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.


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Zouave tobacco advertisement
- Description
- Print reads "Zouave / Fabrica de Tabacos Superiores / de la vuelta abajo de / T. B. R. / Calle de la Muralla, No. 39, / Habana. / Zouave". The illustration beneath shows four soldiers in Zouave style uniforms, with baggy red trousers, blue jackets, and red caps, standing together at ease with rifles and packs, and a drum between them.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca. 1860s
- ID Number
- 1978.0010.01
- accession number
- 1978.0010
- catalog number
- 1978.0010.10
- 85348M
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
American Union Thermometer
- Description
- Chromolithograph print titled American Union Thermometer. The paper print features images of two US Army officers and an eagle above a printed thermometer, a female representation of Columbia, and a soldier in zouave-style uniform. A drum and a shield painted with the American flag are at the figures' feet.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1978.0010.03
- accession number
- 1978.0010
- catalog number
- 1978.0010.03
- 85350M
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Illustration of De Kalb zouave soldier
- Description
- Illustration of a man wearing a zouave-style uniform and holding a rifle. The man is wearing a blue dickey and jacket with red tape in decorative patterns and yellow tape in a distinctive sleeve design. He is also wearing blue breeches with a red stripe, white and yellow leggins, and a red fez with a blue tassel. The print is labeled "De Kalb Zouaves / N. Y. St. Vol. Capt. Duysing".
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1978.0010.04
- accession number
- 1978.0010
- catalog number
- 1978.0010.04
- 85351M
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Illustration of New York Volunteer in the Union Army
- Description
- Illustration of a man wearing a non-regulation Union army uniform, including sky blue trousers, dark blue kepi, and a sky blue overcoat with a scarlet inside lining. He is depicted in full march gear, with a pack, belts, and rifle over his shoulder.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1978.0010.05
- accession number
- 1978.0010
- catalog number
- 1978.0010.05
- 85352M
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Illustration of soldier in the 9th New York, Hawkins Zouaves
- Description
- Illustration of a man wearing a zouave-style uniform and holding a rifle. The man is wearing a blue dickey and jacket with red tape in decorative patterns including a chevron on his arm sleeve. He is also wearing blue trousers with a red stripe and a red fez with a blue tassel. The print is labeled "New York Zouaves / N. Y. St. Vol. Col. Hawkins".
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1978.0010.07
- accession number
- 1978.0010
- catalog number
- 1978.0010.07
- 85354M
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Light Infantry Drill of the U. S. Army
- Description
- Illustrated title page or cover of a copy of a publication titled Light Infantry Drill of the U. S. Army, published by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia. The illustrated page shows two soldiers, wearing blue and red Zouave-style uniforms. Both have packs, but the figure on the right is wearing a short shell jacket and holding a rifle with fixed bayonet while the figure on the right has red epaulets and holds a bugle.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1978.0010.02
- accession number
- 1978.0010
- catalog number
- 1978.0010.02
- 85349M
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Illustration of soldier in the French Zouaves, 55th New York Volunteers
- Description
- Illustration of a man wearing a zouave-style uniform and holding a rifle. The man is wearing a red dickey and blue jacket with yellow tape in decorative patterns. He is also wearing red breeches and yellow leggins, and a red fez with a blue tassel. The print is labeled "French Zouaves / 55th Reg. Col. Le Gal."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1978.0010.06
- accession number
- 1978.0010
- catalog number
- 1978.0010.06
- 85353M
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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