The Shocking REAL Story of Ben Franklin and the Kite Die schockierende wahre Geschichte von Ben Franklin und dem Drachen La impactante historia real de Ben Franklin y la cometa La VRAIE histoire choquante de Ben Franklin et du cerf-volant La sconvolgente storia reale di Ben Franklin e dell'aquilone ベン・フランクリンと凧の衝撃の実話 벤 프랭클린과 연의 충격적인 실제 이야기 Het schokkende echte verhaal van Ben Franklin en de vlieger A chocante história real de Ben Franklin e o papagaio Шокирующая реальная история Бена Франклина и воздушного змея Ben Franklin ve Uçurtmanın Şok Edici Gerçek Hikayesi Шокуюча РЕАЛЬНА історія про Бена Франкліна та повітряного змія 本·富蘭克林和風箏的令人震驚的真實故事

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Twas back in the olden dayes, when hundred dollar founding father Benjamin Franklin flew Fue en los viejos tiempos, cuando el padre fundador de los cien dólares, Benjamin Franklin, voló Het was vroeger, toen honderd dollar grondlegger Benjamin Franklin vloog Foi nos velhos tempos, quando o pai fundador de cem dólares, Benjamin Franklin, voou

his kite and a key into a storm, lightning did strike upon it, and Ol' Ben discovered su cometa y una llave en una tormenta, un rayo cayó sobre ella, y Ol' Ben descubrió o seu papagaio e uma chave numa tempestade, um raio caiu sobre ele e o Ol' Ben descobriu

electricity.

Nearly every schoolchild in America has heard this tale, thanks to cartoons, storybooks, Quase todas as crianças em idade escolar na América já ouviram esta história, graças aos desenhos animados e aos livros de histórias,

art, et cetera.

And that version of the story is… false.

Which is a shame, because the true story of what Benjamin Franklin was doing when he made O que é uma pena, porque a verdadeira história do que Benjamin Franklin estava a fazer quando fez

the extremely questionable decision to fly a kite in a storm… is the story of a truly a decisão extremamente questionável de lançar um papagaio durante uma tempestade... é a história de um verdadeiro

pivotal moment in science *and* history, not just for America, but the world. momento crucial na ciência *e* na história, não apenas para a América, mas para o mundo.

Now historians hate it when people say “this one moment changed everything” because it's Os historiadores detestam quando as pessoas dizem "este momento mudou tudo" porque é

almost never that simple but this is one case where that might actually be true? casi nunca es tan sencillo, pero éste es un caso en el que podría ser cierto... quase nunca é assim tão simples, mas este é um caso em que isso pode ser realmente verdade?

Without this experiment, we may not even know the name Ben Franklin today, and American Sem esta experiência, talvez nem sequer conhecêssemos hoje o nome Ben Franklin, e os americanos

history might have gone quite differently… if there even was an America. a história poderia ter sido bem diferente... se é que existiu uma América.

So gather ‘round, let me tell you the true tale of one Benjamin Franklin, philosopher Así que reúnanse, déjenme contarles la verdadera historia de Benjamin Franklin, filósofo... Dus verzamel je, laat me je het waargebeurde verhaal vertellen van ene Benjamin Franklin, filosoof Por isso, juntem-se e deixem-me contar-vos a história verídica de um tal Benjamin Franklin, filósofo

and phenom of Philadelphia!

America's most scientific founding father! O pai fundador mais científico da América!

And how he tamed thunder with his electric kite. E como ele domou o trovão com o seu papagaio elétrico.

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Ben was born in Boston, the 15th of 17 children, to a candle-making family—a pretty good Ben nació en Boston, el decimoquinto de 17 hermanos, en el seno de una familia dedicada a la fabricación de velas. Ben nasceu em Boston, o 15º de 17 filhos, no seio de uma família de fabricantes de velas - uma família bastante boa

business before the whole electricity thing was figured out. negocio antes de que se descubriera todo el asunto de la electricidad.

Young Ben was fond of swimming, and once wowed his friends by surfing across a lake pulled El joven Ben era aficionado a la natación y una vez sorprendió a sus amigos haciendo surf en un lago.

by a kite (file under “obvious foreshadowing”) por una cometa (archivar bajo "presagio obvio")

So after just 2 years of school, Ben goes to work for his brother, printing news and

learning how to make fun of the king (which gets his brother in trouble) so Ben takes aprendiendo a burlarse del rey (lo que mete en problemas a su hermano) así que Ben toma

over and becomes a hit writing things under other people's names y se convierte en un éxito escribiendo cosas con el nombre de otras personas

But all the while there's an aching in his heart for his one true love: science Pero mientras tanto, su corazón siente dolor por su verdadero amor: la ciencia.

You see, it's the peak of The Enlightenment, with a capital E so you know it's important. Verás, es la cima de La Ilustración, con E mayúscula para que sepas que es importante.

See, in the early 1700s, colonists were pretty superstitious. Verás, a principios de 1700, los colonos eran bastante supersticiosos.

Comet in the sky?

No, that's a warning from Heaven.

