A D V E N T U R E S in C Y B E R S O U N DWilliam Sturgeon : 1783 - 1850
William Sturgeon (1783-1850) was born in Whittington, North Lancashire, England, on 22 May 1783 as the son of John and Betsy (Adcock) Sturgeon. (1) His father was a shoemaker. He was largely self-educated early in life, particularly in research. After an apprenticeship in shoemaking (1796-1802) he entered the army militia (1802). He then joined the Royal Artillery in 1804 and served until 1820 when he was 37 years of age. While stationed at Woolwich he studied natural philosophy (physics) at night. (2) After leaving the military he opened up a boot making business in Woolwich for a short period of time, and occasionally lectured on natural philosophy. During this time he also became a member of the Woolwich Literary Society. (2) Peter Barlow (1176-1862) was an English mathematician and physicist who devised numerical tables, a lens for telescopes, and an electrical wheel. After Michael Faraday's description of electromagnetic rotation in 1821, scientists began to construct devices that followed his theory of electromagnetic rotation. In 1822, Barlow constructed a device with a star shaped copper wheel that formed a circuit with a trough filled with mercury. When the devices was powered by a battery the wheel rotated. Sturgeon substituted a circular wheel for the pointed star wheel. He found that the points on Barlow's wheel were not paramount for rotation of the wheel by the magnetic force supplied in the device. (3) In 1824, he was appointed lecturer in science and philosophy at the East India Company's Royal Military College at Addiscombe, England. He especially liked Oersted's experiment of 1820 because it linked electricity and magnetism for public entertainment and edification. In order to demonstrate electrical experiments he needed equipment that was expensive and difficult to operate. While searching for affordable equipment he invented the first practical electromagnet. Sturgeon first applied his ideas of electromagnetism into a solenoid device. He wrapped several turns of wire around an iron core to produce magnetism when an electrical current was passed through the wire. He noticed that the electricity had set up a magnetic field that was concentrated in the iron core. He next varnished the iron to insulate it from the wound wires, and then hit on the idea of the horseshoe shape. (4) He observed that each coil reinforced the next coil because they formed parallel wires with the current moving in the same direction. In 1825, Sturgeon then of the Royal Academy of Woolwich and with some help from Francis Watkins of London constructed the first practical electromagnet (5) by refining Sturgeon's original ideas. (6) Along with Ampere's ideas they also pieced together the discoveries of Arago, and took their ideas a step further to develop their electromagnet. Their electromagnet consisted of a horseshoe shaped piece of iron to form a core with 16 turns of wire wrapped around it without touching each other. When they passed current through the wire, the magnet attracted 9 pounds of metal objects (4 kg or 20 times its own weight). (7) Their practical electromagnet was exhibited in London in the same year, and for this invention Sturgeon received the silver medal of the Royal Society of Arts in 1825. Sturgeon married Mrs Hilton, and lost all three of their children in infancy. In 1829, he was married a second time to Mary Bromley, and again their one child died in infancy. They then adopted a daughter, Ellen Coates who later became Mrs Luke Brierley. (1) He authored Experimental Researches in 1830. By 1832, Sturgeon was well established as a public lecturer on natural philosophical subjects and as a philosophical instrument maker. From 1832, he lectured at the Adelaide Gallery of Practical Science in London which had just formed. The Gallery was formed by a variety of patrons, rich and middle class that ranged from wealthy philosopher Ralph Watson to engineer Thomas Telford. The Gallery blended instruction with amusement to promote the arts, invention exhibits, manufacturers, and science. The Gallery was open to the public without charge, and relied on their gratuities. At this time electricity held considerable interest among the English public. The Gallery operated only briefly, however (1832-1840). Sturgeon founded the journal Annals of Electricity in 1836 and edited it until it folded in 1843, 10 volumes after its start. His journal was the first of its type on electricity in England. (2) Also in 1836, he invented the first suspended coil galvanometer, and thereafter several electromagnetic machines of various types. (8) The newly developed voltameter (as it was then called) that measured the volume of gases given off by the decomposition of acidulated water was preferred for battery measurements. Perhaps Faraday's influence prevailed. Michael Faraday popularized the device with his "Seventh Series of Experimental Researches" in 1833 and 1834. The voltameter consisted of a sealed glass tube containing acidulated water and two metal plates or wires as terminals. The top of