Sir Francis Ronalds 1788-1873

experiments and for meteorology, the study of the Earth's atmosphere and its changes. This brought him into contact with the elderly Swiss meteorologist Jean Andre de Luc, who was also an inspired inventor in the field of electricity. In 1814, de Luc encouraged Ronalds to start work on this new discipline. B For the next few years, Ronalds experimented enthusiastically with various kinds of electrostatic clockwork devices. He was particularly interested in the idea of electric telegraphy: transmitting messages over distance, using electrical impulses carried along metal wires. In the best traditions of nineteenth-century scientists, these investigations were carried out at home. In early 1816, Ronalds gutted the family home in Hammersmith, West London, and covered its rooms, halls, and staircases with electric wire. This experiment involved the use of current to produce movement in small corks at the ends of circuits.