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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Stoneware jug
- Description
- Stoneware containers were useful for storing many goods into the 1900s. Before the development of canning and refrigeration, stoneware forms were staples in most homes, used to hold salted or pickled food as well as beverages and dairy products. This jug, probably meant to hold water, ale, whiskey or beer, features an incised design. By the time this piece was made, most potters had turned to glaze painting, which was faster and easier to produce.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1866-1885
- maker
- Hart, Nahum
- Hart, Charles
- ID Number
- 1977.0803.77
- accession number
- 1977.0803
- catalog number
- 1977.0803.077
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Limoges porcelain cup and saucer
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1880s
- ID Number
- CE.P-107ab
- catalog number
- P-107ab
- accession number
- 225282
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Crosby Steam Engine Indicator
- Description
- Crosby Steam Gauge & Valve Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 330. It consists of a brass piston with one groove, a vented brass cylinder, an internal, double wound spring which can be changed, and a small drum with a spiral spring and single record. The stylus is missing. Accompanying the indicator is a box with two springs, two turn cocks, a scale, and small tools.
- This indicator was made for W. J. Hammer, Chief Inspector of Edison Light Co. There is a nickel-plated name plate on the front marked: “Property of W. J. Hammer, 65 Fifth Ave, New York.”
- An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine.
- A mechanical indicator consists of a piston, spring, stylus, and recording system. The gas pressure of the cylinder deflects the piston and pushes against the spring, creating a linear relationship between the gas pressure and the deflection of the piston against the spring. The deflection is recorded by the stylus on a rotating drum that is connected to the piston. Most indicators incorporate a mechanical linkage to amplify the movement of the piston to increase the scale of the record.
- When the ratio of the frequency of the pressure variation to the natural frequency of the system is small, then the dynamic deflection is equal to the static deflection. To design a system with a high natural frequency, the mass of the piston, spring, stylus, and mechanical linkage must be small, but the stiffness of the spring must be high. The indicator is subjected to high temperatures and pressures and rapid oscillations, imposing a limitation on the reduction in mass. Too stiff a spring will result in a small displacement of the indicator piston and a record too small to measure with accuracy. Multiplication of the displacement will introduce mechanical ad dynamic errors.
- The parameters of the problem for designing an accurate and trouble free recorder are such that there is no easy or simple solution. Studying the variety of indicators in the collection shows how different inventors made different compromises in their designs.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1885
- maker
- Crosby Steam Gage & Valve Company
- ID Number
- MC.320555
- catalog number
- 320555
- accession number
- 241402
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Wheelock Valve and Valve Seat Model
- Description
- This is a nicely made model of the valve and valve seat patented by Jerome Wheelock, of Worcester, Massachusetts, September 22, 1885, no. 326820.
- The model represents a wide gridiron slide valve assembled on a skeletonized taper plug, which serves as the valve seat and supports the rock shaft connected to the slide by links or “toggles.” The whole assembly is designed to fit into a taper hole bored into the cylinder block and connected by suitable ports to the cylinder. The advantage of this arrangement over ordinary plug valves is that it does not require that a valve seat be formed within the large cylinder casting, and it permits the delicate fitting of the valve to the valve seat to be performed at a work bench or upon a machine away from the engine.
- The complete Wheelock valve gear (U.S. patent number 326819) consists of one steam valve and one exhaust valve at each end of a cylinder with the rock arms of the exhaust valves permanently connected to the eccentric, so that the valve is at rest during part of the travel of the eccentric, while the steam valves are connected through a detachable latch so that they may be detached and closed quickly at any point during the stroke of the piston.
