From Faraday to today

When I was asked to give the 2012 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures I was excited for a number of reasons; obviously I was thrilled that I had been chosen, but I was also pleased that finally the lectures would have a chemistry theme once again. Some of the very earliest lectures were deeply rooted in chemistry and the very first lecture on this subject was given by none other than Michael Faraday himself. Faraday initiated the lectures for young audiences in 1825 but did not give one himself until two years later. The title of his first series was just 'Chemistry'.

Peter Wothers discusses Faraday's passion for science and considers how this shaped his own.