Energy & Power

The Museum's collections on energy and power illuminate the role of fire, steam, wind, water, electricity, and the atom in the nation's history. The artifacts include wood-burning stoves, water turbines, and windmills, as well as steam, gas, and diesel engines. Oil-exploration and coal-mining equipment form part of these collections, along with a computer that controlled a power plant and even bubble chambers—a tool of physicists to study protons, electrons, and other charged particles.

A special strength of the collections lies in objects related to the history of electrical power, including generators, batteries, cables, transformers, and early photovoltaic cells. A group of Thomas Edison's earliest light bulbs are a precious treasure. Hundreds of other objects represent the innumerable uses of electricity, from streetlights and railway signals to microwave ovens and satellite equipment.

Experimental LEAP (Linear Exhaust And Processing) tungsten halogen lamp for a production method that used a laser.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Experimental LEAP (Linear Exhaust And Processing) tungsten halogen lamp for a production method that used a laser.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1972
maker
General Electric Lighting Company
ID Number
1996.0082.02
catalog number
1996.0082.02
accession number
1996.0082
Experimental LEAP (Linear Exhaust And Processing) tungsten halogen lamp for a production method that used a laser.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Experimental LEAP (Linear Exhaust And Processing) tungsten halogen lamp for a production method that used a laser.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1972
maker
General Electric Lighting Company
ID Number
1996.0082.03
catalog number
1996.0082.03
accession number
1996.0082
An experimental 10,000 watt stage and studio lamp with a hydrogen-bromine fill gas.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
An experimental 10,000 watt stage and studio lamp with a hydrogen-bromine fill gas.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1970
maker
General Electric Lighting Company
ID Number
1996.0082.06
catalog number
1996.0082.06
accession number
1996.0082
Pre-production GE metal halide lamp for indoor use.
Description (Brief)
Pre-production GE metal halide lamp for indoor use.
date made
ca 1980
maker
General Electric Co.
ID Number
1996.0080.01
accession number
1996.0080
catalog number
1996.0080.01
Production model PLG41E2 compact fluorescent lamp to replace a 60 watt incandescent lamp.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Production model PLG41E2 compact fluorescent lamp to replace a 60 watt incandescent lamp.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1992
maker
General Electric Lighting Company
ID Number
1996.0357.04
accession number
1996.0357
catalog number
1996.0357.04
Experimental LEAP (Linear Exhaust And Processing) tungsten halogen lamp for a production method that used a laser.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Experimental LEAP (Linear Exhaust And Processing) tungsten halogen lamp for a production method that used a laser.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1972
maker
General Electric Lighting Company
ID Number
1996.0082.04
catalog number
1996.0082.04
accession number
1996.0082
In the wake of soaring energy prices in the 1970s, several manufacturers quickly introduced new lamp designs to meet a demand for efficient lighting devices.
Description
In the wake of soaring energy prices in the 1970s, several manufacturers quickly introduced new lamp designs to meet a demand for efficient lighting devices. General Electric mounted a circular fluorescent tube on an adapter that housed a starter and ballast, and that could screw into an ordinary fixture. Called the Circlite, this hybrid product was introduced to the public in 1976.
Since circular fluorescent tubes were already a mature product (originally developed in 1943), GE could take advantage of existing research data and production lines for the Circlite. Also, retailers and consumers were familiar with circular lamps, which eased resistance to the introduction of the new unit. The modular design allowed users to replace the tube when it failed, without having to replace the more expensive ballast package. Ultimately, GE and other manufacturers produced several versions of the lamp and refined the product. A light-weight electronic ballast replaced the heavier, less-efficient magnetic ballast used in this 1978 model, for example. As of today Circlites remain in production.
Lamp characteristics: A modular fluorescent lamp with three components: ballast, mounting frame, and lamp. Ballast: aluminum medium-screw base with brass contact and a glass insulator. A plastic skirt houses a magnetic ballast and a receptacle for a circular fluorescent lamp frame. Mounting frame: a three-arm plastic frame (made in two halves) with a sliding switch to release the ballast. The ballast mounts at center of mounting frame. Lamp: circular fluorescent tube with soft white colored phosphor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca. 1978
Date made
ca 1978
manufacturer
General Electric
ID Number
1997.0388.25
accession number
1997.0388
catalog number
1997.0388.25
Experimental lamp made by co-inventor Edward Zubler.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Experimental lamp made by co-inventor Edward Zubler.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1975
maker
General Electric Lighting Company
ID Number
1996.0082.07
catalog number
1996.0082.07
accession number
1996.0082
"Duplex" carbon lamp with Thompson-Houston base. Two filaments, one always on and the base hook lights the other.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
"Duplex" carbon lamp with Thompson-Houston base. Two filaments, one always on and the base hook lights the other.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1898
maker
Fostoria Incandescent Lamp Company
ID Number
1997.0388.86
catalog number
1997.0388.86
accession number
1997.0388
patent number
586275
Lamp with tungsten ribbon-filament used to provide light in microscopes. Packed in original wrapper and box.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Lamp with tungsten ribbon-filament used to provide light in microscopes. Packed in original wrapper and box.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
Maker
General Electric Co.