- Reference:
- This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1885
- ID Number
- MC.310251
- catalog number
- 310251
- accession number
- 108073
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Patent Model for the Improvement in Picking Cotton
- Description (Brief)
- David Rawl, of Batesburg, South Carolina, submitted this model with his patent application for an improvement for picking cotton 1882 to the United States Patent Office. The mechanism could be wheeled over the top of a cotton row. A frame is balanced over wheels and as the picker is moved the stalks are guided through spindles where the boll is removed and the cotton drops into a carrier.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1882
- patent date
- 1882-10-31
- inventor
- Rawl, David
- ID Number
- AG.266884
- catalog number
- 266884
- accession number
- 89797
- patent number
- 266,884
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Ericsson Hot-Air Engine, Patent Model
- Description
- This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 226,052 issued to John Ericsson of New York, New York on March 30, 1880. The patent was for an improvement in air engines.
- In this type of engine a charge of air is repeatedly heated and cooled as it is transferred from one end to the other of a single cylinder. One end of the cylinder is surrounded by a furnace, the other end of is water jacketed. The air expands and contracts beneath a work piston that travels through a short stroke near the upper end of the cylinder. The air is displaced from end to end of the cylinder at the proper time by a large loosely fitting transfer piston independently connected to the crankshaft.
- Mr. Ericsson claimed his design improved the method of connecting the short stroke of the work piston so as to magnify the length of its stroke at the crankshaft. This also produced a longer stroke for the exchange piston in order to properly time its movement. He also made provisions for a water pump that was operated by the engine. It circulated water into the jacket surrounding the engine’s cylinder in order to more rapidly cool the hot air in the upper part of the cylinder.
- Mr. Ericsson was a prolific inventor; his inventions included many types of steam engines and associated apparatus as well as hot air engines. He was the designer of the USS Monitor for the North during the Civil War, and that vessel included one of his then new marine steam engine designs.
- The patent model is shown in the image. It is made of brass, steel and wood. All of the key elements of the patent are illustrated by the model including the crank mechanism and the water pump. The upper cylinder is cut away to illustrate the motion of the two pistons. Diagrams showing the complete design can be found in the patent document online (www.USPTO.gov).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patent date
- 1880-03-30
- inventor
- Ericsson, John
- ID Number
- MC.251286
- catalog number
- 251286
- accession number
- 48865
- patent number
- 226,052
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Brooks Water Wheel, Patent Model
- Description
- This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Edgar B. Brooks, of La Porte, Indiana, February 10, 1880; no. 224270.
- This is a nicely made brass model of an inward-flow reaction turbine having the register type of adjustable feed chutes or guide vanes and a cylinder water gate. The combination relieves the guide vanes of the function of cutting off the water when the wheel is to be stopped and makes it unnecessary that the guide vanes close perfectly, so that any looseness developed in them by wear is immaterial.
- Reference:
- This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1880
- patent date
- 1880-02-10
- inventor
- Brooks, Edgar B.
- ID Number
- MC.309689
- catalog number
- 309689
- accession number
- 89797
- patent number
- 224,270
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Bachelder Steam Engine Indicator
- Description
- Thomas and Bushnell manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 482, based on a design by Joseph Bachelder, who received patent number 360644 on April 5, 1887. It consists of a brass piston, a brass cylinder, and a large drum with a coil spring and a single record. The cantilever spring is enclosed in the tube; an adjustable fulcrum renders one spring usable over a range of values. Two springs are included: one low pressure 10-25 (20-50 pounds) and one high pressure 30-90 (60-175 pounds).
- An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine.
- A mechanical indicator consists of a piston, spring, stylus, and recording system. The gas pressure of the cylinder deflects the piston and pushes against the spring, creating a linear relationship between the gas pressure and the deflection of the piston against the spring. The deflection is recorded by the stylus on a rotating drum that is connected to the piston. Most indicators incorporate a mechanical linkage to amplify the movement of the piston to increase the scale of the record.
- When the ratio of the frequency of the pressure variation to the natural frequency of the system is small, then the dynamic deflection is equal to the static deflection. To design a system with a high natural frequency, the mass of the piston, spring, stylus, and mechanical linkage must be small, but the stiffness of the spring must be high. The indicator is subjected to high temperatures and pressures and rapid oscillations, imposing a limitation on the reduction in mass. Too stiff a spring will result in a small displacement of the indicator piston and a record too small to measure with accuracy. Multiplication of the displacement will introduce mechanical ad dynamic errors.
