(1) Many historians have pointed out that we owe even more to Benjamin Franklin, the inventor and scientist, than we do to Franklin the statesman. Just one of his inventions-bifocal glasses - has had a profound effect on the lives of millions. After more than two centuries, much of the work of this amazing man is still alive. (2) Every schoolboy knows of Franklin's dramatic proof that electricity and lightning are identical. To the twine that held his metal-tipped kite he fastened a key, and to the key he tied a piece of silk ribbon, knowing that the silk would not conduct "electrical fire." He held the kite by the ribbon and stood inside a shed to keep himself dry while flying it. It was a dangerous experiment; other men, throughout history, have been killed attempting it. Franklin, however, was aware of the danger, as the precautions he took clearly show. (3) Through his lightning experiments Franklin developed the lightning rod, an invention that, more than any of his other activities, made him famous throughout the world. Today's big lightning arresters and insulators are direct descendants of his lightning rod. (4) Not nearly so well known are Franklin's other significant electrical experiments. He was the first to theorize that "electrical fluid" is a single form of energy existing in two states, which he called positive and negative. For generations this theory provided one of the keys to electrical research. (5) Franklin's inquiring mind found something to question at every turn. For years the Nantucket whaling captains had known of the existence in the Atlantic Ocean of the moving river of warm water that we call the Gulf Stream. Franklin attempted to chart its course. On his trips to and from Europe he spent part of each day taking the temperature of the water, until finally he pinned down the Gulf Stream with sufficient precision to present the first scientific report on its existence and course. (6) Franklin was never too busy to satisfy his curiosity. One day in 1775 he was out riding with friends when he noticed a small whirlwind forming in the dust of the road. The others stood by and watched, but Franklin rode along by its side to observe it closely. He chased it for three quarters of a mile, even trying to beat it with his whip. (7) Franklin seemed obsessed with fireplaces. His letters and notes are filled with observations on smoking chimneys and unhealthful drafts. Eventually this interest led him to the invention of the Franklin stove, which was an instant success. Today countless modern homes use prefabricated fireplace units that operate on the same principle as his stove. (8) Ben Franklin was the first man, as far as it is known, to experiment with the conductivity of heat by color. He cut pieces of cloth, ranging from black to white through all the colors of the spectrum. These he laid out on a sunny snowbank, starting with black at one end and progressing through lighter shades to white. The snow under the black piece soon melted and the cloth sank out of sight: the white piece remained on the surface; and the other pieces sank to varying degrees, depending on their colors. (9) Franklin applied science to farming, too. He introduced to the colonies the idea of using mineral fertilizers. He urged farmers to apply plaster of paris (gypsum) to their fields, and in order to impress them, he used gypsum to write in huge letters in a field, "This has been plastered." The next rain washed out the letters, but they soon appeared in grass that was brilliant green compared with the brownish grass of the rest of the field. (10) Though he was not a physician, patients and even doctors sought his advice. He developed an instrument for showing the circulation of the blood and suggested experiments to determine the cause of lead poisoning. He pinned down the dangers of infection from impure water, and made a great many observations on the contagious nature of colds and influenza. (11) Millions of persons have cursed their first bifocals, then grown to prize them. Franklin said of his simple but valuable invention: "I formerly had two pairs of spectacles, which I shifted occasionally. Finding this change troublesome, I had the glasses cut and half of each kind associated in the same circle. By this means, as I use my spectacles constantly, I have only to move my eyes up or down, as I want to see distinctly far or near, the proper glasses being always ready. (12) One invention that is little known today is his musical instrument, the armonica. He mounted thirty-seven hemispherical glasses of varying size on a spindle. The musician rubbed the moving glasses with damp fingers, producing "sweet, ethereal tones." The instrument enjoyed great popularity for more than forty years, and both Mozart and Beethoven composed music especially for the armonica. (13) Walk into almost any grocery store and you'll see one of Franklin's minor inventions. An avid reader, he needed a tool for reaching books on the highest shelves. His long mechanical hand survives today in the tool grocers use to reach cereal and soap chips on the top shelves. Franklin also designed a library chair with an underframe that folded down to convert the chair into a short stepladder. Today we use the same idea in stools that convert into kitchen ladders. (14) Back in 1780 Franklin regretted that he had been born so soon. But he saw our world, at least in its hazy outlines, when he wrote, "The rapid progress true science now makes occasions my regretting sometimes that I was born so soon. It is impossible to imagine the height to which may be carried, in a thousand years, the power of man over matter. We may perhaps learn to deprive large masses of their gravity... for the sake of easy transport. Agriculture may diminish its labour and double its produce; all diseases may by sure means be prevented or cured, not excepting even that of old age..." HOW WELL DID YOU READ? Did you understand the objective? 1. The main thing proved by the kite experiment was that a. silk will not conduct electricity b. a kite will attract lightning bolts c. lightning is a form of electricity / 2. Franklin's stove was designed to outdo existing fireplaces mainly by a. cooking more evenly b. heating more efficiently / c. being easier to build 3. Franklin did the experiment with gypsum to prove that a. black absorbs more heat than white does b. minerals in gypsum are good for crops / c. white fertilizers are the best ones. 4. The writer tells of the pursuit of the whirlwind to show a. Franklin's inventive genius b. Franklin's spirit of investigation / c. the apathy of Franklin's companions 5. Such inventions as bifocals, stepstools, and lightning rods never a. made Franklin famous b. were improved on c. became obsolete / 6. The armonica differed from the other inventions mentioned in that it was a. not based on a working principle b. not readly accepted by the public c. popular for less than half a century / 7. Before Franklin, the Gulf Stream had not been a. charted / b. discovered c. crossed 8. Franklin has been too little appreciated as a a. scientist / b. statesman c. public figure 9. Franklin's statements about the future were a. unworthy of a scientist b. pathetically misinformed c. prophetic to a degree / LEARN ABOUT WORDS A. Often you can tell the meaning of a word from its context - the words around it. Directions: Find the word in the paragraph that means 1. meaningful; thoroughgoing (1) profound 2. safeguards taken beforehand (2) precautions |
