical into mechanical energy (1821), liquefying chlorine (1823), and isolating benzene (1825). He made perhaps his greatest discovery-electromagnetic induction-in 1831, when he produced electricity from magnetism by moving a magnet inside a wire coil. Faraday also came up with the concept of electric and magnetic fields. When James Clerk Maxwell put Faraday's ideas into mathematical form (Faraday knew little mathematics), they became a cornerstone of physics. It was Faraday's research that helped transform electricity from a scientific curiosity into a workable technology. But he also transformed the language, helping to coin the words anode, cathode, ion, and electrode, among others. It is only fitting that there are now two words named after him: farad, the unit of capacitance, and faraday, a unit used to measure the amount of electrical charge.

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