Smallpox got you down? ¿Te ha afectado la viruela?

Ye must have sinned too greatly.

Neighbor look at you funny? ¿El vecino te mira raro?

They're a witch. Son una bruja.

So teenage Ben runs away, spends a year in London making friends with scientific smartypantses, Así que el adolescente Ben huye y pasa un año en Londres haciéndose amigo de sabelotodos científicos, Тож підліток Бен тікає, проводить рік у Лондоні, товаришує з науковими розумниками,

and returns to Philadelphia a printer by trade, but a scientist in his heart. y regresa a Filadelfia, impresor de profesión, pero científico de corazón.

Nerds across the pond were obsessed with American flora and fauna, and Franklin became the guy Los empollones del otro lado del charco estaban obsesionados con la flora y fauna americanas, y Franklin se convirtió en el tipo

who could get you what you need.

In exchange, his continental cronies turn him on to Europe's hottest scientific craze: Im Gegenzug weihen ihn seine kontinentalen Kumpane in die heißeste wissenschaftliche Verrücktheit Europas ein: A cambio, sus compinches continentales le ponen al corriente de la moda científica más candente de Europa:

Electricity.

People had known for centuries that if you rubbeth a chunk of amber, stuff would sticketh. Die Menschen wussten schon seit Jahrhunderten, dass, wenn man ein Stück Bernstein reibt, etwas haften bleibt. Mensen wisten al eeuwen dat als je een stuk barnsteen wrijft, het spul zou blijven plakken. Люди століттями знали, що якщо потерти шматок бурштину, то речі прилипають.

In Latin, amber was called “electrum” so Francis Bacon named this attraction “electric”.

The 1700s sparked a craze of electric entertainment, and people started rubbing glass rods and In den 1700er-Jahren entstand eine Begeisterung für elektrische Unterhaltung, und die Menschen begannen, Glasstäbe zu reiben und

electrifying anything they could get their hands on: Women. und elektrisierten alles, was sie in die Finger bekamen: Frauen.

Children.

Louis the XV once had 180 soldiers hold hands just so he could shock them all with a static

spark, and Franklin even electrocuted himself zapping America's honorary bird for Christmas und Franklin hat sich sogar selbst einen Stromschlag verpasst, als er Amerikas Ehrenvogel für Weihnachten zappte chispa, y Franklin incluso se electrocutó zapping pájaro honorario de América para la Navidad іскру, і Франклін навіть вдарив себе струмом, вдаривши почесного американського птаха на Різдво

dinner.

People began to notice these sparks behaved suspiciously like that stuff from the sky.

But every time lightning killed a cow, fricasseed a farmer, or torched a town… the explanation Maar elke keer dat de bliksem een koe doodde, een boer fricasseede of een stad in brand stak... de verklaring

offered was supernatural, not scientific.

I mean lightning did seem to strike church steeples more than any other type of building.

To pious Puritans and humble Quakers this was obviously a sign from heaven or hell,

but Ben had a more lofty explanation: Uh, tallest point in town anybody? pero Ben tenía una explicación más elevada: ¿El punto más alto de la ciudad, alguien?

Pointy metal thing on top? ¿Cosa metálica puntiaguda en la parte superior?

Anyone?

Anyone?!

His revolutionary idea?

“Lightning is electricity!”

And he set out to prove it.

No, it's not time for the kite yet.

Ben's idea was a long iron rod, extending down through a roof. La idea de Ben era una larga barra de hierro, que se extendía hacia abajo a través de un techo.

The experimenter holds a wire connected to the ground, and when an electrified cloud

passes over, some of the charge would pass through as sparks.

Quick side note: This was an insane idea, because if lightning did strike this rod,

instead of just a cloud with some charge passing over, the person inside would be extremely

dead.

Franklin never did this experiment himself.

But he did write it down in a book: “Experiments and Observations on Electricity, Made at Philadelphia”

published in 1751 and an instant international bestseller across electricity-crazed Europe.

This book held all electrical knowledge known at the time, considered by many at the time

second only to the works of Isaac Newton. sólo superada por las obras de Isaac Newton.

Franklin invented the terms “electrician” and “battery”, and was the first to describe

charges as “positive” or “negative”.

Electricity went from parlor trick to a key element of the natural sciences. La electricidad pasó de ser un truco de salón a un elemento clave de las ciencias naturales.

It could be studied, described, and even controlled.

And it was time to prove it.

‘Twas June, 1752, just outside of Philadelphia. Era junio de 1752, en las afueras de Filadelfia.

With a storm a-brewin', Ben and his son William launch into the air a silk kite, a Con una tormenta en ciernes, Ben y su hijo William lanzan al aire una cometa de seda, una Terwijl er een storm op komst is, lanceren Ben en zijn zoon William een zijden vlieger in de lucht

metal rod extending from its top.

A twine of hemp extends from the kite to a metal key. Un cordel de cáñamo se extiende desde la cometa hasta una llave de metal.

And from the key to Ben's hand, a silk ribbon, which he holds from under a doorway. Y de la llave a la mano de Ben, una cinta de seda, que sostiene desde debajo de una puerta.