ID Number
1997.0221.01
accession number
1997.0221
catalog number
1997.0221.01
Carbon filament lamp with helical filament.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Carbon filament lamp with helical filament.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1903
maker
Sterling Electrical Manufacturing Co.
ID Number
1997.0388.71
catalog number
1997.0388.71
accession number
1997.0388
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, reports began reaching GE and Westinghouse of French experiments with neon tubes coated with phosphors. A phosphor is a material that absorbs one type of light and radiates another.
Description
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, reports began reaching GE and Westinghouse of French experiments with neon tubes coated with phosphors. A phosphor is a material that absorbs one type of light and radiates another. American scientist Arthur Compton, a consultant to GE, reported seeing a green French lamp giving 30 lumens per watt in 1934, and his report sparked an intensive, cooperative research program to make a fluorescent lamp. In 1936, this tube using low pressure mercury vapor and a coating of phosphors was quietly demonstrated to the Illuminating Engineering Society and the U.S. Navy.
In 1939, GE and Westinghouse publicly introduced fluorescent lamps at both the New York World's Fair and the Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco. Other lamp makers like Sylvania and Duro-Test soon followed. The need for efficient lighting in wartime factories brought rapid adoption of fluorescent lighting and by 1951 industry sources reported that more light in the United States was being produced by fluorescent lamps than by incandescent lamps.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1936
maker
General Electric Company
ID Number
EM.318197
catalog number
318197
accession number
232822
The development of practical fluorescent lamps took decades, and many researchers contributed.
Description
The development of practical fluorescent lamps took decades, and many researchers contributed. Julius Plucker and Heinrich Geissler made glowing glass tubes in the 1850s, about the time George Stokes discovered that invisible ultraviolet light made some materials glow or "fluoresce." Alexandre Edmond Becquerel put fluorescent materials in a Geissler tube in 1859, though his tubes did not last long. Carbon dioxide-filled tubes by D. McFarlan Moore and mercury vapor tubes by Peter Cooper Hewitt around 1900 gave practical experience with gas-filled, discharge lamps and inspired the neon tubes of Georges Claude.
In 1926 Friedrich Meyer, Hans Spanner, and Edmund Germer of Germany patented an enclosed glass tube containing mercury vapor, electrodes at either end, and a coating of fluorescent powders called phosphors. This incorporated all of the features we see in modern fluorescent tubes, but their employer did not pursue development. William Enfield of General Electric saw phosphor-coated neon tubes in France in the early 1930s, and heard that European researchers were developing a fluorescent lamp. An especially urgent 1934 letter from a consultant, Nobel-laureate Arthur Compton, coming on the heels of European breakthroughs in low-pressure sodium and high-pressure mercury lamps, spurred both GE and its licensee Westinghouse into combined action.
Enfield created a team led by George Inman, and by the end of 1934 they made several working fluorescent lamps, including the one seen here. To save time, the team adopted the design of an existing tubular incandescent lamp in order to make use of available production equipment and lamp parts. Speed was important. In addition to European competitors, American companies like Sylvania were also working on fluorescents. A second GE group under Philip Pritchard worked on production equipment. Other GE groups in Schenectady and in Ft. Wayne assisted in developing ballasts and resolving problems of circuit design.
In 1936 GE and Westinghouse demonstrated the new lamp to the U.S. Navy (that lamp is in the Smithsonian's collection). The public finally saw fluorescent lamps in 1939 at both the New York World's Fair and the Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco. These early lamps gave twice the energy efficiency of the best incandescent designs. Production of fluorescent lamps, slow at first, soon soared as millions were installed in factories making equipment for the American military during World War 2.
Lamp characteristics: Double-ended without bases. Flat presses with an exhaust tip near one press. A tungsten electrode, CC-6 configuration coated with emitter, is set at either end. A mercury pellet is loose inside the lamp. The clear T-7 glass envelope has a phosphor coating covering about 3 inches (8 cm) of the lamp near the center.
date made
ca. 1934
Date made
ca 1934
manufacturer
General Electric
ID Number
1997.0388.41
accession number
1997.0388
catalog number
1997.0388.41
A type RS sunlamp in original package. Lamp produced ultra-violet rays for tanning purposes and did not need a ballast.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
A type RS sunlamp in original package. Lamp produced ultra-violet rays for tanning purposes and did not need a ballast.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
Maker
General Electric
ID Number
1997.0387.24
accession number
1997.0387
catalog number
1997.0387.24
Experimental LEAP (Linear Exhaust And Processing) tungsten halogen lamp for a production method that used a laser.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Experimental LEAP (Linear Exhaust And Processing) tungsten halogen lamp for a production method that used a laser.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1972
maker
General Electric Lighting Company
ID Number
1996.0082.01
catalog number
1996.0082.01
accession number
1996.0082
Carbon filament lamp with tipless envelope. Exhausted through bottom. The leads exit through envelope sides.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Carbon filament lamp with tipless envelope. Exhausted through bottom. The leads exit through envelope sides.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1895
maker
Adams-Bagnall Electric Co.
