Energy & Power

Gasoline Pump

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.

Light switch for Edison installation

Original switch key by which current was turned on lamps in the building. #499 and 451 Water Street, New York City, on the evening of January 15, 1881. A wooden pivot switch mounted on a wooden base. Four binding posts.
Description (Brief)
Original switch key by which current was turned on lamps in the building. #499 and 451 Water Street, New York City, on the evening of January 15, 1881. A wooden pivot switch mounted on a wooden base. Four binding posts. Used in the Hinds-Ketchum printing plant as part of the first commercial installation of the Edison lighting system.
Date made
1881
ID Number
EM.180942
catalog number
180942
accession number
24315

Mercury Vapor Lamp

A type DH-1 mercury vapor lamp originally introduced in 1938 for black-light and photochemical applications.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
A type DH-1 mercury vapor lamp originally introduced in 1938 for black-light and photochemical applications.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940
maker
Hanovia Chemical and Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1997.0387.22
accession number
1997.0387
catalog number
1997.0387.22

McMillan synchrotron assembly

Object N-09261.01 consists of an assembly of numerous major subparts or components, most of which were separated during dismantling after the NMAH Atom Smashers exhibition closed.The major subparts include: coils carrying current to produce magnetic field; laminated steel yoke to
Description
Object N-09261.01 consists of an assembly of numerous major subparts or components, most of which were separated during dismantling after the NMAH Atom Smashers exhibition closed.
The major subparts include: coils carrying current to produce magnetic field; laminated steel yoke to provide path for the lines of magnetic field; aluminum clamps and steel tie-bars for clamping magnetic yoke together horizontally; "strong back" for clamping magnet together vertically; toroid-shaped vacuum chamber ("donut") in which the electrons circulate and are accelerated; high vacuum oil diffusion pump for evacuating air from vacuum chamber; assembly for remote positioning of high voltage injector (electron gun); source and transmission line for voltage pulse to injector (electron gun); high voltage transformer (110 kV) of pulse to injector (electron gun); radiation warning light; lead shielding wall to prevent stray radiation from interfering with experiments; magnet to sweep out stray electrons, etc., contaminating the x-ray beam; x-ray beam line; tapered lead plugs for making x-ray beam parallel; electrometer connected to ionization chamber in path of beam (measures beam intensity); crash button; "patch panel" for electronic connections between experiment area and "counting room"; peripheral and/or connecting elements, such as conduit containing cables carrying electric current to upper coil, current-carrying coil for producing magnetic field guide, air blower to cool magnet coils, oscillator to generate 47MHz electric field for accelerating electrons, oil diffusion pump to evacuate acceleration (vacuum) chamber, vacuum-insulated storage vessel ("Dewar") for liquid nitrogen, liquid nitrogen receptacle ("cold trap") to improve vacuum in acceleration chamber by freezing out vapors, target, evacuation port, injector (electron gun), evacuation port, synchrotron light port, RF power input.
Along with the McMillan synchrotron assembly proper N-09261.01, there are 25 related objects in this accession with catalog numbers .02-.26. Mimsy XG catalog records have been created for 13 of the objects in this accession. Additional items: a cross-section of the vacuum chamber and magnet pole pieces are in a separate accession (1978.2302.06) under catalog ID N-10012. There is also a related non-accessioned item N-10022, "Synchrotron Counting Room" sign.
Basic Principles and History
The methods of particle acceleration used before WWII were approaching their limits. The size and cost of cyclotrons and betatrons with ever increasing particle output energy had grown substantially. (See “basic principle of the cyclotron” in Background on Dunning Cyclotron; Object id no. 1978.1074.01 in Modern Physics Collection). For accelerating particles to the highest energies in circular machines, the “synchrotron” was developed in the mid-1940s. In contrast to a cyclotron, particles in a synchrotron are constrained to move in a circle of constant radius by the use of a ring of electromagnets, open in the middle and so much less massive than an equivalent cyclotron magnet. The magnetic field is varied in such a way that the radius of curvature remains constant as the particles gain energy through successive accelerations by a synchronized alternating electric field.
Towards the end of WWII Vladimir Veksler in the USSR and Edwin M. McMillan in the USA independently advanced the following “principle of phase stability”; 1) charged particles forced into a circular path by a magnetic field and accelerated by an oscillating electric field will “bunch” if they lie in the proper phase or “side” of the electric wave; and 2) these particle bunches, if confined in buckets, can be carried to higher energies by gradually increasing the magnetic guide field (as in the electron synchrotron), or by decreasing the oscillation frequency of the electric accelerating field (as in the synchro-cyclotron), or increasing both magnetic field and the electric oscillation frequency (as in the proton synchrotron).
After considerable difficulties and some changes in design, McMillan’s synchrotron began operating in the winter of 1948-49 at its intended energy of about 300 million volts – thought to sufficient to produce subatomic particles called mesons, with a mass between that of the electron and the proton. (In later years mesons would be defined as “hadronic” particles composed of one quark and one antiquark bound together by the strong interaction.) Note: The synchrotron electrons never were brought out of the machine, but were brought into collision with an internal target to produce photons with the bremsstrahlung spectrum; these emerging photon beams (x-rays) would then be used to produce the mesons.
Among the first and most significant experiments performed with this accelerator was production of a new subatomic particle, the “pi-zero” meson. Theoretical physicists had previously predicted the existence of an electrically neutral variety of such particles observed in cosmic rays. In this experiment, J. Steinberger, W.K.H. Panofsky, and J. Steller provided convincing evidence that such charge-neutral mesons were produced by the 330 MeV x-rays emerging from the synchrotron and striking an external target. The experimenters looked for the pair of simultaneous photons into which the unstable meson was expected to decay. They found that the energies of these two photons, and the angle between them, were just what would result from the decay in flight of a particle mass about 150 times that of an electron, moving with a velocity expected for such particles were they created by 300 MeV x-rays. A reproduction of the apparatus for this experiment, made for the NMAH Atom Smashers exhibition, is in the Modern Physics Collection (Object ID no. 1989.3014.01).
Virtually all circular high-energy particle accelerators built since WWII have been based on the principle of phase stability. Although particle energies attainable by pre-War accelerator concepts were sufficient for atom smashing (splitting the nucleus in a target atom), they were not high enough to create the sub-atomic particles that had been discovered in cosmic rays in the 1930’s. With the principle of phase stability, and the ability to build particle accelerators based upon it, the field of “high-energy” or “elementary particle physics” came into existence.
maker
McMillan, Edwin M.
ID Number
EM.N-09261.01
catalog number
N-09261.01
accession number
269226

