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Holborn Viaduct Power Station
Holborn Viaduct power station, named the Edison Electric Light Station, was the world's first coal-fired power station generating electricity for public use. It was built at number 57 Holborn Viaduct in central London, by Thomas Edison's Edison Electric Light Company. The plant began running on 12 January 1882 , three years after the invention of the carbon-filament incandescent light bulb. It burnt coal to drive a steam turbine which drove a , generator which produced direct current (DC) at 110 volts. It initially lit 968 16-candle incandescent lamps to provide street lighting from Holborn Circus to St. Martin's Le Grand, which was later expanded to 3,000 lamps. The power station also provided electricity for private residences, which may have included nearby Ely Place. Having run at a significant loss the station closed in September 1886, and the lamps were converted back to gas. Edison opened a second coal-fired power station in September 1882 in the United States, at Pea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edison Electric Light Station, Holborn Viaduct, London
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, which include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and early versions of the electric light bulb, have had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world. He was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of organized science and teamwork to the process of invention, working with many researchers and employees. He established the first industrial research laboratory. Edison was raised in the American Midwest. Early in his career he worked as a telegraph operator, which inspired some of his earliest inventions. In 1876, he established his first laboratory facility in Menlo Park, New Jersey, where many of his early inventions were developed. He later established a botanical laboratory in Fort Myers, Florida, in colla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gas Lighting
Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directly by the flame, generally by using special mixes (typically propane or butane) of illuminating gas to increase brightness, or indirectly with other components such as the gas mantle or the limelight, with the gas primarily functioning as a heat source for the incandescence of the gas mantle or lime. Before electricity became sufficiently widespread and economical to allow for general public use, gas was the most prevalent method of outdoor and indoor lighting in cities and suburbs, areas where the infrastructure for distribution of the gaseous fuel was practical. When gas lighting was prevalent, the most common fuels for gas lighting were wood gas, coal gas and, in limited cases, water gas. Early gas lights were ignited manually by lampl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electricity Council
The Electricity Council was a governmental body set up in 1958 to oversee the electricity supply industry in England and Wales. The council was established on 1 January 1958 to assume the coordinating and policy-making functions of the Central Electricity Authority (1955–7), which had in turn replaced the British Electricity Authority (1948–55). The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was also established in January 1958, as the body for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales. Responsibilities The council's responsibilities included: * advising the Secretary of State for Energy on matters relating to the electricity supply industry in England and Wales * helping the Electricity Boards in England and Wales to improve efficiency * advising on the financing of the industry in England and Wales * organising certain research * maintaining the industry-wide industrial relations machinery Corporate structure Background In 1954, six ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deptford Power Station
Three distinct coal-fired power stations were built at Deptford on the south bank of the River Thames, the first of which is regarded as the first central high-voltage power station in the world. History Deptford East (Low Pressure) One of the first premises in London to be supplied with electricity was the Grosvenor Gallery in Bond Street. It was the brainchild of the Earl of Crawford, who had been inspired in 1881 by the International Exposition of Electricity in Paris. A power plant was duly built at the Grosvenor Gallery. It was designed to supply just lighting for the gallery but it was soon extended to supply nearby shops and residences and a larger power plant was opened in 1884. With the prospect of expanding still further, the London Electric Supply Corporation was formed (LESCo). Principal shareholders were the Earl of Crawford, his friend Sir Coutts Lindsay and Sir Coutts’ brother, Lord Wantage. There were environmental objections to large-scale power generation i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Timeline Of The UK Electricity Supply Industry
This timeline outlines the key developments in the United Kingdom electricity industry from the start of electricity supplies in the 1870s to the present day. It identifies significant developments in technology for the generation, transmission and use of electricity; outlines developments in the structure of the industry including key organisations and facilities; and records the legislation and regulations that have governed the UK electricity industry. The first part is a chronological table of significant events; the second part is a list of local acts of Parliament (1879–1948) illustrating the growth of electricity supplies. Significant events The following is a list of significant events in the history of the electricity sector in the United Kingdom. Local legislation timeline In addition to the Public General Acts on electricity supply given in the above table, there were also Local Acts. The Electric Lighting Acts 1882 to 1909 permitted local authorities and c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germans conducted mass air attacks against industrial targets, towns, and cities, beginning with raids on London towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940 (a battle for daylight air superiority between the Luftwaffe and the Royal Air Force over the United Kingdom). By September 1940, the Luftwaffe had lost the Battle of Britain and the German air fleets () were ordered to attack London, to draw RAF Fighter Command into a battle of annihilation.Price 1990, p. 12. Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, ordered the new policy on 6 September 1940. From 7 September 1940, London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 of the following 57 days and nights. Most notable was a large dayligh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Babcock & Wilcox
