Engraving by J Pass after Henry Lascelles, showing apparatus for demonstrating ‘animal electricity’ as discovered by Luigi Galvani (1737-1798). Whilst investigating the effects of electrostatic stimuli applied to the muscles of frogs, Galvani discovered he could make a muscle twitch by touching the nerve with metal without a source of electrostatic charge. This showed that nerves and muscles in animals function by tiny electrical currents, and can be stimulated by the application of metal or electricity from outside. A pair of frog’s legs is seen here at top right. The term 'galvanise' - to shock or excite into action - takes its name from Galvani. Illustration from ‘Encyclopaedia Londinensis, or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature’ published in London, 1810-1829.

Picture Reference: 10436437
Subject: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY > Electricity & Magnetism > Electrostatic Equipment
Credit: Science Museum Library

Keywords: 1780-1818, 1800s, 19th Century, Amphibian, Animal, Animal Electricity, Apparatus, Century, Dictionaries, Electrical, Electrical Apparatus, Electricity, Electrostatic, Electrostatic Equipment, Encyclopaedias, Encyclopedia, Equipment, Europe, Frog, Frog's, Frog's Legs, Galvani, Galvani, Luigi, Galvanic, Galvanism, Industrial Revolution, Laboratory, Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Instrument, Lascelles, Henry, Leg, Luigi, Natural World, Pass, J, Science, Scientific Apparatus, Scientific Equipment, Uk, United Kingdom

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