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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Maser Focusing Assembly
- Description
- This object, the focusing assembly from the second maser, was made at Columbia University in 1954 by a team led by physicist Charles H. Townes. Maser stands for Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Masers operate on the same principals as lasers, but they amplify microwaves instead of light. In fact, masers came first. Microwaves have lower energy levels than light and so were easier to produce, although the maser was not a simple invention.
- After working on microwave radar and other devices during the Second World War, Townes undertook investigations of microwave spectroscopy at Columbia University. Working with James Gordon and Herbert Zeigler, he successfully demonstrated an ammonia-beam maser in April 1954. The unit was quite large so Townes developed a smaller unit later that year, several pieces of which were donated to the Smithsonian in 1965.
- date made
- 1954
- associated date
- 1953
- maker
- Townes, Charles H.
- ID Number
- EM.323893
- catalog number
- 323893
- accession number
- 260038
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Texas Instruments 2N337 Silicon Grown Junction Transistor
- Description (Brief)
- Transistors, invented at Bell Labs in 1947, gave engineers a powerful new tool for controlling the flow of electrons in circuits. Previous electronic devices used vacuum tubes that were fragile and consumed a lot of electricity. Transistors like these 2N337 units from 1957 proved far more reliable and needed very little power to function. The clear plastic block holds two examples of this silicon transistor design, one of which has the cover removed to show construction details. The 2N337 served as a high-speed switch for use in circuits on satellites.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1958
- maker
- Texas Instruments
- ID Number
- 1987.0487.030
- catalog number
- 1987.0487.030
- collector/donor number
- G00270
- accession number
- 1987.0487
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Mercury Vapor Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Experimental mercury vapor lamp rated at 1000 watts. Typewritten label indicates a test run of "12,120 hours.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1950
- maker
- Westinghouse Electric Corp.
- ID Number
- 1997.0389.44
- accession number
- 1997.0389
- catalog number
- 1997.0389.44
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Experimental Tungsten Halogen Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Early experimental tungsten halogen lamp made in mid 1955 by co-inventor Elmer Fridrich.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1955
- maker
- Fridrich, Elmer G.
- ID Number
- 1996.0147.01
- catalog number
- 1996.0147.01
- accession number
- 1996.0147
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Sunlamp
- Description (Brief)
- S-1 sunlamp with both incandescent and mercury vapor technology in one lamp. Clear envelope was only used for one year.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1950
- Maker
- General Electric
- ID Number
- 1997.0388.77
- accession number
- 1997.0388
- catalog number
- 1997.0388.77
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Wave guide with ruby crystal
- Description
- This is an experimental device made by Theodore Maiman at Hughes Aircraft in late 1959 or early 1960 as part of the series of experiments leading up to the demonstration of the first laser in May 1960. This object features a cube-shaped ruby crystal mounted at one end of a microwave wave-guide. Maiman sought to test the response of the synthetic ruby crystal to microwave stimulation. Other researchers claimed that ruby would be a poor material to use in a laser. Maiman thought otherwise.
- After Charles Townes invented the microwave-emitting maser in 1954, researchers began trying to move to the higher energy levels of infrared and visible light. They referred to such devices as "optical masers," and only later did people adopt Gordon Gould's term, "laser." This experimental piece clearly shows the influence of microwave technology. The metal tube is not a stand but rather a hollow guide that channels microwaves to the ruby crystal. The results of this and other experiments led Maiman to ultimately choose a cylinder of ruby rather than a cube for his laser.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1959
- associated date
- 1960
- associated user
- unknown
- associated institution
- Hughes Research Laboratories
- maker
- Maiman, Theodore H.
- Hughes Aircraft Company
- ID Number
- EM.330052
- accession number
- 288813
- catalog number
- 330052
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Experimental solar cell module
- Description (Brief)
- Scientists and inventors in the 19th century recognized that some materials respond electrically to exposure to light. Alexander Graham Bell, for example, demonstrated in 1880 a “photophone” that could transmit voices using the action of sunlight on selenium. In the 1930s, Daryl Chapin studied magnetic recording at Bell Labs but later shifted to research on generating electricity with sunlight. In 1954, building on earlier work done by colleague Russell Ohl on fused silicon, Chapin, Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson invented a practical solar cell. In 1969 Chapin donated two of his experimental solar cells to the Smithsonian. He also donated a module used in a test installation in Americus, Georgia, to power a rural telephone relay.
