ethics
06-02-2003, 09:56 PM
First it was Stanley and Dr. Livingstone, and now it's Benjamin Franklin (http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/06/01/1054406077856.html).
It is one of the most famous experiments: generations of school- children have been taught how Benjamin Franklin, the 18th century American inventor and statesman, risked his life by flying a kite under a thundercloud to prove lightning is a form of electricity.
His success brought fame and membership of the Royal Society. But a new study suggests he invented the whole story....
... However, Tom Tucker, a lecturer and historian at the Isothermal Technical College in North Carolina, first began to suspect the story while working for NASA. He examined the original documents, and found accounts by Franklin that were vague about when and where the experiment was performed.
"There was no witness identified in the announcement, no location named - and nowhere does Franklin say he actually performed the experiment," Dr Tucker says.
The rumors that Mr. Franklin worked for the New York Times is largely false. ;)
It is one of the most famous experiments: generations of school- children have been taught how Benjamin Franklin, the 18th century American inventor and statesman, risked his life by flying a kite under a thundercloud to prove lightning is a form of electricity.
His success brought fame and membership of the Royal Society. But a new study suggests he invented the whole story....
... However, Tom Tucker, a lecturer and historian at the Isothermal Technical College in North Carolina, first began to suspect the story while working for NASA. He examined the original documents, and found accounts by Franklin that were vague about when and where the experiment was performed.
"There was no witness identified in the announcement, no location named - and nowhere does Franklin say he actually performed the experiment," Dr Tucker says.
The rumors that Mr. Franklin worked for the New York Times is largely false. ;)