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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Experimental fluorescent lamp
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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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
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Experimental Short Arc Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Experimental 5,000 watt mini-arc lamp that lamp burned for 25 hours with no evident blackening.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1967-05-26
- maker
- Fridrich, Elmer G.
- ID Number
- 1996.0147.11
- catalog number
- 1996.0147.11
- accession number
- 1996.0147
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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High pressure sodium lamp
- Description (Brief)
- "Lumalux" high pressure sodium lamp, base-up design, rated at 150 watts. Designed for exterior lighting.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1980
- maker
- Sylvania Electric Products Inc.
- ID Number
- 1998.0005.13
- catalog number
- 1998.0005.13
- accession number
- 1998.0005
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Integral Compact Fluorescent Lamp
- Description
- Inventors seeking to develop energy-efficient lamps could not simply start with a blank piece of paper. They needed to work within the capabilities of existing lighting and power systems. Sometimes even small features had an influence, like the use of the screw-in base and socket.
- What became the standard screw-in lamp base and socket was introduced by Thomas Edison in 1883, and it hasn't changed since. To this day often referred to as an "Edison base," it's formally known as the medium-screw base. While there are other base sizes (and types), the medium-screw base is the most common, especially in residential light fixtures.
- Since sockets for this base are so widespread, designers of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) like this 1993 Panasonic "Light Capsule" needed to ensure their products would fit that size. This model EFG16LE lamp is an integral unit--it's all in one piece, including the screw-in base. Other modular lamps used specially designed plug-in bases. The plug-in base has several advantages over the medium-screw base. One of the most important is that if the light fixture takes a plug-in base, one can't use a cheap regular lamp in place of the more expensive CFL.
- But few homes had fixtures with plug-in bases. And lamp makers realized that few homeowners would replace their fixtures just to use the new lamps. So inventors needed to design their lamps with the screw-base, or develop an adaptor.
- Lamp characteristics: Medium-screw base with plastic skirt containing an electronic ballast and starter. Fluorescent tube assembly containing two electrodes, mercury, and an internal phosphor coating. White, G-shaped glass envelope covers the tube assembly. This lamp came in its original package. Rated at 16 watts, it's intended as a replacement for 60 watt incandescent lamps.
- date made
- ca. 1993
- Date made
- ca 1993
- manufacturer
- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
- ID Number
- 1996.0357.01
- accession number
- 1996.0357
- catalog number
- 1996.0357.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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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
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Experimental "Magnetic Arc-Spreading" compact fluorescent lamp
- Description
- The energy crises of the 1970s inspired inventors to try novel ideas for new light bulbs. One of the more unusual designs emerged from the drawing board of Manhattan Project veteran Leo Gross. Supported by Merrill Skeist at Spellman High Voltage Electronics Corporation, Gross designed a compact fluorescent lamp that he called a "magnetic arc spreader" (MAS).
- The design took advantage of a fundamental aspect of electro-magnetism known since the early 1800s. When a current flows through a coil of wire, it produces a magnetic field. The arc discharge that travels between the electrodes of a fluorescent lamp can be affected by the presence of such a field. In the center of the MAS lamp seen here there is a copper coil. Current moving through the coil creates a magnetic field that spreads out the electrical arc within the lamp. The expanded arc energizes phosphor throughout the lamp's entire length.
- The concept was tested at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, and General Electric became interested. In 1978 GE purchased a one-year license from Spellman in order to conduct further tests but determined that the necessary glasswork would make the lamp too expensive for commercial production. GE donated one of their test lamps to the Smithsonian in 1998—the only known surviving example of this experimental design.
- Lamp characteristics: No base. Two stranded lead-wires extend about 2" from either end, and each end has one lead wire encased in a glass insulating tube. Two coiled tungsten electrodes are mounted in a hollow cylindrical envelope. The exhaust tip is near one set of leads, and the envelope has an internal phosphor coating. A coil of bare copper wire held together with black string is inserted into the center of the envelope. A current passing thru this coil spreads the arc between electrodes so that more of the phosphor is activated.
- Date made
- ca 1978
- date made
- ca. 1978
- maker
- General Electric Corporate Research & Development Laboratory
- inventor
- Spellman High Voltage Electronics Corp.
- ID Number
- 1998.0050.15
- accession number
- 1998.0050
- catalog number
- 1998.0050.15
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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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
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Mercury Vapor Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- “Super Hi” mercury vapor lamp rated at 400 watts. Metal reflectors on the arc tube and the unusually shaped electrodes.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1960
- maker
- Westinghouse Electric Corp.
- ID Number
- 1997.0389.50
- accession number
- 1997.0389
- catalog number
- 1997.0389.50
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Mercury Vapor Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- A type S-2 sunlamp featured a cap placed over the bulb to increase the ultraviolet output and minimize glare.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1935
- maker
- General Electric Company
- ID Number
- 1997.0387.07
- accession number
- 1997.0387
- catalog number
- 1997.0387.07
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Reproduction Steinmetz Patent Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- A reproduction of Charles Steinmetz’s 1912 mercury vapor lamp made for defense of U.S. patent 3,234,421.
