Electricity
Aldis Isaac
The Background
“Before Edison electricity was not clearly understood; it required dangerous and expensive batteries, on‐site technical expertise and had to compete economically with rival sources of power like muscle, water, and steam”[1]. Humanity began to ask questions such as, was there a difference in the imaginations of what electricity can do in both eras? People were curious as to how electricity can be used.
“During the 18th century many scientists experimented with electric charge in their laboratories”[2]. However, during the Industrial Revolution a vast amount of inventions were occurring. “Industrialization created the modern world; it began in the 18th century when certain countries began to organize the economies around the manufacture of goods rather than agriculture and to increase their productivity through the use of machinery”.[3]
Turning Point
In the 1800s, Thomas Edison worked countless hours of trying to harness electrical power to produce electricity but it “seemed as an act of transgression against the power of nature… Electricity, after all, was nature’s most devastating force; lightning was electrical”[4]. Thomas Edison was formerly known as the central figure for the circulation of electricity in homes, offices and even to factories. However, Michael Schiffer asked the readers of his book Power Struggles to imagine Edison and his light and power systems of the 1880s not as a technological beginning but instead as a culmination of decades of creative experimentation, successful adaptations, and technological dead ends[5]. Nevertheless, it is claimed that electricity did exist before his invention but it is indeed documented that Edison is the most notable inventor of electricity.
Around 1879 Thomas Edison along with his fellow scientific colleagues developed incandescent light bulbs and filament that allowed electricity to flow through a thin piece of carbon with high resistance[6]. This was another one of the most magnificent inventions of Edison, as he allowed the darkness that was present to be automatically turned into light by the flick of a button. As a result of the vast use of these light bulbs, it allowed the power revolution to hold much more significance even though it was very significant before.
Effect
The American version of progress came to rest squarely on the belief that every new generation of technology would bring an array of new products and goods that promised a better life tomorrow that which existed today[7]. However, this idea of progress is not only expressed in the American society; it is a common global ideology. Globally, humanity was affected by the invention of electricity and it allowed developments to occur steadily.
Electricity opened up many different avenues around the globe and it allowed economical progress to occur. Living conditions were being improved and the drive of the economy was increasing. As a result, the development of electricity was made accessible through huge electrical power stations that were used to provide this form of energy for the middle-class homeowners because it was cheap. Throughout this era; many businesses were booming, electricity was an opportunity for many businesses to operate after dark which in turn would generate more revenues. This development was widely spread throughout many cities.
After electricity was invented there was nothing that was impossible to do, this created a boom in the development of other inventions to occur with the use of electricity. Edison himself invented many other innovations such as the motion picture camera, the microphone and others that used electricity to be properly operated.[8] One of the most important factors that derived out of the invention of electricity is that through electricity, communication was allowed to speed up over long distances. Businesses were also able to use telephones so that they could exchange information more efficiently. Telephones were initially created by Alexander Bell in 1876, and they used electrical power. Electricity became not only the dominant technology of modern times but also the basis for redefining the nature of American abundance[9].
In our present day we cannot imagine a world without electricity. If the electricity goes out for a period of time people realize how significant and important the invention of electricity has played enormously in their lives. Electricity was a great formula to make the world and the daily effects of life a little easier as it was and still is used in many homes, offices, factories, businesses and now is commonly used as power for street lights. Electricity has made it very possible for many other possessions that we use daily to function and work as they should. Even though the invention of electricity might appear to be a mystery, it has become an integral part of our lives that we cannot live without it.
[1] Michael Schiffer. “Power Struggles: Scientific Authority and the Creation of Practical Electricity before Edison”. Sept. 2009. Pg. 679-680
[2] Steve Parker. “Electricity”. 2005. Pg. 10.
[3] Maury Klein. “The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity and the Men Who Invented Modern America”. 2010. Pg. 1
[4] Linda Simon. “Dark Light”. 2004. Pg. 5
[5] Michael Schiffer. “Power Struggles”. Sept. 2009. Pg. 679-680
[6] Archibald Williams. How it Works: Dealing in Simple Language with Steam, Electricity, Light, Heat, Sound, Hydraulics, Optics, etc. and with their Applications to Apparatus in Common Use. 2009. Pg. 159-186
[7] Maury Klein. The Power Makers. 2010. Pg. 3
[8] Kevin Schultz. HIST3, Volume 2: US History Since 1865. 2010. Pg. 295
[9] Maury Klein. The Power Makers. 2010. Pg. 2
Bibliography
Schiffer, Michael. Power Struggles: Scientific Authority and the Creation of Practical Electricity before Edison. Massachusetts Institute of
Technology Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sept. 2009. 679-680
Parker, Steve. Electricity. Dorling Kindersley Publishing Inc. New York, New York. 2005. 10
Klein, Maury. The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity and the Men Who Invented Modern America. 2010. 1
Schultz, Kevin. HIST3, Volume 2: U.S. History Since 1865. Wadsworth. Boston, Massachusetts. 2010. 295
Simon, Linda. Dark Light: Electricity and Anxiety, From the Telegraph to the X-ray. Harcourt Inc. Orlando, Florida. 2004. 5.
Williams, Archibald. How it Works: Dealing in Simple Language with Steam, Electricity, Light, Heat, Sound, Hydraulics, Optics, etc. and with
their Applications to Apparatus in Common Use. Thomas Nelson and Sons. London, Edinburgh, Dublin and New York. 2009. 159-186.
