Faraday's Revenge

If electricity creates magnetism, does magnetism create electricity? Michael Faraday spent a decade trying to prove it. In 1831, he succeeded.

This is electromagnetic induction, and it powers much of modern civilization. Most generator-based plants — coal, nuclear, gas, hydroelectric, and wind — move magnets near coils of wire, often by spinning turbines or rotors connected to generators. Solar photovoltaic panels are different: they turn light directly into current without a spinning generator.