History of BIO-Electricity
Thales of Miletus- static electricity (fifth century b.c.)
The science of static electricity starts with Thales of Miletus, the Greek scientist called “electrum” which derives from the word “elector” which means “the shinning one” and it is from here where we get the word “electron” and then “electricity”
He discovered when amber is rubbed with wool it creates static electricity causing it to attract light dry objects like paper, feathers, hair and wheat.
William Gilbert- invents instrument to measure static electricity early electroscope.
German Otto von Guericke- invents first machine that generates static electricity in 1663.
Ewald Jurgen von Kleist- stores static electricity by creating the Leyden jar in 1745.
Abbe Nollet- Uses Leyden Jar to prove electricity can travel through the human body by electrifying 200 monks and making them jump one by one by creating a circuit back to the the Leyden jar.
Benjamin Franklin- proves lightning is an electrical discharge and a stream of electrified air with his hemp string kite with a key.
Thomas Francois Dalibard- uses 40 ft. iron pole and silk strings to draw electric sparks into Leyden jars in thunderstorms proving electricity travels through the air.
Luigi Galvani- Discovers animal electricity in 1781 by charging a dead frog’s legs with an electrical machine and causing the legs to twitch violently. Galvani interpreted the result to indicate that animal cells like humans are not only stimulated by electricity, they can produce their own. The electrical stimulation produced contraction of muscle. He also discovered that animal electricity is different from that produced by lightning or an electrostatic generator and argued electricity was inherent in the animal itself. Luigi Galvani is where we get the word "Galvanize".
Alessandro Volta- creates the first battery in 1800 by building a stack of alternating discs of zinc and silver separated by cardboard soaked in saltwater. When the top and bottom of the stack were connected the electricity flowed through the stack causing electric current. Volta was shocked literally but survived. Alessandro Volta is where we get the word “Volts”
Giovanni Aldini- runs an electric current thru a decapitated head and gets it to move its mouth and open its eyes proving Galvani’s findings apply for humans as well in 1802. This proves the cells of the human body do not die as soon as the person but can be re-stimulated with electricity for a time. This also proves our cells are electric and require a form of electricity. This is where the idea of the movie Frankenstein comes from.
Andre Marie Ampere- founded the science of electro dynamics and electromagnetism. Ampere discovered the measure of electric current we call "Amps" in 1826.
German Georg Ohm- discovers Ohm’s Law in 1827, current (I) is equal to the potential (V) divided by the resistance (R) of electricity or I=V/R. This is the key to understanding how nerves and electricity work both in terms of electrons and ions.
Michael Faraday- discovers ionic energy in aqueous solution and measures the charge in 1834. Ions correspond to animal and plant electricity as electrons correspond to lightning, static and magnet electricity. Electrical signals within biological organisms are driven by ions.
Sydney Ringer- discovers the human heart requires calcium, sodium, and potassium ionic charges to function normally and beat to maintain a healthy rhythm in 1880.
Svante August Arrhenius- discovers the ionic bond and discovers the positive and negative charges in the atoms of the ions called cations for the positive charge and anions for negative charge in 1884.
Augustus Waller- Records the electrical activity of the human heart in 1887.
JJ Thompson- Discovers evidence of the atom and the electron in 1897, using a cathode ray tube.
William Einthoven- wins the Nobel prize in 1924 for his invention of the string galvanometer to measure the bio-electricity of the human heart more accurately.
Francis Crick & James Watson- Discover DNA structure within the nucleus of a human cell in 1950. The DNA structure is made of amino acids held together by bio-minerals mostly Phosphorus.
Erwin Mueller- first person to see an atom in 1977, with his invention the field emission electron microscope.
Erwin Neher & Bert Sakmann- Discover ion channels in cells and how they work in 1991. Discovered how cells take in biomineral ions and release them.
Gero Miesenbock- Proves that ion channels can turn off and on certain genes by applying different color wavelengths (frequencies) in 2003.
IONZ LLC founder (Francisco Alfonso)- Discovers herbal bio-mineral ions in all color frequencies of the electromagnetic visible light spectrum needed for cellular health in 2016. Ions that are taken in by the ion channels of human and animal cells needed for cellular structure balance, function, information transfer and genetic information for the DNA.