Michael Faraday, an English scientist known for his works in electromagnetism and electrochemistry is credited to have created the first electric motor. In 1821, one year after Hans Christian Ørsted revealed that he discovered electromagnetism, Faraday thought of how he can put that concept in motion. According to Ørsted, when a current is allowed to flow through a wire, a magnetic field is produced around that wire.
This was the basic principle that Faraday used to create the first motor. He was the first to understand that if a magnetic pole is isolated, it could result in a constant circular motion around a wire that is charged with current.
To make the motor function, Faraday created the basic circuit that was composed of a wire, battery and a dish of mercury. This dish with mercury served as the conductor. A permanent magnet was also attached to the center of the dish. The wire was then arranged in such a way that one end was immersed in the mercury bath. The current from the attached battery ran through the circuit. As the current ran through the circuit, a circular magnetic field was generated around the wire. This phenomenon was the one discovered by Ørsted. The magnetic field that surrounds the wire then interacts with a second force. This force is also a magnetic field that this time, is generated from the permanent magnet in the center of the dish.
The Faraday Motor allowed us to observe how these two forces are able to create motion. This particular device, no matter how remarkable it may be at that time, had no practical purpose. The only purpose is that it helped pave the way for more sophisticated motors to be created.
