William Watson | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1715-04-03)3 April 1715 London,Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Died | 10 May 1787(1787-05-10) (aged 72) London |
| Awards | Copley Medal (1745) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physician and scientist |
Sir William Watson,FRS (3 April 1715 – 10 May 1787) was a British physician andscientist who was born and died in London. His early work was inbotany, and he helped to introduce the work ofCarl Linnaeus into England. He became a Fellow of theRoyal Society in 1741 and vice president in 1772. He was knighted in 1786.
In 1746, he showed that the capacity of theLeyden jar could be increased by coating it inside and out with lead foil. In the same year, he proposed that the two types ofelectricity—vitreous and resinous—posited byDuFay were actually a surplus (a positive charge) and a deficiency (a negative charge) of a single fluid which he calledelectrical ether, and that thequantity of electrical charge was conserved. He acknowledged that the same theory had been independently developed at the same time byBenjamin Franklin—the two men later became allies in both scientific and political matters. He also suggested that electricity is more akin to magnetism and light than to a fluid, since it passes through glass and cloth, and can be concentrated as a spark to light up flammable materials.
On 14 August 1747 he made an experiment to conduct electricity through a 6,732 foot long wire atShooter's Hill in London. At another experiment he made, the wire was 12,276 feet. Previous experiments in France had only tried shorter distances.[1][2]
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