Tungsten Filament Lamp

Second generation tungsten lamp with a pear-shaped envelope.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Second generation tungsten lamp with a pear-shaped envelope.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1914
maker
General Electric Company
ID Number
EM.316017
catalog number
316017
accession number
223095

Carbon Filament Lamp

Incandescent lamp with United States base and cellulose filament. Envelope made of milk-glass.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Incandescent lamp with United States base and cellulose filament. Envelope made of milk-glass.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
maker
Weston
Weston Electric Light Co.
ID Number
EM.311920
catalog number
311920
accession number
156658

Hoffman P/N photovoltaic cells

Solar cells come in many shapes and sizes, and are manufactured with a variety of materials. Hoffman Electronics made cells for satellites in the late 1950s but company president H. Leslie Hoffman believed the sun could power other products.
Description (Brief)
Solar cells come in many shapes and sizes, and are manufactured with a variety of materials. Hoffman Electronics made cells for satellites in the late 1950s but company president H. Leslie Hoffman believed the sun could power other products. This type 200A quarter-round cell is mounted in a plastic housing and was sold through radio supply houses and catalogs. Hoffman manufactured a line of solar-powered radios that used quarter-round cells of this type.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Hoffman Electronics Corp.
ID Number
2016.0061.02
accession number
2016.0061
catalog number
2016.0061.02

High pressure sodium lamp

Experimental "Lumalux" high pressure sodium lamp with niobium cap arc-tube seals.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Experimental "Lumalux" high pressure sodium lamp with niobium cap arc-tube seals.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1980
maker
Sylvania Electric Products Inc.
ID Number
1998.0005.12
catalog number
1998.0005.12
accession number
1998.0005

Just sintered tungsten filament lamp

Just non-ductile (sintered) tungsten-filament lamp, ca. 1908. First generation tungsten filament lamp. Characteristics: Brass medium-screw base with collar, porcelain-dome insulator. Four single-arch tungsten filaments in series with 4 upper, 6 lower supports.
Description (Brief)
Just non-ductile (sintered) tungsten-filament lamp, ca. 1908. First generation tungsten filament lamp. Characteristics: Brass medium-screw base with collar, porcelain-dome insulator. Four single-arch tungsten filaments in series with 4 upper, 6 lower supports. Welded or paste connectors, Siemans seal. Glass stem is mounted on two shock-absorbing springs (one set in the press, the other attached to a glass rod that is set in the exhaust tip). Tipped, straight-sided envelope with taper at neck. Lamp developed by Dr. Alexander Just and Franz Hanaman in Vienna in 1902. Mazda A type. Printed on lamp: “Just Tungsten Lamp Pats. Pending”. Written on lamp: “20246a.1628”. Something else is written at base, near neutral lead-weld. [See Bright, Electric Lamp Industry, pp. 184-94.]
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1908
maker
Just, Alexander
Hanaman, Franz
ID Number
1997.0388.55
accession number
1997.0388
catalog number
1997.0388.55