- The parameters of the problem for designing an accurate and trouble free recorder are such that there is no easy or simple solution. Studying the variety of indicators in the collection shows how different inventors made different compromises in their designs.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1887
- ID Number
- MC.316789
- catalog number
- 316789
- accession number
- 228496
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Whaler's Shoulder or Darting Gun
- Description
- By the later 19th century, guns had replaced most hand harpoons and lances, since they were far more efficient and deadly to the prey. They also could be shot from a safer distance from the prey than the hand tools could be wielded. The darting gun was one of the more popular types. Loaded with different darts, this versatile weapon could be used both for harpooning and killing whales.
- This particular gun was displayed at the 1883 International Fisheries Exhibition in London, England. After the display ended, it was donated to the Smithsonian by its inventor, Capt. Eben Pierce of New Bedford, Mass.
- date made
- 1880s
- guns replaced hand tools
- late 19th century
- displayed at the International Fisheries Exhibition
- 1883
- maker
- Pierce, Eben
- ID Number
- TR.316550
- catalog number
- 316550
- accession number
- 66767
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Whaler's Fluke Lance
- Description
- The most dangerous act in the dangerous business of whaling was “spading flukes.” The whaleboat drew up close alongside a desperate, unpredictable whale on the water surface, and a crewman used a boat spade or fluke lance to sever the whale’s tail tendons. This effectively immobilized the prey, for the whale couldn’t swim without its tail.
- According to James Temple Brown, who wrote the 1883 catalog of the Smithsonian’s whaling collection, the fluke lance was exceedingly rare and was regarded as “a monstrosity by all the fraternity”. This rare inscribed example was used aboard the starboard whaleboat of the bark Sea Fox.
- Date made
- ca 1880-1889
- authored whaling reference material
- Brown, James Temple
- maker
- Driggs, James D.
- ID Number
- TR.056358
- catalog number
- 056358
- accession number
- 012298
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Davies Steam Pump, Patent Model
- Description
- This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Joseph D. Davies, of Covington, Kentucky, March 9, 1880, no. 225351.
- The model represents a direct-acting steam pump, provided with two auxiliary oscillating cylinders, which offer a constantly decreasing resistance to the movement of the steam piston during the first half of its stroke and a constantly increasing assistance during the remaining half. The purpose of this is to equalize the effective force of the steam piston throughout its stroke when the steam is used expansively.
- The two auxiliary cylinders are mounted in trunnions, one on each side of the frame of the engine. The rods from the auxiliary pistons are attached to a clamp on the main piston rod, so located that the auxiliary cylinders are perpendicular to the main piston rod when the main piston is at midstroke. The auxiliary pistons, in the model, work against a spiral spring, which is compressed during the first half of the stroke and which expands during the last half. In effect the springs act as would a flywheel, storing the energy in excess of the resistance, while steam at high pressure acts upon the engine piston, and delivering the stored energy after the steam has been cut off and is expanding in the cylinder. The inventor described his device using a fluid, as steam or water under pressure within the auxiliary cylinders.
- Reference:
- This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1880
- patent date
- 1880-03-09
- inventor
- Davies, Joseph D.
- ID Number
- MC.308711
- catalog number
- 308711
- accession number
- 89797
- patent number
- 225,351
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Farmer Wind-Electric Generator Model
- Description
- Three solid wind wheels drive the armatures of three dynamos, which are in circuit with a small storage battery, an incandescent electric lamp, and switches. This model, constructed by Moses G. Farmer, electrical pioneer, about 1880, is one of the earliest suggestions of the use of wind power through the medium of the electric generator and storage battery.
- Much of the objection to the use of the windmill as a source of power was due to the intermittent nature of its operation. It was thought that it was suited only for pumping water or similar operations where the energy or work produced by the windmill could be stored during periods of useful wind velocities to be used as needed.
