# Why aren't there any electricity units named for Benjamin Franklin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 17, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589 "2010-06-17T19:46:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/1 "2010-06-17T19:46:10Z")
I’d learned as a kid that Ben Franklin had conducted some rather significant, if early (and risky), experiments in electricity – so why aren’t any of the electricity-related units (watt, volt, ampere, joule, etc. etc.) known as “franklins” instead?) Is it that his research wasn’t all that significant after all? Perhaps his emphasis wasn’t sufficiently applied or practical in nature? Was it a question of insufficient self-promotion? None of these possible explanations seem all that likely to me… ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/2 "2010-06-17T19:51:26Z")
The consensus in the scientific community was that Benjamin Franklin could go fly a kite. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/3 "2010-06-17T19:59:52Z")
My understanding is that Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to the understanding of electricity are heavily inflated by a slightly jingoist school system hoping to make students proud of their country. The contribution that Franklin made was to show that lightning was electricity, and then use this knowledge to invent the lightening rod. Nothing to scoff at, but not nearly the degree of importance that Gauss and Ohm etc. did. If there was a measure of lightning strength, perhaps that would be a good place to put his name. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/4 "2010-06-17T20:09:51Z")
“Franklin” is a unit of scientific funding. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/5 "2010-06-17T20:19:33Z")
Isn’t the $100 bill good enough for you? ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/6 "2010-06-17T20:36:01Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > If there was a measure of lightning strength Benjamin Franklin: 1.21 billion times as powerful as Watt. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/7 "2010-06-17T20:38:20Z")
Franklin developed the concept of positive and negative charge. Although he got them reversed, his definitions are still used today. He was one of the foremost experts on electricity of his day. When you say something is positive or negative, you’re honoring Franklin. I would assume that scientists thought that enough. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/8 "2010-06-17T20:38:22Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > The consensus in the scientific community was that Benjamin Franklin could go fly a kite. I LOL’d. > [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > My understanding is that Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to the understanding of electricity are heavily inflated by a slightly jingoist school system hoping to make students proud of their country. > > The contribution that Franklin made was to show that lightning was electricity, and then use this knowledge to invent the lightening rod. Nothing to scoff at, but not nearly the degree of importance that Gauss and Ohm etc. did. If there was a measure of lightning strength, perhaps that would be a good place to put his name. I like the idea (of lightning being measured – somehow – in Franklins). Maybe strength is too inaccessible to measure, but using high-speed film, one can sometimes count the up- and down-strokes… > [@CalMeacham](#): > > “Franklin” is a unit of scientific funding. Really? How much is a Franklin, then? > [@BwanaBob](#): > > Isn’t the $100 bill good enough for you? Good enough for me, but just try passing one in stores… lots of places don’t even like accepting fifties. (I blame the North Koreans and their “superbill” counterfeit industry.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/9 "2010-06-17T20:38:47Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > The contribution that Franklin made was to show that lightning was electricity, and then use this knowledge to invent the lightening rod. Nothing to scoff at, but not nearly the degree of importance that Gauss and Ohm etc. did. If there was a measure of lightning strength, perhaps that would be a good place to put his name. I guess “Franklin’s Rod” was not considered a good marketing move. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/10 "2010-06-17T20:44:31Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Franklin developed the concept of positive and negative charge. Although he got them reversed, his definitions are still used today. He was one of the foremost experts on electricity of his day. > > When you say something is positive or negative, you’re honoring Franklin. I would assume that scientists thought that enough. I can see your point, but I think those scientists need bifocals if they don’t see the need for a more explicit tribute… > [@John\_Mace](#): > > I guess “Franklin’s Rod” was not considered a good marketing move. I think back then, a more likely nomenclature would’ve been “Franklin’s Miracle Erection” or somesuch. That’s no improvement, though. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/11 "2010-06-17T20:50:09Z")
> [@The\_Scrivener](#): > > Really? How much is a Franklin, then? A $100 bill. I’ve heard it’s difficult to use in stores, though… ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/12 "2010-06-17T21:12:52Z")
