Michael Faraday had no formal education, no university degree, and no mathematical training. He was a bookbinder’s apprentice who taught himself science from the books he was binding, talked his way into a laboratory assistant job, and went on to discover electromagnetic induction, the principles behind the electric motor and generator, and the laws of electrolysis. Every electric motor on earth runs on principles Faraday discovered.

This episode traces Faraday from the London bookbinding shop through his apprenticeship under Humphry Davy, the electromagnetic discoveries that powered the industrial revolution, and the mental decline that ended his career.

• Faraday’s impoverished childhood and the bookbinding apprenticeship where he educated himself
• His appointment under Humphry Davy and the European tour that became his real education
• The discovery of electromagnetic induction — the principle behind every electric motor and generator
• The Christmas Lectures, the field concept that influenced Einstein, and the mental decline of his final years