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Stephen Gray | |
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Born | December 1666 Canterbury, Kent, England |
Died | 7 February 1736 London, England | (aged 69)
Nationality | English |
Known for | Being the 'father' of electricity Electrical conductivity |
Awards | Copley medal (1731, 1732) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Chemistry astronomy |
Institutions | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Academic advisors | Roger Cotes John Theophilus Desaguliers |
Stephen Gray (December 1666 – 7 February 1736) was an English dyer and astronomer who was the first to systematically experiment with electrical conduction. Until his work in 1729 the emphasis had been on the simple generation of static charges and investigations of the static phenomena (electric shocks, plasma glows, etc.). Gray showed that electricity can be conducted through metals and that it appeared on the surfaces of insulators.