Electricity 101
The wild history of electricity from ancient amber experiments to Volta's battery and the scientists who mapped the invisible force that powers our world.
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Chapters
21 total- 01Prologue
- 02Chapter One - Amber and Fur
- 03Chapter Two - The Electric Fish
- 04Chapter Three - Magnetism and Mystery
- 05Chapter Four - The First Sparks
- 06Chapter Five - Franklin’s Shock Value
- 07Chapter Six - Galvani’s Frog
- 08Chapter Seven - Volta Makes a Stack
- 09Chapter Eight - The Circuit Awakens
- 10Chapter Nine - Faraday Spins the Field
- 11Chapter Ten - The Maxwell Equations
- 12Chapter Eleven - The War of Currents
- 13Chapter Twelve - The Grid Is Born
- 14Chapter Thirteen - Lighting the World
- 15Chapter Fourteen - The Telegraph Wires the Earth
- 16Chapter Fifteen - Electrons and the Atom
- 17Chapter Sixteen - The Radio and the Air
- 18Chapter Seventeen - The Age of Electronics
Edition notes and short pages
Electricity 101
Electricity 101
A History of Power
by James Johnson
Dedication
For the ones who never stopped asking how it works.
And for the ones who made it work before they even knew what it was.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THANKS TO EVERY spark, signal, and circuit that led us here.
To the tinkerers, the builders, the experimenters, the frog-leg prodders, the amber rubbers, the key-on-a-kite lunatics, and the ones who actually wrote the equations down.
You didn’t just power the world.
You powered this book.
And to every reader who’s ever flipped a switch without thinking twice, this is the story behind that flick.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JJ IS THE author of the How We Figured It Out series, along with hundreds of other books that dig into the hidden architecture of science, power, and human discovery. His work pulls back the curtain on the systems we live inside. From biology to quantum mechanics to caffeine, capitalism, and everything in between.
He writes fast, thinks loud, and always flips the lights on.
You can find more of his books and the rest of the 101 series wherever books are sold.
COPYRIGHT
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY James Johnson All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations used in reviews or scholarly discussion.
This book is a work of nonfiction and is based on historical records, scientific publications, and established research. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, but this book is not intended to serve as a formal textbook or technical manual. It is a narrative history intended for general audiences.
All rights reserved. Seriously. Don’t steal electricity. Or this book.