Ben Franklin as my Lab Partner: Experiments on Electrostatic Induction Documents

Main Document

Ben Franklin: Experiments on Electrostatic Induction 

written by Robert Morse
published by the Wright Center for Science Education Tufts University

This item is part of a set of nine educator's guides for high school physics teachers exploring Benjamin Franklin's historic experiments. This page focuses on the topic of electrostatic induction.  It integrates historic text and drawings with the author's annotations and ideas for applying Franklin's theory in labs designed for the modern high school science classroom.  It includes a 1750 letter by Franklin describing an accident resulting in his own near-electrocution.

Released under a © 2004 Robert A. Morse, Wright Center for Science Education, Tufts University, Medford, MA. Quotes from Franklin and others are in the public domain, as are images labeled public domain. These materials may be reproduced freely for educational and individual use and extracts may be used with acknowledgement and a copy of this notice.These materials may not be reproduced for commercial use or otherwise sold without permission from the copyright holder.

Published September 1, 2004
Last Modified January 9, 2012