These are crucial details, because silk is a poor conductor, and Ben needed it and himself

to stay dry.

As rain soaked the kite and line, strands of hemp stood erect with electric charge. Mientras la lluvia empapaba la cometa y el hilo, las hebras de cáñamo se erguían con carga eléctrica.

And as Franklin drew his hand toward the key, it drew sparks of “electric fire very copiously”. І коли Франклін простягнув руку до ключа, він викресав іскри "електричного вогню дуже рясно".

Today we understand that inside storm clouds, as ice crystals are blown upwards, they bump Hoy sabemos que dentro de las nubes de tormenta, cuando los cristales de hielo ascienden por el viento, chocan entre sí.

into tiny falling droplets which steal their electrons. en pequeñas gotas que caen y les roban electrones.

A positive charge builds up in the top of the cloud, the bottom of the cloud becomes Una carga positiva se acumula en la parte superior de la nube, la parte inferior de la nube se vuelve

more negative, making the ground beneath the cloud more positive. más negativo, haciendo que el suelo bajo la nube sea más positivo.

If this difference becomes great enough, nature, desiring cloud and ground to be perfectly Si esta diferencia se hace lo suficientemente grande, la naturaleza, deseando que la nube y el suelo sean perfectamente

balanced as all things should be, evens out the charge through a column of superheated equilibrada como deben ser todas las cosas, iguala la carga a través de una columna de sobrecalentamiento gebalanceerd zoals alle dingen zouden moeten zijn, egaliseert de lading door een kolom oververhitte

ionized gas that we call “lightning”

Franklin's kite and metal rod, wet from the rain, became a shortcut so this unbalanced La cometa y la varilla metálica de Franklin, mojadas por la lluvia, se convirtieron en un atajo para que este desequilibrado Franklin's vlieger en metalen staaf, nat van de regen, werden een kortere weg, dus dit onevenwichtig

charge could jump between cloud and Earth without lightning.

Franklin himself, insulated by the silk string, became the ground wire of a giant atmospheric El propio Franklin, aislado por el hilo de seda, se convirtió en el cable a tierra de un gigante atmosférico

circuit, and the sparks he witnessed proved once and for all that thunderclouds are electrified.

To be clear: Franklin's kite was not struck by lightning.

Because that obviously would have killed him.

You lied to us, Disney.

To say this was a huge deal in the scientific community is the understatement of the 18th Decir que esto fue un gran acontecimiento en la comunidad científica es quedarse corto.

century, because like Newton had done with gravity, Franklin had unraveled the workings

of a force of nature, further unifying Earth and the rest of the universe under one set

of natural laws.

And this turned Franklin into an almost sorcerer-level celebrity.

I mean, ya think he got famous for bifocals or some stove? Quiero decir, ¿crees que se hizo famoso por los bifocales o alguna estufa? Я маю на увазі, ви думаєте, він прославився завдяки біфокальним окулярам чи якійсь плиті?

Ha!

Here was a guy who could empty clouds of their thunder!

Awards, honorary degrees… and facetime with the richest and most powerful people in Europe…

which was about to come in handy… que estaba a punto de ser útil...

America tell the British where they can stick their tea, independence is declarationed, Estados Unidos dice a los británicos dónde pueden meterse el té y se declara la independencia, Amerika vertelt de Britten waar ze hun thee kunnen zetten, de onafhankelijkheid wordt uitgeroepen,

and revolution is upon us. y la revolución está sobre nosotros.

Small problem: The British have lots of guns, boats, and money… the colonies notsomuch.

Solution?

Ben “The Electric Wizard” Franklin is made minister plenipotentiary to France.

His scientific fame had earned him the ear of the king, who–eager to poke his old nemesis Su fama científica le había granjeado el oído del rey, quien, deseoso de pinchar a su antigua némesis

the British in the eye without the messiness of his own war–decides to secretly fund a los británicos en el ojo sin el desorden de su propia guerra-decide financiar secretamente

and arm the colonists.

A few Lafayettes and Yorktowns later, King George gives up, and the USA becomes a thing. Unos cuantos Lafayettes y Yorktowns más tarde, el rey Jorge se rinde y Estados Unidos se convierte en una cosa. Een paar Lafayettes en Yorktowns later geeft King George het op en wordt de VS een ding.

So let's put this all together: if Ben Franklin doesn't fly his kite, he doesn't prove

thunderclouds are electrified, he doesn't become the colonial Carl Sagan, he doesn't truenos se electrifican, no se convierte en el Carl Sagan colonial, no

become King Louis' bestest American friend, and France doesn't help us beat the British.

You hear that, America?

You're here because of science.

Now it's time you start acting like it.

So that's the real story of Ben Franklin and his kite.

It wasn't struck by lightning. Het is niet door de bliksem getroffen.

He didn't discover electricity.

But what he did do, was show the world that yet another force of nature could be understood Pero lo que hizo fue mostrar al mundo que otra fuerza de la naturaleza podía ser comprendida...

thanks to science.

And that is a spark that changed the world

Stay curious.

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