Heinrich Daniel Ruhmkorff facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Heinrich Daniel Ruhmkorff
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| Born | 15 January 1803 Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany
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| Died | 20 December 1877 (aged 74) Paris, France
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| Occupation | Instrument maker |
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| Awards | Volta Prize (1858) |
Heinrich Daniel Ruhmkorff (born January 15, 1803 – died December 20, 1877) was a clever German inventor. He was known for making and selling a special electrical device called the induction coil. Many people even called it the "Ruhmkorff coil" because of him!
Heinrich Daniel Ruhmkorff was born in Hanover, Germany. When he lived in other countries, he changed the spelling of his last name slightly. He first learned how to be a mechanic in Germany. After that, he moved to England. Some old stories say he worked with a famous inventor named Joseph Bramah. However, this is probably not true because Bramah died many years before Ruhmkorff would have worked with him. He might have worked for Bramah's company, though.
In 1855, Ruhmkorff opened his own shop in Paris, France. He quickly became famous for making very good electrical equipment.
The Induction Coil
You might think Ruhmkorff invented the induction coil, but he didn't! The induction coil was actually invented by Nicholas Callan in 1836. Ruhmkorff's first coil, which he got a patent for in 1851, used long wires made of copper. This allowed it to create an electric spark about 2 inches (50 mm) long.
In 1857, Ruhmkorff saw a much better version of the coil made by an American inventor, Edward Samuel Ritchie. Ruhmkorff then improved his own design. He used glass for better insulation and added other new ideas. These changes helped his coils make sparks longer than 30 centimeters (about 12 inches)!
Ruhmkorff's induction coil was very successful. In 1858, he won the first-ever Volta Prize. This was a huge award of 50,000 French francs given by Napoleon III. It was for one of the most important discoveries in how electricity could be used. Heinrich Daniel Ruhmkorff passed away in Paris in 1877.
Ruhmkorff Lamps
You might read about "Ruhmkorff lamps" in Jules Verne's science-fiction books. These lamps used induction coils to work. However, Heinrich Daniel Ruhmkorff himself did not develop these specific lamps.
Asteroid Named After Him
An asteroid discovered in 1991 was named after Heinrich Daniel Ruhmkorff. It is called 15273 Ruhmkorff.
See also
In Spanish: Heinrich Daniel Ruhmkorff para niños