- Reference:
- This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1882
- maker
- Farmer, Moses G.
- ID Number
- MC.181985
- catalog number
- 181985
- accession number
- 2015.0173
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Fiske Oscillating Engine, Patent Model
- Description
- This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to William S. Friske, of Stamford, Connecticut, August 24, 1880, no. 231551.
- The model represents a vertical steam engine with an oscillating cylinder, circular slide valve, and hollow cylinder trunnions for the admission and exhaust of steam. Steam is admitted to the center of the annular valve through the adjacent trunnion. The exhaust is conveyed from the valve seat around the cylinder in a hollow band cast on the cylinder for that purpose and leaves the engine through the opposite trunnion. The valve is driven by an eccentric on the shaft. The valve rod is provided with a cross head moving in a guide on the cylinder and oscillating with it. The eccentric rod carries a pin that slides in a curved slot in the cross head and produces an even motion of the valve thereby.
- Reference:
- This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1880
- patent date
- 1880-08-24
- inventor
- Fiske, William S.
- ID Number
- MC.308712
- catalog number
- 308712
- accession number
- 89797
- patent number
- 231,551
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Knife
- Description
- A knife was an essential tool on a whaleboat, where the quick cutting of a tangled line snagged on a man’s ankle or on an object in the boat could mean the difference between life or death.
- Date made
- 1880s
- ID Number
- TR.103026
- catalog number
- 103026
- accession number
- 12328
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Rexford Fire Grate, Patent Model
- Description
- This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Model with the application for the patent issued to Philander Rexford, of Syracuse, New York, August 14, 1883, no. 283144.
- The model represents a furnace grate made up of long grate bars, which are pivoted midway of their depth and have projecting from the upper part of one side of each bar a series of teeth or ribs. When in their normal positions the bars stand obliquely and the smooth solid back of one bar and the ribbed face of the next form the two sides of a trough across the grate. The solid portion is designed to support very fine coal, while the ribbed portion permits the passage of air for combustion.
- Reference:
- This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1883
- patent date
- 1883-08-14
- inventor
- Rexford, Philander
- ID Number
- MC.309218
- catalog number
- 309218
- accession number
- 89797
- patent number
- 283,144
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Leuchsenring Rotary Water Engine, Patent Model
- Description
- This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Robert Leuchsenring, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, March 9, 1880, no. 225226.
- This is a form of engine in which a drum-shaped rotor turns in a casing, which is eccentric to the center of the drum, so that the drum runs against one part of the casing and a crescent-shaped annular space is formed between the casing and the drum. Water is admitted tangentially to the drum to one side of and away from the point at which the drum and casing meet. The water impinges upon abutments on the drum, turns the drum, and discharges from the engine about two-thirds of the way around the casing. The abutments on the drum slide into the drum to pass the casing and are held against the casings by springs.
- Reference:
- This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1880
- patent date
- 1880-03-09
- inventor
- Leuchsenring, Robert
- ID Number
- MC.308709
- catalog number
- 308709
- accession number
- 89797
- patent number
- 225,226
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Rigged Model, Sidewheel Cotton Packet J.M. White
- Description
- The Mississippi River sidewheel steamboat J.M. White was built at Jeffersonville, Ind., in 1878 for the Greenville and New Orleans Packet Company. Measuring 321’ long and 91’ in beam across the paddlebox guards, the White only sat 10’-6” deep in the water when fully laden. The steamboat was designed for Mississippi River packet service between New Orleans, La., and Greenville, Miss.
- The White was one of the largest, most expensive, luxurious, and most powerful river steamers ever built, with 2,800 horsepower and a capacity of 250 first-class passengers and 10,000 bales of cotton. Named after famous riverboat captain J. M. White (1823–1880), the “supreme triumph in cotton boat architecture” was a masterpiece of the gaudy, glamorous style known as “steamboat Gothic.” It had multiple bridal chambers; stained glass skylights and windows; rare wood veneers and gilded finishes; seven gilded “Egyptian-style” chandeliers; a sterling silver Tiffany water cooler in the 250’-long main cabin; monogrammed flatware and china; and a full concert grand piano.
