In 1831 he created the first machine that used electromagnetics for movement. This was the most primitive form of modern DC motors. He communicated with Samuel Morse through Gale and helped him develop his telegraph.
He was born on December 17, 1797 in the USA. While making electromagnets, he discovered the electromagnetic phenomenon of self-inductance. He also discovered mutual inductance independently of Faraday, but Faraday was the first to publish his results.
His studies on electromagnetics laid the foundation for the invention of the electric telegraph.
He was interested in theater in his early youth. He came very close to becoming a professional player. In 1819, he entered the Albany Academy, which provided free education. Although he received a free education, he was very poor and had to support himself financially by giving private lessons. He eventually decided to study pharmacy.
Joseph Henry (December 17, 1797 – May 13, 1878) was an American scientist who served as the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was the secretary for the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a precursor of the Smithsonian Institution. He also served as president of the National Academy of Sciences from 1868 to 1878.
He worked as an engineer's assistant in 1824. This event inspired him to become a mechanical engineer. In 1826 he was appointed professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at the Albany Academy. He started working on electromagnetics. He improved William Sturgeon's electromagnet model and obtained a much stronger electromagnet by using tightly wound and insulated wire on a piece of iron.
This magnet became the strongest electromagnet of its time. He also showed that when making an electromagnet connected to a battery with two electrodes, it is best to have several turns of wire parallel to each other, and in the case of more than one battery, it is best to have a long and single winding.
However, Henry added that the maximum effect has not yet been achieved. He saw that the magnetic force decreased when the wire turned over certain lengths, due to the increasing resistance of the circuit. He began the second part of his investigation to investigate ways to increase the magnetic strength of the battery. To find the optimal shape for obtaining magnetic power, instead of a long ring around the metal rod, he created a shorter ring with more turns. Henry tested two methods. First, he connected the rings in parallel to reduce the resistance of the circuit, which caused the electric current around the larger iron to increase to a higher value. Apart from this, he used batteries connected in series to increase the voltage or electric power and connected the rings in series to each other.
In 1831 he created the first machine that used electromagnetics for movement. This was the most primitive form of modern DC motors. He communicated with Samuel Morse through Gale and helped him develop his telegraph.