ID Number
1997.0388.64
catalog number
1997.0388.64
accession number
1997.0388
Compact fluorescent lamp made by GE’s Edward E. Hammer had a spiral discharge tube with a rare earth phosphor.
Description (Brief)
Compact fluorescent lamp made by GE’s Edward E. Hammer had a spiral discharge tube with a rare earth phosphor.
date made
ca 1976
Maker
Hammer, Edward E.
ID Number
1997.0212.01
catalog number
1997.0212.01
accession number
1997.0212
A reproduction of Charles Steinmetz’s 1912 mercury vapor lamp made for defense of U.S. patent 3,234,421.
Description (Brief)
A reproduction of Charles Steinmetz’s 1912 mercury vapor lamp made for defense of U.S. patent 3,234,421.
date made
1965
maker
General Electric Lighting Company
ID Number
1996.0084.02
catalog number
1996.0084.02
accession number
1996.0084
Experimental lamp made by co-inventor Edward Zubler.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Experimental lamp made by co-inventor Edward Zubler.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1975
maker
General Electric Lighting Company
ID Number
1996.0082.05
catalog number
1996.0082.05
accession number
1996.0082
Date made
ca 1878
associated person
Brush, Charles F.
maker
Brush Electric Company
ID Number
EM.251230
accession number
48865
catalog number
251230
On 26 June 1974, the first installation of supermarket scanners entered service in a Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio. This Spectra Physics model A price scanner, is one of those first ten scanners.
Description
On 26 June 1974, the first installation of supermarket scanners entered service in a Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio. This Spectra Physics model A price scanner, is one of those first ten scanners. A package of Wrigley's chewing gum became the first purchase made with scanners that could read the new Uniform Product Code (UPC or barcode). Mounted within the unit a helium-neon laser projected a beam onto a rotating mirror and thence up through a glass plate on the top surface. The light reflected from the code label on the package and was detected by a photo-diode. A computerized cash register matched the signal from the photo-diode with information in a stored database to determine which product was being scanned.
Spectra Physics and NCR jointly developed the system, and provided the laser scanner and the computerized cash register, respectively. A group called the "Ad Hoc Committee of the Grocery Industry" developed the barcode itself. Organized in 1970 by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., the Ad Hoc Committee consisted of senior executives of leading firms in the grocery industry. The coding system they devised had an enormous impact on a wide range of applications, most notably for retail sales and inventory control.
The scanned package of chewing gum remained with Clyde Dawson of Marsh Supermarkets and never came to the Smithsonian. (Thanks to Priscilla Dygert for confirming the recollection of museum staff. See comment below.)
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1974
maker
Spectra-Physics Scanning Systems, Inc.
ID Number
1994.0180.01
accession number
1994.0180
catalog number
1994.0180.01
serial number
006
Single burner with brass hose nipple and removable, circular, six-arm grate for use with Colt carbide-feed acetylene gas generator. Domed and stepped circular base has "CLEVELAND. O." cast in along edge.Currently not on view
Description
Single burner with brass hose nipple and removable, circular, six-arm grate for use with Colt carbide-feed acetylene gas generator. Domed and stepped circular base has "CLEVELAND. O." cast in along edge.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930
ID Number
1977.0935.16
catalog number
1977.0935.16
accession number
1977.0935
Five-jet single burner on four splayed tab feet with a circular, four-arm, fixed grate and white ceramic-handled stopcock or shut-off valve; for use with Colt carbide-feed acetylene gas generator.
Description
Five-jet single burner on four splayed tab feet with a circular, four-arm, fixed grate and white ceramic-handled stopcock or shut-off valve; for use with Colt carbide-feed acetylene gas generator. Separate four-sided toaster; consists of a tiered top piece, pyramidal body with four columns of horizontal pierced slots on each side and rounded-corner square base, all held together with bent wire racks with projections for holding bread. No maker's marks on either piece.
America Lava Corporation of Chattanooga, TN (1902-1981) produced ceramic insulators for acetylene burners and, later, electrical equipment. Dates of operation for the Acetylene Stove Manufacturing Company not known.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930
ID Number
1977.0935.13
catalog number
1977.0935.13
accession number
1977.0935

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