the tube also had a calibrated scale where volumes of gas from decomposed water were collected and measured. EM Clarke improved the voltameter in 1836 and 1837. (9) Methods for measuring electricity at the time were generally poor. Measurement of the power of batteries by heating metal wires (thermoelectrometer by EM Clarke), or determining spark length (device by Gassiot) were in use at the time. However, these devices were either not available commercially or just were not liked by electricians. No attempt to use electromagnets for measuring the magnetic powers of batteries were made at the time. Lack of agreement between researchers also led to widely varied assumptions. (9) Sturgeon refuted Faraday's claims that he had empirical and quantitative proof for the quantity of electricity and its visible effects of his voltameter. Sturgeon did not think Faraday validated his device sufficiently. He thought other procedures should have been used. Sturgeon pointed out that the voltameter deflections departed on the initial amount of current and in the case of batteries the initial current is the minimum. He even criticized Faraday's experiment on the chemical effects of electricity. Faraday used different chemicals than that used in batteries that he was decomposing. The debate between Faraday and Sturgeon occurred 8 years after Faraday constructed and published his device. The debate only pointed out that researchers at that time had no standard approach in validating their measurements. (9) William Sturgeon was also founder of the Electrical Society of London. The Electrical Society of London was formed for the electricians of London in 1836 to serve as a forum to members and guests for reading and discussing papers on electrical experiments. The Society had diversified interests in electricity such as: electrifying rocks, minerals, animals, and vegetables, and included these subjects in their public lectures. At first, members met weekly in Lowther Arcade at the Laboratory of Science of the well known London instrument maker EM Clarke. The Electrical Society of London established rules, elected officers, and admitted two kinds of members, resident and nonresident. (10) The activities of the Society (eg, public lectures) were immediately popular so meetings were moved to the Adelaide Gallery (where Sturgeon worked) to accommodate the rapidly increasing attendance. The Society had some influential members like JP Gassiot, a wealthy businessman; Andrew Grosse, a country gentleman; famous physician Golding Bird; and electricians EM Clarke and William Sturgeon. (10) Social and professional distances were maintained between the electricians and the elite scientists of London (ie, Faraday, Wollaston). The elite scientists looked at the Electrical Society of London with skepticism. The activities of the electricians were also not well funded. Members of the Society gave public lectures at the Adelaide Gallery of Practical Science and often conducted research privately rather than at the prestigious Royal Institution or the Royal Society. Also, the electricians associated with William Halse, designer of a very popular faradic electrical battery, who was labeled an irregular rather than an orthodox practitioner of medical electricity. The electricians lectured in physics and electricity at the military establishments rather than at universities. (10) The electricians probably did not hold the degrees for qualifying as professors of the universities. Dr Golding Bird constantly spent time easing the tension between the electricians of the Society and the orthodox physicians of London by keeping electrotherapeutics in the hospitals where medical regulatory watch could oversee their operations. Bird was successful in taking electrotherapeutics away from the popular charlatanry of shocks and sparks. He transformed electrotherapeutics from a form of entertainment to a medical process in England. Dr Bird documented all cases regularly and whenever possible supported his treatments of electricity with scientific rationale. Systematic research was not being performed in electrotherapeutics, electrotherapeutists borrowed science and technology from the advances of scientists in electricity. (10) The Electrical Society of London initially used the journal Annals of Electricity to report its activities and publish any science related to electricity. By 1839, as the Society flourished with its 80 members (50% were resident members) an official publication Proceedings of the Electrical Society of London was in circulation. The Proceedings or activities of the Society were also printed in the English newspapers. (10) Suddenly, in 1840 internal problems apparently developed within the organization. Many facts of the situation are unavailable since records between July 1839 and March 1841 have never been located. Also, Sturgeon left for a new job in Manchester in 1840, and thereafter did not contribute to the Society's Proceedings. The officers found the Society in debt, and as the crisis developed some members left the organization. New officers were elected to cope with the