- The White spent most of its eight-year career in service on the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Vicksburg, Miss. Despite its economy of size, the White’s high initial $220,000 cost, a spotty economy, and the rapidly expanding railroad network made the steamboat unprofitable. It caught fire, blew up, and burned to the waterline at a Louisiana landing in December 1886, killing several aboard.
- Date made
- 1974
- built
- 1878
- used date
- late 19th century
- ID Number
- TR.334847
- catalog number
- 334847
- accession number
- 315419
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Warren Spring Motor, Patent Model
- Description
- This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to John Warren, of Detroit, Michigan, April 20, 1880, no. 226813.
- The motor represented is of the class intended to operate light machinery such as a phonograph but differs from most of the class in that it employs a spiral spring instead of the usual coil spring. It converts the rectilinear motion of the spring into rotary motion and equalizes the varying tension of the spring.
- The free end of the spring carries a nut that engages in a spiral-grooved motor shaft, which revolves at the axis of the spring. A hand crank, worm, and worm wheel are used to compress the spring by turning the shaft in the reverse direction. The power is taken from a bevel gear on the shaft. A ball nut, which employs a ball to follow in the groove of the shaft, is used because an ordinary nut would not work in the groove of varying pitch. The varying pitch is used to compensate for the varying tension of the spring.
- Reference:
- This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1880
- patent date
- 1880-04-20
- inventor
- Warren, John
- ID Number
- MC.308835
- catalog number
- 308835
- accession number
- 89797
- patent number
- 226,813
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Otto and Bell Balanced Slide Valve, Patent Model
- Description
- This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Henry Otto and Patrick F. Bell, of Bloomington, Illinois, December 18, 1883, no. 290650.
- The model represents a D-slide valve of ordinary shape, with most of the back cut away and formed in the shape of a short hollow cylinder. This cylinder is filled with a closed piston suspended on rollers on a flat bar, which, in turn, is suspended from the top of the valve chest. The bar passes through a tunnel in the piston and is of sufficient length to accommodate the valve travel. The effect of this construction is that the steam pressure ordinarily exerted on the back of a flat valve is in this case exerted on a piston that is not a part of the valve but is suspended independently.
- Reference:
- This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1883
- patent date
- 1883-12-18
- inventor
- Otto, Henry
- Bell, Patrick F.
- ID Number
- MC.308719
- catalog number
- 308719
- accession number
- 89797
- patent number
- 290,650
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Thompson-American Steam Gauge Steam Engine Indicator
- Description
- The American Steam Gauge Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 662. It consists of a brass piston; a vented brass cylinder; an internal, single wound spring, which can be changed; a large drum with a coil spring and single record; and brass stylus.
- An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine.
- A mechanical indicator consists of a piston, spring, stylus, and recording system. The gas pressure of the cylinder deflects the piston and pushes against the spring, creating a linear relationship between the gas pressure and the deflection of the piston against the spring. The deflection is recorded by the stylus on a rotating drum that is connected to the piston. Most indicators incorporate a mechanical linkage to amplify the movement of the piston to increase the scale of the record.
- When the ratio of the frequency of the pressure variation to the natural frequency of the system is small, then the dynamic deflection is equal to the static deflection. To design a system with a high natural frequency, the mass of the piston, spring, stylus, and mechanical linkage must be small, but the stiffness of the spring must be high. The indicator is subjected to high temperatures and pressures and rapid oscillations, imposing a limitation on the reduction in mass. Too stiff a spring will result in a small displacement of the indicator piston and a record too small to measure with accuracy. Multiplication of the displacement will introduce mechanical ad dynamic errors.
- The parameters of the problem for designing an accurate and trouble free recorder are such that there is no easy or simple solution. Studying the variety of indicators in the collection shows how different inventors made different compromises in their designs.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1883
- ID Number
- MC.319490
- catalog number
- 319490
- accession number
- 237917
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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