"The Electric Boy" is the tenth episode of
the American documentary television series
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.
It premiered on May 11, 2014 on Fox, and aired
on May 12, 2014 on National Geographic Channel.
The episode was directed by Bill Pope, and
written by Ann Druyan and Steven Soter.
The episode explores the Earth's magnetic
field and the contributions of Michael Faraday
(1791 – 1867), which paved the way for high
technology and light-speed communication.
== Episode summary ==
This episode provides an overview of the nature
of electromagnetism, as discovered through
the work of Michael Faraday.
Tyson explains how the idea of another force
of nature, similar to gravitational forces,
had been postulated by Isaac Newton before.
Tyson continues on Faraday, coming from poor
beginnings, would end up becoming interested
in studying electricity after reading books
and seeing lectures by Humphry Davy at the
Royal Institution.
Davy would hire Faraday after seeing extensive
notes he had taken to act as his secretary
and lab assistant.
After Davy and chemist William Hyde Wollaston
unsuccessfully tried to build on Hans Christian
Ørsted's discovery of the electromagnetic
phenomena to harness the ability to create
motion from electricity, Faraday was able
to create his own device to create the first
electric motor by applying electricity aligned
along a magnet.
Davy, bitter over Faraday's breakthrough,
put Faraday on the task of improving the quality
of high-quality optical glass, preventing
Faraday from continuing his research.
Faraday, undeterred, continued to work in
the Royal Institution, and created the Christmas
Lectures designed to teach science to children.
Following Davy's death, Faraday returned to
full time efforts studying electromagnetism,
creating the first electrical generator by
inserting a magnet in a coil of wires.
Tyson continues to note that despite losing
some of his mental capacity, Faraday concluded
that electricity and magnetism were connected
by unseen fields, and postulated that light
may also be tied to these forces.
Using a sample of the optical glass that Davy
had him make, Faraday discovered that an applied
magnetic field could affect the polarization
of light passing through the glass sample
(a dielectric material), leading to what is
called the Faraday effect and connecting these
three forces.
Faraday postulated that these fields existed
across the planet, which would later by called
Earth's magnetic field generated by the rotating
molten iron inner core, as well as the phenomena
that caused the planets to rotate around the
sun.
Faraday's work was initially rejected by the
scientific community due to his lack of mathematical
support, but James Clerk Maxwell would later
come to rework Faraday's theories into the
Maxwell's equations that validated Faraday's
theories.
Their combined efforts created the basis of
science that drives the principles of modern
communications today.
== Episode title ==
Faraday can be seen as an "electric boy" because
of his electrical discoveries.
Also, "The Electric Boy" was an experimental
demonstration of static electricity popular
in the eighteenth-century.
A young man was suspended from the ceiling
using insulating silk cords, and electrified,
causing his body to act as a magnet.
Objects were attracted to him, and close proximity
of another person could lead to sparks.
== Reception ==
The episode received a 1.1/3 in the 18-49
rating/share, with 3.46 million American viewers
watching on Fox.
It placed third and last in its timeslot behind
The Good Wife and Rosemary's Baby; and eleventh
out of fifteenth for the night