Tungsten Filament Lamp

A coiled-tungsten filament 200 watt lamp with a glass pear-shaped envelope.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
A coiled-tungsten filament 200 watt lamp with a glass pear-shaped envelope.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1918
maker
General Electric Company
ID Number
EM.307562
catalog number
307562
accession number
68492

Experimental Compact Fluorescent Lamp

Experimental Solenoidal Electric Field header and bulb. A two-piece ferrite would be installed for experiment.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Experimental Solenoidal Electric Field header and bulb. A two-piece ferrite would be installed for experiment.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1975
maker
Anderson, John M.
ID Number
1998.0050.11
accession number
1998.0050
catalog number
1998.0050.11

Carbon Filament Lamp

Weston carbon lamp with United States Company base and sinusoidal carbon filament.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Weston carbon lamp with United States Company base and sinusoidal carbon filament.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1885
Maker
Weston
maker
Weston Electric Light Co.
ID Number
1997.0388.60
catalog number
1997.0388.60
accession number
1997.0388

Nernst Incandescent Lamp

Invented by Walther Nernst, this incandescent lamp could operate in open air and did not violate Edison’s patents. The housing is sectioned for study of the internal ballast resistance mechanism. The glower consists of three iron rods coated with rare-earth elements.
Description (Brief)
Invented by Walther Nernst, this incandescent lamp could operate in open air and did not violate Edison’s patents. The housing is sectioned for study of the internal ballast resistance mechanism. The glower consists of three iron rods coated with rare-earth elements. The coating gives off light when heated and protects the rod from oxidation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1904
maker
Nernst
ID Number
EM.318298
catalog number
318298
accession number
232729

Head Piece from Maiman Laser

This object may be the first laser. It was made by Theodore Maiman and his assistant Irnee D'Haenens at Hughes Aircraft Company in May 1960.In 1959 Maiman attended a technical conference on the subject of lasers.
Description
This object may be the first laser. It was made by Theodore Maiman and his assistant Irnee D'Haenens at Hughes Aircraft Company in May 1960.
In 1959 Maiman attended a technical conference on the subject of lasers. Maiman heard several speakers state that ruby was unsuitable for a laser but grew troubled by some of the numbers they cited. When he returned to his lab at Hughes he began experimenting. By May 1960 he and D'Haenens constructed several small metal cylinders. Each contained a photographer's spiral-shaped, xenon flashlamp that surrounded a small cylindrical crystal of synthetic ruby. When they fired the flashlamp, the burst of light stimulated the ruby crystal to emit a tightly focused pulse of light--the first operating laser.
Hughes Aircraft donated this and several other pieces of Maiman's apparatus to the Smithsonian in 1970. The crystal mounted inside this unit is from a 1961 experiment. While the donation records indicate that this is the first laser, Maiman wrote that he received the first laser as a gift when he left the company in April 1961. Several experimental models were made during the research, a common practice. So we may never know which unit actually generated the first laser light.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1960
associated date
1960
maker
Maiman, Theodore H.
Hughes Aircraft Company
ID Number
EM.330050
accession number
288813
catalog number
330050

Experimental Lead-in Wires

Hammered molybdenum foil leads with tungsten electrodes mounted to the foils for use as arc lamp electrode.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Hammered molybdenum foil leads with tungsten electrodes mounted to the foils for use as arc lamp electrode.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
maker
General Electric Lighting Company
ID Number
1996.0147.46
catalog number
1996.0147.46
accession number
1996.0147

Carbon Filament Lamp

“New Type Edison" lamp. A typical commercial incandescent lamp of the early 1890s, rated at 100 candle-power.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
“New Type Edison" lamp. A typical commercial incandescent lamp of the early 1890s, rated at 100 candle-power.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
maker
Edison Lamp Company
ID Number
EM.181823
catalog number
181823
accession number
33407

Electric Power Transmission Cable for Interior Use

The cables needed to transmit electrical power may seem simple but are actually complex technological artifacts. Cables are designed for many different applications, for example, indoor or outdoor use.
Description (Brief)
The cables needed to transmit electrical power may seem simple but are actually complex technological artifacts. Cables are designed for many different applications, for example, indoor or outdoor use. This power cable was described by GE engineer William Clark in 1898 as follows: “500,000 [circular mil] cable, 3/32" rubber insulation, braided. [This cable is] for general use in interior wiring."
date made
1897
maker
General Electric Company
ID Number
EM.181711
catalog number
181711
accession number
33184
maker number
670

