Electricity, ee-lec-tricity

January 10, 2022 1:24 PM

Kathy Loves Physics & History has created 50 5-10 minute episodes on the history of electricity.
posted by clawsoon (23 comments total)

The Algorithm gave me the Tesla vs. Dolivo-Dobrovolsky episode last night as I was nodding off to my AppleTV. It was informative!
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 1:43 PM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

The BBC's Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity with the fantastic Jim Al-Khalili is also quite good. (YT)
posted by bz at 1:47 PM on January 10, 2022 [4 favorites]

any EE would benefit from her historical perspective for a review.: righteous indignation at Mr. Wheatstone's behavior.
posted by wmo at 2:01 PM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

Thanks. Now I have Steam Powered Giraffe caught in my head:
"Elec tric ity is in my soul..."
posted by Goofyy at 2:19 PM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

related: https://twitter.com/sageboggs/status/1242968530250870786
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 2:30 PM on January 10, 2022

The Algorithm just revealed her to me over the weekend. She's great!

And yeah, fuck Wheatstone.
posted by Horkus at 2:39 PM on January 10, 2022 [5 favorites]

Sparky.
posted by y2karl at 2:54 PM on January 10, 2022

She is absolutely fabulous! I was amazed that Gilbert, whom I did not know as the discoverer of static electricity, was first to suggest that the Earth is a giant magnet and that he did not realize static electricity could also repel as well as attract, and it took 70 more years for that to occur to anyone.
posted by jamjam at 3:48 PM on January 10, 2022 [2 favorites]

And yeah, fuck Wheatstone.

Not to mention Samuel Morse.
posted by clawsoon at 3:49 PM on January 10, 2022 [2 favorites]

clawsoon, all props to you for the post title.
posted by ejs at 4:02 PM on January 10, 2022 [8 favorites]

Previously, from 2018. The YouTube Algorithm just decided to start recommending her videos to me again, too, and I'd been thinking of making a post! Well worth a re-visit. I was literally just binging a few of her videos immediately before tabbing over to see what was on Metafilter this evening. Kathy's research and presentation are excellent, and I find her style incredibly charming. My wife and I have been re-watching episodes of Murdoch Mysteries (set in 1890s/1900s Toronto featuring a scientifically-minded detective) recently, and Kathy's videos are a fun actual-history complement.
posted by biogeo at 4:07 PM on January 10, 2022 [3 favorites]

ejs, I've been watching this person's videos for a while and I had no idea that Schoolhouse Rock was the origin point for the little "electricity, electricity" jingle. Thank you for converting Brainworm A into Brainworm B.
posted by phooky at 5:16 PM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

This is really neat. Thanks!

I'm unreasonably pleased that my academic 7th generation grandparent doesn't seem to have been awful. I am sad to learn that Morse was less thoughtful then single-sentence mentions in QST in the early '90s suggested. But, I'm glad to know about it. (I'm now imagining a much darker, nativist Wouff-Hong, and wondering if that's absurd or not.)
posted by eotvos at 5:50 PM on January 10, 2022

Also adding Wheatstone to the list of things I should call by different names. (Not that it actually comes up much in my lifetime.) Jacoby bridge seems like a good choice, even if not entirely accurate.
posted by eotvos at 6:02 PM on January 10, 2022

She's really good. The episodes I've seen so far have been very clearly explained with wonderful enthusiasm. Where she's covered something I know about, she's been spot-on.
posted by sfred at 6:37 PM on January 10, 2022

I had no idea that Schoolhouse Rock was the origin point for the little "electricity, electricity" jingle.

Aw. I was hoping for an OMD reference.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:06 PM on January 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

Oh the algorithm. I've been watching a bunch of these for about a week now after it randomly surfaced her most recent video. YouTube is so inscrutable.
posted by wierdo at 7:25 PM on January 10, 2022 [2 favorites]

Would her use of the jingle get her in trouble for copyright violation? Or You Tube did not recognize it as a violation? Or did she licence it? I love her videos and what she emphasizes in the history of electricity. Her telling of the people involved is helpful.
posted by RuvaBlue at 7:35 PM on January 10, 2022

Came in just to say I love the post title and am singing that in my head now.
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 10:30 AM on January 11, 2022

My happiest discovery years ago was finding out that the Greek for Amber was "Elektron". Because Autechre's first album is called Amber. And shows sand dunes. (which of course "Silicon") So it looked organic and had a nice name, but was referencing technology in a roundabout way.

Also that dude looks good.
posted by symbioid at 11:29 AM on January 11, 2022 [1 favorite]

"I do not understand electricity and I do not wish to have it explained to me." - James Thurber
posted by neuron at 9:25 PM on January 11, 2022

We may still have the "Schoolhouse Rocks" cassette, which had covers by all kinds of late-90s bands. IIRC, Goodness played Electricity, Electricity, and it's pretty awesome. Well, TBH, the whole tape is pretty awesome. No More Kings!
posted by Windopaene at 12:29 PM on January 12, 2022

Long time Kathy fan. Great work. Always a good day when there is a new video from her in my YT feed.
posted by Pouteria at 5:36 AM on January 13, 2022