Word: experimenter
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LIGHTNING RODS Well before the famous kite experiment, Franklin had speculated that lightning was electricity. His revolutionary idea was to conduct that electricity safely into the ground to save buildings from fires. The simple metal rod connected to a wire made Franklin famous throughout Europe and the colonies
But is this oft-told tale another Founders myth, like Washington's confessing to axing his father's cherry tree? The latest skepticism is voiced in a quirky new book, Bolt of Fate (Public Affairs), that calls the whole thing a hoax, echoing the spoofs Franklin confected for Poor Richard...
The larger issue, however, is not whether Ben flew the kite, which most scholars agree he did, but how significant his Philadelphia experiment was. In fact, many of his scientific breakthroughs were of great import--and he had a selfless urge to share his new knowledge. When Franklin caught the...
Franklin wasn't the first to propose a kinship between harmless sparks and a lightning bolt. But he was the first to suggest an experiment to prove it. The Royal Society of London published his proposal, yet it was the French who actually put it to the test. The experiment...
But before Franklin learned, late in August 1752, of the French success with his experiment that spring (and of the King's compliments to Monsieur Franklin), he set about undertaking it himself in June of that year--with a special wrinkle. The steeple he had hoped to use was unfinished...