- date made
- 1955
- maker
- Bell Laboratories
- ID Number
- EM.330094
- catalog number
- 330094
- accession number
- 285748
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Experimental silicon solar cell
- Description (Brief)
- Scientists and inventors in the 19th century recognized that some materials respond electrically to exposure to light. Alexander Graham Bell, for example, demonstrated in 1880 a “photophone” that could transmit voices using the action of sunlight on selenium. In the 1930s, Daryl Chapin studied magnetic recording at Bell Labs but later shifted to research on generating electricity with sunlight. In 1954, building on earlier work done by colleague Russell Ohl on fused silicon, Chapin, Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson invented a practical solar cell. In 1969 Chapin donated two of his experimental solar cells to the Smithsonian. He also donated a module used in a test installation in Americus, Georgia, to power a rural telephone relay.
- date made
- 1954-03-03
- 1954
- associated date
- 1954
- associated user
- unknown
- maker
- Bell Laboratories
- ID Number
- EM.330095
- catalog number
- 330095
- accession number
- 285748
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Coiled-coil Tungsten Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Sylvania tungsten lamp with a coiled-coil filament.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1950
- maker
- Sylvania Electric Products Inc.
- ID Number
- 1992.0342.31
- accession number
- 1992.0342
- catalog number
- 1992.0342.31
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Mercury Vapor Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Experimental mercury vapor lamp with clear envelope, rated at 250 watt. The arc-tube is breached in this unit.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1951
- maker
- Westinghouse Electric Corp.
- ID Number
- 1997.0389.46
- accession number
- 1997.0389
- catalog number
- 1997.0389.46
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Electroluminescent panel
- Description (Brief)
- Experimental electroluminescent panel. This flexible panel provides low-level, diffuse light.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1958
- maker
- Sylvania Electric Products Inc.
- ID Number
- 1998.0005.04
- catalog number
- 1998.0005.04
- accession number
- 1998.0005
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Experimental silicon solar cell
- Description (Brief)
- Scientists and inventors in the 19th century recognized that some materials respond electrically to exposure to light. Alexander Graham Bell, for example, demonstrated in 1880 a “photophone” that could transmit voices using the action of sunlight on selenium. In the 1930s, Daryl Chapin studied magnetic recording at Bell Labs but later shifted to research on generating electricity with sunlight. In 1954, building on earlier work done by colleague Russell Ohl on fused silicon, Chapin, Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson invented a practical solar cell. In 1969 Chapin donated two of his experimental solar cells to the Smithsonian. He also donated a module used in a test installation in Americus, Georgia, to power a rural telephone relay.
- date made
- 1953-09-10
- 1953
- associated date
- 1953
- associated user
- unknown
- associated person
- Chapin, Daryl M.
- maker
- Bell Laboratories
- ID Number
- EM.330096
- catalog number
- 330096
- accession number
- 285748
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Tungsten Filament Projection Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Coiled tungsten filament lamp for use in a projector.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1950
- Maker
- Western Union Corporation
- ID Number
- EM.333057
- accession number
- 294351
- catalog number
- 333057
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Mercury Vapor Sunlamp
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Mercury Vapor Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Experimental mercury vapor lamp made with a heavy phosphor coating to improve the color of the light.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1950
- maker
- Westinghouse Electric Corp.
- ID Number
- 1997.0389.43
- accession number
- 1997.0389
- catalog number
- 1997.0389.43
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Bell Telephone Labs experimental P/N photovoltaic cell
- Description (Brief)
- Bell Labs researchers Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson invented a practical solar cell in 1954. The company adapted the invention to power telephone equipment in remote locations and licensed the technology to other companies. This early experimental cell still generates a small amount of electricity today.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1954
- maker
- Bell Laboratories
- ID Number
- 2016.0061.01
- accession number
- 2016.0061
- catalog number
- 2016.0061.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Experimental Photo-Flood Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Experimental flood lamp made during tests of halogen technology for potential use in photographic lighting.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1956
- maker
- Fridrich, Elmer G.
- ID Number
- 1996.0147.06
- accession number
- 1996.0147
- catalog number
- 1996.0147.06
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Microscope Illuminator Lamp
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Experimental Mercury-Arc Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Two tungsten halogen lamps connected by a glass tube to study an electric arc in a mercury-vapor atmosphere.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1956
- maker
- Fridrich, Elmer G.
- ID Number
- 1996.0147.05
- accession number
- 1996.0147
- catalog number
- 1996.0147.05
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Heat Lamp
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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