William Gilbert J.

Much of modern science is based upon the theories and discoveries of William Gilbert, the brilliant English physician and physicist who was the first great experimental scientist. Gilbert was the first to use the word «electricity,» to recognize mass as distinct from weight, to discover the effect of heat upon magnetic bodies, to differentiate clearly between static electricity and magnetism, and to explain phenomena of terrestrial magnetism in terms of the earth as a giant magnet.In 1600 he...