Franklin is known as the inventor of the lightning rod. For his level of involvement in the development of science, that seems appropriate. The other units of measure were mostly named for the person who defined the property being named. Being first counts in that sort of thing (although there are controversies about who was first). Joseph Henry and Nikola Tesla contributed far more to electrical engineering than the early scientists, and have units of measurement named after them that are obscure outside of the field. But their work was based on the findings of the early scientists, without which either man may have accomplished little. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/13 "2010-06-17T21:33:37Z")
I searched the EIA database and I find only these power plants listed below named “Franklin” with no other qualifier (such as “Franklin County” (which may implicitly be named after him) or things like “J.R.Franklin”). City of Los Angeles: Franklin Unit 1 Cleco Power LLC: Franklin GT1 Duke Energy: Franklin Erie Boulevard Hydropower LP: Franklin 1 and 2 Franklin Heating Station, MN Franlin Power LLC, New Hampshire International Paper Franklin Mill, Virginia I cannot confirm at this time if any of those are named after Benjamin Franklin. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/14 "2010-06-17T21:40:40Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > I searched the EIA database and I find only these power plants listed below named “Franklin” with no other qualifier (such as “Franklin County” (which may implicitly be named after him) or things like “J.R.Franklin”). > > City of Los Angeles: Franklin Unit 1 > Cleco Power LLC: Franklin GT1 > Duke Energy: Franklin > **Erie Boulevard Hydropower LP: Franklin 1 and 2** > Franklin Heating Station, MN > Franlin Power LLC, New Hampshire > International Paper Franklin Mill, Virginia > > I cannot confirm at this time if any of those are named after Benjamin Franklin. [Bolding added by me.] Given Ben Franklin’s experiments with fluid dynamics (entirely practical in nature; he was investigating different models of canals to determine the most efficient design/scale for a future Erie Canal), I can’t help but feel the Erie Blvd. Hydropower entry to be most appropriate! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/15 "2010-06-17T22:38:24Z")
I would like his name to be added to some unit relating to beer. Some guy nobody’s ever heard of called Fritz Plato grabbed one, maybe the bitterness units can become “Franklins.” Either that, or a Scoville-esque scale of fart smelliness. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/16 "2010-06-17T22:54:13Z")
The French really liked his coonskin cap, and so they named their money after him. [From Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franc) > [@](#): > > The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the French franc, the currency of France until it adopted the euro in 1999 (by law, 2002 de facto), and the Swiss franc, still a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions. The name is said to derive from French admiration for early American Benjamin Franklin. The Latin inscription francorum rex (“King of the Franks”) on colonial era French coins proclaimed Benjamin Franklin as the finest “Frank” they knew. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/17 "2010-06-17T22:59:01Z")
The cgs charge unit is sometimes called a “franklin”. Which is a lot less confusing then a “statcoulomb” IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/18 "2010-06-17T23:58:05Z")
I’ve suggested on the Dope before that there was a tendency for electrical units to be named after those who were a generation earlier in the process of standardisation. The guys taking the decisions were honouring their immediate predecessors in the movement, not a general set of illustrious forebearers. On that view, Franklin was just too early. (Coulomb is the nearest of his contemporaries so honoured and he got the slot - the unit of charge - Franklin might otherwise have occupied. Even Ampère is effectively a generation later.) ---
**Author:** ![dmatsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@dmatsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dmatsch)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/19 "2010-06-18T14:24:12Z")
While scientists of the time explain that generating finite levels of electricity using a kite and a key was very well understood, but that scientists lacked the means to create a electricity that could produce the infinite electrical field required to allow a ship to travel anywhere while enjoying the comforts of free HDTV. At the end most of them announced that it was virtually impossible, at which point a student reasoned that this electrical theory therefore had to be a finite improbability. After working out exactly how improbable, he used that value to construct a really big kite, gave it a really shiny new key, and managed to generate electricity out of thin air. After winning the Franklin Institute’s prize for extreme cleverness, he was later lynched by other scientists who had been trying to make electricity for years, who finally figured out that what they really couldn’t stand was a smart-ass ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589/20 "2010-06-18T15:58:31Z")
A sidenote: read Robert Lawson’s _Ben and Me_ for a funny and very well-illustrated kids’ book about how all of Franklin’s best ideas, incl. for the study of electricity, actually came from a small mouse which he befriended (the book is better than the later Disney movie, BTW). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-electricity-units-named-for-benjamin-franklin/543589.md?page=2)