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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The Propeller Indiana’s “Philadelphia Wheel”
- Description
- Indiana's propeller was manufactured by Spang & Co. of Pittsburgh, PA, as stamped on one of the blades. This firm, a large iron manufacturing company centered in Pittsburgh, PA, was founded in 1828 and was one of the earliest and largest manufacturers of iron products in the United States.
- The hub of the propeller is cast iron; the blades are rolled iron. One of the intact blades is chipped and dented, suggesting a collision. Another blade is missing outside the yellow line, which marks where a large section broke loose, probably from hitting an object in the water. This piece struck the Indiana's sternpost, literally “shivered her timbers,” and started the leak that sank the ship. The blade broke off completely when the ship struck the lakebed and was found at the wreck site, buried in the sand under the stern post. It is reproduced here in fiberglass.
- The closest design is by Richard Loper of Philadelphia, who registered three propeller-related patents in 1844 and 1845 and licensed his ideas to shipbuilders Reany, Neafie & Co., also of Philadelphia. Contemporary accounts state that Loper’s design was the most popular in the Great Lakes region, and some Lakes propeller manufacturers even advertised his design as the “Philadelphia Wheel.”
- Date made
- 1848
- possible patentee
- Loper, Richard
- maker
- Spang & Company
- ID Number
- 1979.1030.05
- catalog number
- 1979.1030.05
- accession number
- 1979.1030
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Model, LNG Carrier Methane Shirley Elisabeth
- Description
- Liquid natural gas (LNG) is composed mostly of methane (80–99%). For shipping, it is chilled to -260°F, at which point it is condensed into a liquid 1/600 of its original volume. It is transported globally in this form aboard ships with insulated containers that offload it at special terminals.
- LNG tankers have been around the United States since 1959, when the first cargo was exported from Lake Charles, Louisiana, to England. There are around 200 LNG tankers in service in 2007, and nearly that many more are on order at specialized shipyards to meet the globe’s growing demand for this source of energy.
- LNG tankers have completed more than 40,000 voyages without serious incident; they have the best safety record of any category of commercial shipping. However, they are among the world’s most expensive and difficult ships to build.
- Methane Shirley Elisabeth is one of the newest types of LNG tankers, having been delivered to its owners in March 2007. Its double hulls, separated by six feet of seawater, protect the four gas tanks, which are refrigerated and insulated to maintain the -260°F temperature. The tanks, or membranes, consist of layers of stainless steel and other materials alternating with thick foam insulation. The insides of the membranes are lined with stainless steel, corrugated in two dimensions to prevent the frozen gas from sloshing around inside.
- Date made
- 2006
- maker
- Samsung
- ID Number
- 2007.0205.01
- accession number
- 2007.0205
- catalog number
- 2007.0205.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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