problems, and they immediately took measures to salvage the Society. They sold the Proceedings to the public to raise money, they tried to increase membership through various means, and they asked the public to give money to the Society. The new officers even gave professional organizations free copies of the Proceedings as a promotional scheme (10) Additional debt struck the Society with disaster sometime in 1841. By the end of the year the Electrical Society of London folded concurrently with the financial crisis of the Adelaide Gallery of London. Morus indicated that the Society was reorganized in 1871 as the Society of Telegraphic Engineers. (10) The telegraph certainly used technology that was available in the electrical machines used in electrotherapeutics so electricians could easily have made the natural transition. In 1840, William Sturgeon was appointed superintendent of the Royal Victoria Gallery of Practical Science in Manchester, England, which he held for four years (1840-1844). While there he joined the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, (2) and received grants from the organization to conduct research. Also in 1840, (or 1830 (11)) he developed a long lasting battery that consisted of a single cell cylinder of cast iron into which a cylinder of amalgamated rolled zinc was placed. Discs of millboard located between the cast iron cell and the cylinder of zinc prevented contact by the different metals. Dilute sulfuric acid was used to charge the battery. Like Grove, Sturgeon measured his battery's chemical capability through the decomposition of water, and heating a wire to determine the caloric power. (9) In 1843, he published Twelve Elementary Lectures on Galvanism, edited "Magnetical Advertisements," and was an itinerant lecturer. (1) From 1844 until his death in 1850 this great scientist lived on meager pensions and earnings as an itinerant lecturer. In 1849, he was given monies (a pension by Lord John Russell) to promote his work in electromagnetism. He published the collected works Scientific Researches in 1850. but unfortunately he died on 4 December 1850 at Prestwick, Manchester. (2) Debus has given 1880 (1) as the year of Sturgeon's death but it is improbable that he lived to be 97 years of age. Sturgeon's career in electricity exemplified the group of English electricians at the time who built scientific instruments and lectured. These electricians were not members of the Royal Society, but they portrayed electrical science in exciting and illustrative fashions. (6) Sturgeon published numerous articles in journals on electricity and magnetism during his career. Additionally, Sturgeon's career as an electrician included the improvement of devices for electromagnetic research, the invention of a dynamo in 1823, an electromagnetic rotary engine in 1832, and an electromagnetic coil machine in 1837. He also, at one time described a process of amalgamating zinc plates in batteries by using a film of mercury. (1) Sturgeon had the ability to imagine an instrument, and then construct it through skills developed earlier as a shoemaker. REFERENCES
The above essay was written and generously posted on this site by Dean P. Currier As 2000 progresses, other biographical studies by Dean Currier will also be added to this website. Thanks Dean.
William Sturgeon, electrical engineer, born in Whittington, Lancashire. He was self-educated in electrical science, and became a lecturer at the Royal Military College (1824). In 1825 he built the first practical electromagnet, in 1832 invented the commutator for electric motors and in 1836 made the first moving-coil galvanometer and carried out research into atmospheric charge. His Annals of Electricity (1836) was the first journal of its kind in Britain.
William Sturgeon, (b. May 22, 1783, Whittington, Lancashire, Eng. d. Dec. 4, 1850, Prestwich, Lancashire), English electrical engineer who devised the first electromagnet capable of supporting more than its own weight. This device led to the invention of the telegraph, the electric motor, and numerous other devices basic to modern technology. Sturgeon, self-educated in electrical phenomena and natural science, spent much time lecturing and conducting electrical experiments. In 1824 he became lecturer in science at the Royal Military College, Addiscombe, Surrey, and the following year he exhibited his first electromagnet. The 7-ounce (200-gram) magnet was able to support 9 pounds (4 kilograms) of iron using the current from a single cell. Sturgeon built an electric motor in 1832 and invented the commutator, an integral part of most modern electric motors. In 1836, the year he founded the monthly journal Annals of Electricity, he invented the first suspended coil galvanometer, a device for measuring current. He also improved the voltaic battery and worked on the theory of thermoelectricity. From more than 500 kite observations he established that in serene weather the atmosphere is invariably charged positively with respect to the Earth, becoming more positive with increasing altitude.
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