Babcock & Wilcox is an American renewable, environmental and thermal energy technologies and service provider that is active and has operations in many international markets across the globe with its headquarters in Akron, Ohio, USA. Historically, the company is best known for their steam boilers. Background The company was founded in 1867 in Providence, Rhode Island, by partners Stephen Wilcox and George Babcock to manufacture and market Wilcox's patented water-tube boiler. B&W's list of innovations and firsts include the world's first installed utility boiler (1881); manufacture of boilers to power New York City's first subway (1902); first pulverized coal power plant (1918); design and manufacture of components for , the world's first nuclear-powered submarine (1953–55); the first supercritical pressure coal-fired boiler (1957); design and supply of reactors for the first U.S. built nuclear-powered surface ship, (1961).''Steam/its generation and use'', 41st Edition The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of The Steam Engine
The first recorded rudimentary steam engine was the aeolipile mentioned by Vitruvius between 30 and 15 BC and, described by Heron of Alexandria in 1st-century Roman Egypt. Several steam-powered devices were later experimented with or proposed, such as Taqi al-Din's steam jack, a steam turbine in 16th-century Ottoman Egypt, and Thomas Savery's steam pump in 17th-century England. In 1712, Thomas Newcomen's atmospheric engine became the first commercially successful engine using the principle of the piston and cylinder, which was the fundamental type of steam engine used until the early 20th century. The steam engine was used to pump water out of coal mines. During the Industrial Revolution, steam engines started to replace water and wind power, and eventually became the dominant source of power in the late 19th century and remaining so into the early decades of the 20th century, when the more efficient steam turbine and the internal combustion engine resulted in the rapid repla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jumbo
Jumbo (about December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and then transferred in 1865 to London Zoo in England. Despite public protest, Jumbo was sold to P. T. Barnum, who took him to the United States for exhibition in March 1882. The giant elephant's name spawned the common word " jumbo," meaning large in size. Examples of his lexical impact are phrases like " jumbo jet", "jumbo shrimp," "jumbo marshmallows," and " jumbotron." Jumbo's shoulder height has been estimated to have been at the time of his death, and was claimed to be about by Barnum. History Jumbo was born around December 25, 1860 in Sudan, and after his mother was killed by hunters, the infant Jumbo was captured by Sudanese elephant hunter Taher Sheriff and German big-game hunter Johann Schmidt. The calf was sold to Lorenzo Casanov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Hibberd Johnson
Edward Hibberd Johnson (January 4, 1846 – September 9, 1917) was an inventor and business associate of American inventor Thomas Alva Edison. He was involved in many of Edison's projects, and was a partner in an early organization which evolved into General Electric. When Johnson was Vice President of the Edison Electric Light Company, a predecessor of Con Edison, he created the first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree at his home in New York City in 1882. Edward H. Johnson became the Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights. Biographical information Early life Edward Hibberd Johnson was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania on January 4, 1846. He was educated in public schools in Philadelphia, and worked as a telegraph operator. Protégé of William Jackson Palmer In 1867, William Jackson Palmer and Edward Hibberd Johnson headed west from their hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. General Palmer was the construction manager for the Kansas Pacific Railroad, mappi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Godalming
Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settlements of Farncombe, Binscombe and Holloway Hill. Much of the area lies on the strata of the Lower Greensand Group and Bargate stone was quarried locally until the Second World War. The earliest evidence of human activity is from the Paleolithic and the River Wey floodplain at Charterhouse was settled in the middle Iron Age and Roman period. The modern town is thought to have its origins in the 6th or early 7th centuries and its name is thought to derive from that of a Saxon landowner. Kersey, a woollen cloth, dyed blue, was produced at Godalming for much of the Middle Ages, but the industry declined in the early modern period. In the 17th century, the town began to specialise in the production of knitted textiles and in the manufactur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Wheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets arranged on the outside rim forming the driving car. Water wheels were still in commercial use well into the 20th century but they are no longer in common use. Uses included milling flour in gristmills, grinding wood into pulp for papermaking, hammering wrought iron, machining, ore crushing and pounding fibre for use in the manufacture of cloth. Some water wheels are fed by water from a mill pond, which is formed when a flowing stream is dammed. A channel for the water flowing to or from a water wheel is called a mill race. The race bringing water from the mill pond to the water wheel is a headrace; the one carrying water after it has left the wheel is commonly referred to as a tailrace. Waterwheels were used for various purposes from ag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
