Slide 3 of 11
Notes:
Franklin didn’t have our modern technology, but made the most of what was available to him. He was said to carry his experiments with him in the form of novel toys. One example was a small portrait of King George made of thin glass and tinfoil. The portrait was really a capacitor that could be charged with static electricity. Franklin called this toy a “loyalty test” -- anyone not loyal to the crown would get a shock from it, he said. Franklin would charge it up, hold it in a way he knew would not discharge it, then hand it to the someone whose “loyalty” was being tested.
The electroscope diagramed at left was simply a glass jar with a cork. A thin strip of gold leaf was folded in half and hung from a wire that passed through the cork. When a charged object was brought near the top of the wire, the gold leaf strip spread apart because of electrostatic repulsion of like charges.
