Past Forward: The Path of Most Resistance

IF 2.6 4区工程技术 Q2 ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC

IEEE Spectrum Pub Date : 2025-03-07 DOI:10.1109/MSPEC.2025.10918573

Allison Marsh

引用次数: 0

Abstract

In 1861 or thereabouts, a British doctor and electrical researcher named William Snow Harris published a slim volume containing three experiments. His goal was to help readers visualize conductivity, resistance, and the powerful effects of lightning. The booklet's illustrations were printed with gold leaf, and when the reader applied a charge to one end of the metal, the current would char a black course along the path of least resistance. The booklet was part of Harris's decades-long crusade to convince the Royal Navy to adopt his lightning rods on wooden ships. This illustration shows a poor seaman who accidentally gets caught in the rigging during a lightning storm. As Harris wrote, absent a lightning rod, the sailor “would be probably destroyed.” Despite successful tests on 11 vessels, including the HMS Beagle (of Darwin fame), the Admiralty resisted adopting Harris's invention for over 20 years.

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来源期刊

IEEE Spectrum 工程技术-工程：电子与电气

CiteScore

2.50

自引率

0.00%

发文量

254

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： IEEE Spectrum Magazine, the flagship publication of the IEEE, explores the development, applications and implications of new technologies. It anticipates trends in engineering, science, and technology, and provides a forum for understanding, discussion and leadership in these areas. IEEE Spectrum is the world''s leading engineering and scientific magazine. Read by over 300,000 engineers worldwide, Spectrum provides international coverage of all technical issues and advances in computers, communications, and electronics. Written in clear, concise language for the non-specialist, Spectrum''s high editorial standards and worldwide resources ensure technical accuracy and state-of-the-art relevance.