Michael Faraday was born on 22 September 1791 in south London.

His family was not well off and Faraday received only a basic formal education. When he was 14, he was apprenticed to a local bookbinder and during the next seven years, educated himself by reading books on a wide range of scientific subjects. After studying the work of great scientists and authors he developed an interest in science, particularly in electricity. It was his early reading and experiments with the idea of force, that enabled him to make imperative discoveries in electricity later in life. In 1812, Faraday attended four lectures given by the chemist Humphry Davy at the Royal Institution. Faraday subsequently wrote to Davy asking for a job as his assistant. Davy turned him down but in 1813 appointed him to the job of chemical assistant at the Royal Institution. Few years later in 1821, Faraday married Sarah Barnard whom he met at the Sandemanian church. year later, Faraday was invited to accompany Davy and his wife on an 18 month European tour, taking in France, Switzerland, Italy and Belgium and meeting many influential scientists. On their return in 1815, Faraday continued to work at the Royal Institution, helping with experiments for Davy and other scientists. In 1821 he published his work on electromagnetic rotation (the principle behind the electric motor). In 1826, he founded the Royal Institution's Friday Evening Discourses and in the same year the Christmas Lectures, both of which continue to this day. He himself gave many lectures, establishing his reputation as the outstanding scientific lecturer of his time. 1831, Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction, the principle behind the electric transformer and generator. This discovery was crucial in allowing electricity to be transformed from a curiosity into a powerful new technology. During the remainder of the decade he worked on developing his ideas about electricity. He was partly responsible for coining many familiar words including electrode, cathode and ion. During the later years of his life he made several other achievements: received a Doctor of Civil Law degree in 1832 by the University of Oxford granted Faraday, elected as a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1838 and the French Academy of Sciences in 1844. For his great contribution to science, the British government granted him a pension and a house in Hampton Court, where he spent the rest of his life after his retirement in 1858. However, in the early 1840s, Faraday's health began to deteriorate and he did less research. He died on 25 August 1867 at Hampton Court,

During the time when he was hired as an assistant to Professor Davy, Faraday discovered two new chlorides of carbon, conducted experiments on the diffusion of gases, investigated the alloys of steel, and produced several new kinds of glass intended for optical purposes. Faraday is best recognized for his contributions to electricity and magnetism. In 1821 after being inspired by the work of Danish physicist and chemist, Hans Christian, he began experimenting with electromagnetism and by signifying the conversion of electrical energy into motive force, devised the electric motor. For the next few years he continued conducting experiments from his initial electromagnetic discovery. In 1831 Faraday discovered the induction of electric currents and constructed the first electric dynamo. In 1839 he conducted

several experiments to determine the fundamental nature of electricity and established that electrostatic force consists of a field of curved lines of force and conceived a specific inductive capacity. This led to the development his theories on light and gravitational systems. His other prominent discoveries include: the process of diamagnetism, the Faraday Effect, Faraday cage and many more. Two of his famous books are the Experimental Researches in Electricity and the Chemical History of the Candle.

The Faraday disc, also called the homopolar generator. A metal disk in the xy plane revolves at a constant rate about the z axis through its center. A uniform magnetic field points in the z direction. A homopolar generator is a type of electrical generator that produces direct current (DC) using an electrically conductive disc that rotates within a static magnetic field. The disc is at a right angle to the magnetic field, so its rotation creates an electrical potential difference between the center of the disc and its rim. Brush contacts connect the edge of the disk to the shaft that rotates the disk. The polarity of the electrical current depends on the direction of rotation with respect to the magnetic field. It is referred to as "homopolar" or "unipolar" because only one pole of the magnet is used.

There are actually two modes of operation in which a homopolar generator can produce power. The stationary magnet and rotating disc is the most common method, but if both the magnet and the disc are spinning, power is still generated. This is possible because of the Lorentz force, which is the force the electrons caused by the electromagnetic field.

Michael Faraday invented the homopolar generator in 1831, leading to one of its alternate names, the Faraday disc. Early versions of this device were not particularly efficient sources of electrical power, but they demonstrated the principles now used by commutated dynamos to produce direct current. The inefficiency of early homopolar generators was mainly due to the counterflow of current; the magnet induces the primary flow of current on the part of the disc that is directly below the magnet, but this current circulates towards areas of the disc that are away from the magnetic field. This counterflow heats the disc rather than producing electrical current.

Modern homopolar generators partially resolve this problem by arranging a series of magnets around the perimeter of the disc. This allows the magnetic field to remain steady from the

center to the edge of the disc. The degree of counterflow is greatly reduced, which increases the efficiency of the generator.

Commonly used for demonstration purposes, a small homopolar generator produces only a few volts, while larger generators, such as those used in scientific research, can produce a few hundred volts. Some electrical generation systems use multiple homopolar generators to produce thousands of volts, but in general they do not have many practical industrial uses. A homopolar generator can be made to have a very low resistance, so it can produce large amounts of current, occasionally in excess of 1 million amperes.