Produced by AEI, this film was made by the British Thomson-Houston Company in 1931 to celebrate the Centenary of Faraday’s discovery of the principles of electro-magnetic induction. The film shows William Henry Bragg giving an appreciation speech on the importance of Michael Faraday, recorded in the Engineering Laboratory of the British Thomson-Houston Co, LTD, Rugby.
William Henry Bragg explains that if Faraday hadn’t carried out his researches, life might have been entirely different. He describes how Faraday came to work at the Royal Institution and how he soon undertook his famous scientific researches into electricity and its relationship with magnetism.
This short film has a small reconstruction of Michael Faraday undertaking his initial researches in developing his ring, or the first transformer, and proving the relationship between electricity and magnetism. It highlights some of Faraday’s original notebooks, which can still be seen at the Ri today.
Crown copyright information is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland.
History of the Ri: Full list of videos
Prelude to power: The story of Faraday and the induction ring
Davy Faraday Research Laboratory staff on the roof
Demonstration of Michael Faraday’s lines of force
Movement of a magnetic fluid and other film trims