How did Michael Faraday become interested in science?


Quick Answer

Michael Faraday received very little formal education, but while he served as a teenage apprentice to a bookbinder, he developed a love of science and learning that dominated the rest of his life. He attended lectures by the chemist Humphry Davy in 1812 and wrote to Davy, requesting to serve as the scientist's assistant. Faraday eventually joined the Royal Institution as a chemical assistant, beginning his career in science.

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Full Answer

Because of his lack of formal education, Faraday was often looked down upon by his peers in the scientific community. While Davy took him along on scientific endeavors and tours to expand his horizons, most of the others on these journeys treated Faraday like a valet instead of a scientific equal.

Faraday made many discoveries in the fields of chemistry, magnetism and electricity over his career. His most influential discovery was that a magnet moving through a loop of wire induced a current in the wire. This interaction between magnetic fields and electricity was one of the key discoveries of the modern age, leading directly to the development of the dynamo and electric motor. He also developed an understanding of magnetic flux that proved to be important to the advancement of science in the 19th century.

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