Experimental fluorescent lamp

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

Integral compact fluorescent lamp

When incandescent lamp manufacturers want to make lamps with different ratings, 40 watt and 60 watt lamps for example, they simply alter the length of the coiled tungsten filament.
Description
When incandescent lamp manufacturers want to make lamps with different ratings, 40 watt and 60 watt lamps for example, they simply alter the length of the coiled tungsten filament. Since the filament is rather small in either case, there's little apparent difference in the two lamps. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are different.
This lamp is a demonstration triple-tube compact fluorescent lamp made by Philips about 1995. One way to increase the light output from CFLs is to make the tube longer. In this lamp the three tubes are connected by thin glass passages called bridge-welds, creating a continuous path for the electric current to travel. Using bridge-welds allowed the engineers to place the three tubes very close together, reducing the size of the lamp as a whole. The plastic base-skirt that houses the control electronics is clear so that whoever is demonstrating the lamp can show the electronic circuitry.
Lamp characteristics: Nickle-plated, medium-screw base with clear plastic skirt that houses an electronic ballast and a starter. Three fluorescent tubes are connected by bridge-welds. Included are two electrodes, mercury, and a phosphor coating. No external cover is placed over the tubes. Lamp was operational when donated.
Date made
ca 1995
date made
ca. 1995
maker
Philips Lighting Company
ID Number
1997.0389.30
catalog number
1997.0389.30
accession number
1997.0389

Heat Lamp

Incandescent infra-red lamp for drying. These large and bulky lamps were replaced by tungsten halogen heat lamps.Production Incandescent Lamp, Infra-red Drying lamp. 500 watts. Steel bi-pin base. Triangular filament configuration. Circa 1955.
Description (Brief)
Incandescent infra-red lamp for drying. These large and bulky lamps were replaced by tungsten halogen heat lamps.
Production Incandescent Lamp, Infra-red Drying lamp. 500 watts. Steel bi-pin base. Triangular filament configuration. Circa 1955. Printed on top: "Westinghouse Drying Lamp 500[W] 115V". "500-115" and "I-9 11/28/[5]5" handwritten on glass base.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1955
Maker
Westinghouse Electric Corp.
ID Number
1997.0389.45
accession number
1997.0389
catalog number
1997.0389.45

Electrically Welded Specimen, Bicycle Crank Hanger

This bicycle’s welded steel crank hanger was created using Elihu Thomson’s electric welding apparatus (see object number MC*181724).
Description
This bicycle’s welded steel crank hanger was created using Elihu Thomson’s electric welding apparatus (see object number MC*181724). Welding samples demonstrated the potential industrial applications of electric welding, and illustrations of these samples were published in journals, brochures, and advertisements. Elihu Thomson’s invention of electric welding in 1885 resulted in numerous industrial applications including the manufacture of automobile parts, tools, screws, ball bearings, and wire lines. Thomson’s welding apparatus pressed two pieces of metal together while an electric current ran through the metal. Resistance to the current at the contact point between the metal pieces created heat and welded the metals together.
Scientist and inventor Elihu Thomson (1853-1937) played a prominent role in the industrialization and electrification of America with over 700 patents in his name. His inventions and patents helped change the nature of industry in the United States and included the “uniflow” steam engine, automobile muffler, producing fused quartz, stereoscopic x-ray pictures, electric arc lamps, lightning arrestors, and perhaps most notably—the process of electrical welding. Thomson and partner Edwin Houston established a variety of companies to manage his industrial interests. In 1892, his Thomson-Houston Electric Company merged with the Edison Electric Company to form General Electric.
date made
1886
maker
Thomson, Elihu
ID Number
EM.181676
catalog number
181676
accession number
33015

Circular Fluorescent Lamp

"MiniCirc" fluorescent lamp. Lamp is designed to replace an incandescent lamp in a table fixture.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
"MiniCirc" fluorescent lamp. Lamp is designed to replace an incandescent lamp in a table fixture.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1990
maker
Lights of America
ID Number
1997.0389.39
catalog number
1997.0389.39
accession number
1997.0389

Incandescent Lamp Holder

Wooden pedestal mount with lamp socket for Maxim lamp. Three screws are mounted on the base, the center one is a switch.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Wooden pedestal mount with lamp socket for Maxim lamp. Three screws are mounted on the base, the center one is a switch.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
maker
Farmer, Moses G.
Maxim, Hiram S.
ID Number
EM.181979
catalog number
181979
accession number
2015.0173

Compact Fluorescent Lamp Component

Base unit for "Spiralux" compact fluorescent lamp houses the electronics module needed to operate the lamp.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Base unit for "Spiralux" compact fluorescent lamp houses the electronics module needed to operate the lamp.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1996
maker
DURO-TEST Corporation
ID Number
1997.0062.12
catalog number
1997.0062.12
accession number
1997.0062

Experimental Short Arc Lamp

Experimental mini-arc lamp designed to test short arc-gap.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Experimental mini-arc lamp designed to test short arc-gap.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1968
maker
Fridrich, Elmer G.
ID Number
1996.0147.27
accession number
1996.0147
catalog number
1996.0147.27

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