Energy & Power - Overview
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.
"Energy & Power - Overview" showing 27 items.
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Integral compact fluorescent lamp
- Description
- Introducing a new product involves more than just crafting an advertising campaign aimed at consumers. A company must also convince potential distributors (both wholesale and retail) to stock the product. That task is made easier if one can visually show the differences between the old product and the new.
- This lamp is a Philips "SL Electronic" demonstration piece made about 1985. Philips' original "SL" compact fluorescent lamp came equipped with a magnetic, coil-core ballast when introduced in 1981. The newer version replaced that magnetic ballast with an electronic ballast, raising energy efficiency in the lamp. This demonstration lamp has a clear base-skirt allowing whoever demonstrates the lamp to show the electronic circuitry.
- All fluorescent lamps require a ballast due to a quirk engineers call negative-resistance characteristic. The electrical resistance inside a fluorescent lamp is very high when the lamp is off—that's why fluorescent lamps need starters. But once the current is flowing through the lamp the resistance drops, causing the lamp to draw more current, which drops the resistance further, causing still more current to be drawn. Without a control device in the circuit, this cycle would quickly destroy the lamp. A ballast, whether magnetic or elecronic, regulates the amount of current flowing through the lamp and prevents the cycle from occurring.
- Lamp characteristics: Brass, medium-screw base with clear plastic skirt that houses an electronic ballast and a starter. Fluorescent tube includes two electrodes, mercury, and a phosphor coating. A corrugated plastic cover protects the tube. Eight slots in the cover allow excess heat to escape. Rating: 18 watts.
- Date made
- ca 1985
- date made
- ca. 1985
- maker
- Philips Lighting Company
- ID Number
- 1997.0389.28
- catalog number
- 1997.0389.28
- accession number
- 1997.0389
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Integral compact fluorescent lamp
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Integral compact fluorescent lamp
- Description
- Thomas Edison began selling his incandescent lamp in 1880 and only a few years later introduced a version with a silver coating on the back that served as a reflector. Almost exactly 100 years later (1981) Philips began selling their SL-18 compact fluorescent lamp and within a few years introduced a version with a built-in reflector—the lamp seen here.
- Reflector lamps have been most often sold as either spot lights that throw a narrow beam of light, or as flood lights that throw a broader beam. Engineers alter the shape of the reflector to create different beam patterns. In an incandescent lamp they typically place the filament at a focal point so as to get as much light as possible to travel along the path they've designed. Making a compact fluorescent reflector lamp was something of a challenge since the folded-tube that radiates the light is long and is not considered "a point-source" of light. The ridges seen on the outside of the silver reflector also appear inside and help direct the light from the tube out of the lamp.
- Lamp characteristics: Brass, medium-screw base with plastic skirt that houses a magnetic ballast, and a starter. Fluorescent tube includes two electrodes, mercury, and a phosphor coating. An R-shaped plastic envelope serves as a reflector and is enclosed with a plastic cover. Rating: 18 watts, 120 volts.
- Date made
- ca 1985
- date made
- ca. 1985
- maker
- Philips Lighting Company
- ID Number
- 1997.0389.36
- catalog number
- 1997.0389.36
- accession number
- 1997.0389
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Integral Compact Fluorescent Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Production model "Earth Light" compact fluorescent lamp to replace a 75 watt incandescent lamp.
- date made
- ca 1996
- maker
- Philips Lighting Company
- ID Number
- 1997.0389.02
- accession number
- 1997.0389
- catalog number
- 1997.0389.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Metal Halide Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Production metal halide "Mastercolour" lamp with ceramic arc-tube. In original package with instruction sheet.
- date made
- ca 1996
- maker
- Philips Lighting Company
- ID Number
- 1997.0389.04
- accession number
- 1997.0389
- catalog number
- 1997.0389.04
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Low Pressure Sodium Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Production low pressure sodium (LPS) lamp in original package. LPS lamps are the most energy-efficient lamps sold.
- date made
- ca 1996
- maker
- Philips Lighting Company
- ID Number
- 1997.0389.05
- accession number
- 1997.0389
- catalog number
- 1997.0389.05
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
High Pressure Sodium Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Production "SON-AGRO" high pressure sodium lamp in original package. Made to aid plant-growth.
- date made
- ca 1996
- maker
- Philips Lighting Company
- ID Number
- 1997.0389.06
- accession number
- 1997.0389
- catalog number
- 1997.0389.06
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Metal Hallide Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Production "MasterColor" metal halide lamp in original package. With cylindrical shield surrounding arc-tube.
- date made
- 1996-03
- maker
- Philips Lighting Company
- ID Number
- 1997.0389.07
- accession number
- 1997.0389
- catalog number
- 1997.0389.07
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Tungsten Filament Lamps
- Description (Brief)
- Two 55 watt incandescent lamps in original package. Made for Sears, Roebuck and Company for use in garage door openers.
- date made
- ca 1996
- maker
- Philips Lighting Company
- ID Number
- 1997.0389.09
- accession number
- 1997.0389
- catalog number
- 1997.0389.09
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Conversion Kit for Exit Sign
- Description (Brief)
- Compact fluorescent lamp retrofit kit in original package. Designed to replace incandescent lamps in exit signs.
- date made
- ca 1996
- maker
- Philips Lighting Company
- ID Number
- 1997.0389.10
- accession number
- 1997.0389
- catalog number
- 1997.0389.10
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center