History of Electrical Engineering

As was mentioned in class, electrical engineering is a fairly recent development that has seen the majority of its growth within the last 200 years. EE, however, has a very significant history that starts with the Ancient Greeks.

Johnathon Barnes, a scholar on Greek Philosophy, describes how early Greek philosophers began experimenting with and hypothesizing the nature of static electricity. In his book, Early Greek Philosophy, he describes how philosophers began to work together to form very advanced models of the atom based on their observations of static electricity.

Unfortunately, interest in electricity remained dormant for many centuries. It wasn't until the mid 16th century that physicists once again became interested and observed its relation with magnetism. Once the nature of electricity was better understood, it became the focus of all physical studies.

Many scientist became obsessed with the strange behavior of electricity and dedicated everything to study it. Benjamin Franklin, for example, sold all he had to continue funding his experiments. He reportedly risked his life by tying a key to a kite during a thunder storm to observe the arc, proving that lightning was indeed electricity. Gauss, Voltaire, Ohm, and Faraday were all great contributors to the field who began helping society learn to harness the power electricity offered.

Once Thomas Edison built the first power plant in Manhattan in 1882, society truly evolved. Everyone strove to make life easier by implementing electric power. While standardized power really improved the quality of life and was fundamental to all future developments, I wouldn't consider it the largest contribution of electrical engineering.

During the 1890s, James Maxwell showed that light, magnetism, and charge,were all interconnected and that their fundamental properties depended upon each other. With this, electrical engineering was truly born. The whole course of both WWI and WWII was determined by how well each nation could use and understand these principles. Radio, advanced weaponry, and many medical techniques were developed through this new breakthrough. Nazi Germany showed itself to be a true threat with its sophisticated electrical engineering. The world was forced to respond.

My dad is an electrical engineer as well. He's been in industry for about 25 years and specializes in
signal processing/ EM transmission. When asked about the history of the field, he talked about the most recent developments. He mentioned that the invention of the transistor, processor, and the computer all redefined our society. However, he believes the most significant development EE has to offer, is that of the internet.

The internet started our current information age where everything and anything we want to know can be instantly accessed, reproduced, and transmitted. As we've discussed in class, it brought social media and with it a new way to interact with friends. Life without electrical engineering would mean a more primitive, underdeveloped society, with little advancement.