1840
Joule's law
English physicist James Prescott Joule publishes a paper, On the Production of Heat by Voltaic Electricity, in which he describes the amount of heat generated by an electric current (Joule’s law).1841
Incandescent lamp
Inventor Frederick de Moleyns of England is granted the first patent for an incandescent lamp.
1843
Wheatstone bridge
English physicist Charles Wheatstone popularizes an instrument for comparing resistances that came to be known as the Wheatstone bridge, although it was invented by Samuel Christie1844
First telegraph line
The first official electric telegraph line, constructed with funds appropriated by Congress, is completed in the United States and the initial message is sent by its inventor, Samuel Morse.1845
Kirchhoff's circuit laws
German physicist Gustav Kirchhoff introduces his laws of electric circuits, which have since been named in his honor.
1845
Faraday effect
British chemist Michael Faraday observes that the plane of polarization of light traveling through glass is affected by magnetic lines of force, a clear indication that magnetism and light are related. The phenomenon produced experimentally by Faraday is referred to as the Faraday effect or Faraday rotation.1845
Diamagnetism
Michael Faraday discovers a previously unrecognized form of magnetism in bismuth, glass and a number of other materials that he dubs diamagnetism.
1845
Induction of electric currents
Physicist and mathematician Franz Neumann of Germany publishes his deductions of the mathematical laws for induction of electric currents.
1846
Magnetism and light
Michael Faraday suggests in a short essay that light could be an electromagnetic phenomenon.
1846
Seeking unified theory
German physicist Wilhelm Weber attempts to unify the analysis and experimental results of André-Marie Ampère, Michael Faraday and others in his development of an electromagnetic theory that involves forces between charged particles in motion. Though his theory is later discounted, Weber’s work would precede many other advances in the field of electromagnetic theory.1847
Ideas on diamagnetism
Wilhelm Weber puts forward the idea that diamagnetism is simply an example of Faraday’s law impinging upon molecular circuits and suggests that diamagnetism exists in paramagnetic and ferromagnetic substances, but is masked due to the comparative strength of the permanent molecular currents the possess.
1847
Conservation of energy
Hermann von Helmholtz, a German physicist and physician, reads his paper On the Conservation of Force to the Physical Society of Berlin, providing one of the earliest and clearest accounts of the principle of the conservation of energy that governs electrostatic, magnetic, chemical and all other forms of energy.