Aldis Isaac
The Background
“Before Edison electricity was not clearly understood; it required dangerous and expensive batteries, on‐site technical expertise and had to compete economically with rival sources of power like muscle, water, and steam”[1]. Humanity began to ask questions such as, was there a difference in the imaginations of what electricity can do in both eras? People were curious as to how electricity can be used.
“During the 18th century many scientists experimented with electric charge in their laboratories”[2]. However, during the Industrial Revolution a vast amount of inventions were occurring. “Industrialization created the modern world; it began in the 18th century when certain countries began to organize the economies around the manufacture of goods rather than agriculture and to increase their productivity through the use of machinery”.[3]
Turning Point
In the 1800s, Thomas Edison worked countless hours of trying to harness electrical power to produce electricity but it “seemed as an act of transgression against the power of nature… Electricity, after all, was nature’s most devastating force; lightning was electrical”[4]. Thomas Edison was formerly known as the central figure for the circulation of electricity in homes, offices and even to factories. However, Michael Schiffer asked the readers of his book Power Struggles to imagine Edison and his light and power systems of the 1880s not as a technological beginning but instead as a culmination of decades of creative experimentation, successful adaptations, and technological dead ends[5]. Nevertheless, it is claimed that electricity did exist before his invention but it is indeed documented that Edison is the most notable inventor of electricity.
Around 1879 Thomas Edison along with his fellow scientific colleagues developed incandescent light bulbs and filament that allowed electricity to flow through a thin piece of carbon with high resistance[6]. This was another one of the most magnificent inventions of Edison, as he allowed the darkness that was present to be automatically turned into light by the flick of a button. As a result of the vast use of these light bulbs, it allowed the power revolution to hold much more significance even though it was very significant before.
Effect
The American version of progress came to rest squarely on the belief that every new generation of technology would bring an array of new products and goods that promised a better life tomorrow that which existed today[7]. However, this idea of progress is not only expressed in the American society; it is a common global ideology. Globally, humanity was affected by the invention of electricity and it allowed developments to occur steadily.
Electricity opened up many different avenues around the globe and it allowed economical progress to occur. Living conditions were being improved and the drive of the economy was increasing. As a result, the development of electricity was made accessible through huge electrical power stations that were used to provide this form of energy for the middle-class homeowners because it was cheap. Throughout this era; many businesses were booming, electricity was an opportunity for many businesses to operate after dark which in turn would generate more revenues. This development was widely spread throughout many cities.
After electricity was invented there was nothing that was impossible to do, this created a boom in the development of other inventions to occur with the use of electricity. Edison himself invented many other innovations such as the motion picture camera, the microphone and others that used electricity to be properly operated.[8] One of the most important factors that derived out of the invention of electricity is that through electricity, communication was allowed to speed up over long distances. Businesses were also able to use telephones so that they could exchange information more efficiently. Telephones were initially created by Alexander Bell in 1876, and they used electrical power. Electricity became not only the dominant technology of modern times but also the basis for redefining the nature of American abundance[9].
In our present day we cannot imagine a world without electricity. If the electricity goes out for a period of time people realize how significant and important the invention of electricity has played enormously in their lives. Electricity was a great formula to make the world and the daily effects of life a little easier as it was and still is used in many homes, offices, factories, businesses and now is commonly used as power for street lights. Electricity has made it very possible for many other possessions that we use daily to function and work as they should. Even though the invention of electricity might appear to be a mystery, it has become an integral part of our lives that we cannot live without it.
[1] Michael Schiffer. “Power Struggles: Scientific Authority and the Creation of Practical Electricity before Edison”. Sept. 2009. Pg. 679-680
[2] Steve Parker. “Electricity”. 2005. Pg. 10.
[3] Maury Klein. “The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity and the Men Who Invented Modern America”. 2010. Pg. 1
[4] Linda Simon. “Dark Light”. 2004. Pg. 5
[5] Michael Schiffer. “Power Struggles”. Sept. 2009. Pg. 679-680
[6] Archibald Williams. How it Works: Dealing in Simple Language with Steam, Electricity, Light, Heat, Sound, Hydraulics, Optics, etc. and with their Applications to Apparatus in Common Use. 2009. Pg. 159-186
[7] Maury Klein. The Power Makers. 2010. Pg. 3
[8] Kevin Schultz. HIST3, Volume 2: US History Since 1865. 2010. Pg. 295
[9] Maury Klein. The Power Makers. 2010. Pg. 2
Bibliography
Schiffer, Michael. Power Struggles: Scientific Authority and the Creation of Practical Electricity before Edison. Massachusetts Institute of
Technology Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sept. 2009. 679-680
Parker, Steve. Electricity. Dorling Kindersley Publishing Inc. New York, New York. 2005. 10
Klein, Maury. The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity and the Men Who Invented Modern America. 2010. 1
Schultz, Kevin. HIST3, Volume 2: U.S. History Since 1865. Wadsworth. Boston, Massachusetts. 2010. 295
Simon, Linda. Dark Light: Electricity and Anxiety, From the Telegraph to the X-ray. Harcourt Inc. Orlando, Florida. 2004. 5.
Williams, Archibald. How it Works: Dealing in Simple Language with Steam, Electricity, Light, Heat, Sound, Hydraulics, Optics, etc. and with
their Applications to Apparatus in Common Use. Thomas Nelson and Sons. London, Edinburgh, Dublin and New York. 2009. 159-186.