What If electricity wasn't invented until today?

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I had a blackout at my home about 1 week ago, And it was the darkest and probably the longest blackout I have ever felt. It was from 4 pm to almost 10 pm in the night.

Since both my phone and my laptop were running out of battery, My mind takes its place. And I've been thinking, What if this "thing" we have taken for granted, this "not-so unreal" object that have powered almost 80% of the world settlements, and this "really shocking" (Pun Intended) object that we call "Electricity" doesn't Exist... Now this is one scenario, There is a lot and a lot more that can come out of this.

First, The Explanation

Before we indulge ourselves in the mind-boggling part, let us take a brief review of what electricity is?

According to Wikipedia, Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence of electric charge. Although initially considered a phenomenon separate to magnetism, since the development of Maxwell's Equations both are recognized as part of a single phenomenon: electromagnetism. Various common phenomena are related to electricity, including lightning, static electricity, electric heating, electric discharges and many others. In addition, electricity is at the heart of many modern technologies.
The presence of an electric charge, which can be either positive or negative, produces an electric field. On the other hand, the movement of electric charges, which is known as electric current, produces a magnetic field.

Electrical phenomena have been studied since antiquity, though progress in theoretical understanding remained slow until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Even then, practical applications for electricity were few, and it would not be until the late nineteenth century that engineers were able to put it to industrial and residential use. The rapid expansion in electrical technology at this time transformed industry and society. Electricity's extraordinary versatility means it can be put to an almost limitless set of applications which include transport, heating, lighting, communications, and computation. Electrical power is now the backbone of modern industrial society


Oversimplifying the History timeline, "Dynamic" Electricity was "found" by an American Researcher, Statesman, and Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin. Although the static electricity was found long time ago by the Greeks and Persians by rubbing Amber (or in Greek: Elektrone, hence the name electricity) and their storage patented by German and Dutch researchers

   

Benjamin Franklin (left) and his method of "finding" Electricity with his son (right)

Mr. Franklin found electricity by doing something that will drove all mother's to extreme fear... That is playing kite under a hail of thunderstorm... with a metal thread...

Mr. Franklin was fascinated by the Leiden jar (The method of storing static electricity mentioned earlier) and he once exclaimed that "This method of extracting liquefied storms are as the same as extracting them from a real one" Then on 1750 at Philadelphia, in a Thunderstorm, he attached a key to the mid-part of the kite thread, and a lightning hits the metal thread and current the energy to the key and mostly, to the ground. He then touched the key, and he was shocked, physically and mentally... He then explained his hypothesis in the Pennsylvania gazette and read to the Royal Society of Scientists in 21 December 1752 

And a lot of people including Michael Faraday, James Watt, Andre-Marie Ampere, Thomas Alva Edison and more develop the idea of using and "making" electricity, Such as the Electric motor, The lightbulb, and many more.

Until the advent of producing electricity with Coal Power, Petroleum and eventually, until today, The Solar Power and the Nuclear fission Power

The Belchatow Fuel Power Plant in Poland (Left), Sahara Solar Panel in the Saharan Desert (right) and The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power plant in Japan (Bottom) are the largest power plant that uses Fuel, Solar and Nuclear power respectively

  

 

 

 

 

 

So, What about the Scenario?

Well, Electricity was a Natural occurrence and Humans are mostly curious on how the universe works.

This is a very daunting and hard scenario, but really-really intriguing one.

Let just say that The Greeks can't explain of why rubbing together amber can shock them, and let just say that they said it was the scourge of the God, Zeus, and was forbidden and held Taboo by Most European and Eastern society. Everyone was scared to experience lightning and to feel a static electricity shock, and a myth telling that misfortune will happened if you get a "unexplainable shock" circulate around the world.

Not only kids that are afraid of lightning in this scenario but also the adults. This means that the world culture will differ greatly from ours. Lightning now acts as a "Curse" rather than an "Intrigue".

And a big chances that in the classical ages, God of the Sky such as Zeus and Jupiter will be more widespread as the Bringer of death instead of being the All-wise God

"You know what, Hera? This world sucks!"

Second, let's advance way to the ages, to the Napoleonic era... 

The British were the first to found the steam engine, but in this scenario, Michael Faraday and James watt won't research on the advent of using steam engine for generating electricity. This affect the entire World both economically, socially and even in their prestige ranks...

Since Electricity wasn't founded, The coal mining Industry would decline, but not to a complete halt. It would only fulfill the demand for supplying steam engines for Manufactories, Steamships and Other mechanical engines, Which in turn affect the global market for fossil fuel. Still, it would increase in the advent of Railroad Industry but only in a small margin. Means, in this alternate world, Gas and Kerosene won't be priced as in our world

As said, The Transport industry won't be really affected, until someone mentioned the need for private transportation. bicycles, stagecoaches, and cars. Since we haven't discovered electricity yet, Cars would still exist but can be really cumbersome... Why?

Cars uses electrical components to power the engine. Without electricity, Cars would have a big, bulging hot steam engine as their means of energy. This means cars would be considered a Novelty object rather than a true advance in Technology, 

 

I can't Imagine one of these things pass through my house :/

This also means that Horse-Breeding work won't decline in the 18-19th century and you would see a stagecoaches traffic jams in New York, Bangkok, Jakarta or New Delhi instead of Cars. Well, we can't say it won't happen right?

A Traffic jam from coaches and wagons, Amazing right?

Since there are no cars, no lightbulb and no "Flicks at the cinema", This would affect the world socially too...

Since the availability to commute from one place to another are limited, people will tend to live in a small, cramped settlements instead of big, sparse cities because lot of people would rather live next to a soot-belching factory that is their workplace rather than to live in the countryside but have to walk kilometers to their work.

Not only there would be no Cinema, lightbulb, and etcetera. There would be no Telephone or Telegraph. Means that Exchange of informations would still rely on Postal services and word-to-word means. This has a plus-minus traits. 

The plus are people would need to meet with the person in question to comunicate and exchange information, Reducing the level of Social Gap and Introvert behaviour. the Minus is, that there would be "Miscomunications" and the integrity of the information that was sent are increasingly doubted. Therefore increasing the level of Untrustful behaviour.

The world would be much darker in the space but much brighter on ground since people tend to have their own fire at their home before the advent of lightbulb

In Politics, nations will have a tendency to avoid distant wars, Since it will hurt their economy and the morale of their citizens.. Which also gives out Plus-Minus Traits

Plus is there would be no World war One or Two, but still, another war would take it place though. Means there would be no massacre, no wasted manpower and no misery. Cool right?

And there is the Minus... The world war two not only proves as an epic story for Videogames. but also as a motivation to develop better technology, The German invented the first Short-Range Ballistic Missile, Developed the submarine technology and the First efficient cryptography technique, "The Enigma", The British made bigger and more efficient ships and communications technique such as SW radio and Ships such as HMS Hood. Without the World wars. we would still be stuck on using wood-ships and a lot of Ideas will be left to be fantasies, You can't have that smartphone or laptop of yours that you see to see this article now

Well, There are a lot more to be explained in detail, but that's the big picture... What do you think?

What would happen if Electricity doesn't exist? Let me know by your comments :)

Bibliothek
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite_experiment