- date made
- 1965
- maker
- General Electric Lighting Company
- ID Number
- 1996.0084.02
- catalog number
- 1996.0084.02
- accession number
- 1996.0084
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Xenon Short-Arc Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Xenon short-arc lamp in protective case. The steel case is intended to contain shards in case the lamp explodes.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1970
- maker
- Westinghouse Electric Corporation
- ID Number
- 2001.0084.15
- accession number
- 2001.0084
- catalog number
- 2001.0084.15
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Neon-glow Indicator Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Incomplete miniature glow-lamps without fill gas. Used as indicator lamps.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1980
- maker
- General Electric Company
- ID Number
- 1996.0147.57A
- accession number
- 1996.0147
- catalog number
- 1996.0147.57A
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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High Pressure Sodium Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Production "SON-AGRO" high pressure sodium lamp in original package. Made to aid plant-growth.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- 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
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Low pressure sodium lamp, type Na-10
- Description
- As knowledge of materials and experience making electric lamps grew in the early 20th century, more efficient light sources began to reach the market. In 1932 a collaboration of General Electric Company of England (GEC), Philips in the Netherlands, and Osram in Germany introduced a discharge lamp that used low-pressure sodium vapor. The key to a workable sodium lamp lay in a special glass (called borate glass) that could withstand the very corrosive nature of sodium. Arthur Compton in the U.S. described such a glass in 1926. But it took five more years to learn how to actually produce it so that a lamp could be made.
- Discharge lamps make light by passing an electrical current through a gas, in this case sodium vapor. The current energizes the gas which then emits light. In this lamp, the sodium is contained by the bulb, which is lined with the borate glass. The lamp in turn is mounted inside a larger, double-walled glass jacket (part of the light fixture, not shown) to keep the temperature around the lamp stable during operation. Sodium light is a stark yellow suitable only for use in applications like street lighting, but the energy efficiency is very high. Early models gave 40 lumens per watt (lpw), a figure that reached about 100 lpw by 1960. Today's low-pressure sodium lamps give close to 200 lpw, the most energy efficient light source commercially available.
- This lamp was made for street-lighting use by (U.S.) General Electric around 1940.
- Lamp characteristics: Plastic, four-post base. Re-coiled tungsten electrodes mounted inside metal shields. The small brown cylinder mounted near the stem press is a starting resistance. Six asbestos insulator rings mount on the lamp's neck and are secured by the brass collar. (The rings have been removed and stored while the lamp is on display and are not in this picture.) Tipless, T-shaped envelope with about 70% of the inner wall coated by condensed sodium.
- date made
- ca. 1940
- Date made
- ca 1940
- Associated Name
- Sero, Charles M.
- maker
- General Electric Vapor Lamp Company
- ID Number
- 1997.0387.14
- accession number
- 1997.0387
- catalog number
- 1997.0387.14
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Neon Sign "NBS"
- Description (Brief)
- Luminous Sign with neon gas designed by Perley Gilman Nutting (1873–1949) and made by Edward O. Sperling at the National Bureau of Standards. Exhibited at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904.
- Description
- Label found with object: "Luminous Sign Designed by P. G. Nutting, Made by Sperling - National Bureau of Standards, Exhibited at St. Louis Exposition 1904 (contained neon gas. Bulb cracked - broken terminal, Mch. 1958)". Perley Gilman Nutting (1873–1949) was a scientist investigating electrical discharges in gasses at NBS. He was also 1st president of the Optical Society of America.
- Ref: Bulletin of the Bureau of Standards: Volume 7, Issues 143-168 - Page 49, United States. Bureau of Standards - 1911:
- "The Intensities of Some Hydrogen Argon and Helium Lines in Relation to Current and Pressure PG Nutting and Orin Tugman The intensities of spectrum lines are known to vary widely with the condition of the gas or vapor emitting them This paper contains the results of a study of the visible spectra of hydrogen argon and helium contained in Plucker tubes The curves given show the variations in the intensities of about 20 lines with varying current and gas density Potential gradient as a function of current was determined for hydrogen and helium so that for these gases line intensity is known as a function of the internal energy of the gas Finally a summary of the important new results is given Aug 6 1910 22 pp"
- Bulletin of the Bureau of Standards: Volume 4 - Page 511, books.google.comUnited States. National Bureau of Standards - 1908 - THE LUMINOUS PROPERTIES OF ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING HELIUM GAS. By PG Nutting.
- Bulletin: Volume 8 - Page 487, 1913 - LUMINOUS PROPERTIES OF ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING HELIUM GAS. II. REPRODUCIBILITY By PG Nutting:
- "The Luminous Properties of Electrically Conducting Helium Gas II Reproducibility PG Nutting This paper gives the results of photometric and spectrophotometric tests of a set of 38 helium tubes made up and operated as shown most advisable by preliminary work The tubes do not differ measurably in color In light emission per cm of capillary the average deviation is 1.15 per cent the maximum deviation 3 per cent the uncertainty in observation being 1 percent Aug 25 1911 8 pp"
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1904
- associated date
- 1904
- maker
- National Bureau of Standards
- Sperling, Edward O.
- designer
- Nutting, Perley Gilman
- ID Number
- EM.334753
- catalog number
- 334753
- accession number
- 314637
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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High Pressure Sodium Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- High pressure sodium lamp with “Corstar Sapphire” arc tube. The clear arc-tube is an artificial single-crystal.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1970
- maker
- Westinghouse Electric Corp.
- ID Number
- 2001.0084.04
- accession number
- 2001.0084
- catalog number
- 2001.0084.04
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Experimental Projection Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Mini-arc projection lamp. Reflector has a dichroic film that reflects visible light but transmits infrared light.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1976
- maker
- General Electric Company
- ID Number
- 1996.0147.39F
- accession number
- 1996.0147
- catalog number
- 1996.0147.39F
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Demonstration Sulphur Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Demonstration electrodeless sulfur bulb powered by microwave energy.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1996
- maker
- Fusion Lighting, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1996.0359.04
- catalog number
- 1996.0359.04
- accession number
- 1996.0359
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Experimental Short Arc Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- Experimental mini-arc lamp with Y-shaped quartz envelope and diffusion bonded foils.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1967
- maker
- Fridrich, Elmer G.
- ID Number
- 1996.0147.77
- accession number
- 1996.0147
- catalog number
- 1996.0147.77
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History