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.
646
Page 1 of 33
-
chromo lithograph of Corliss Centennial steam engine
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- MC.326224
- accession number
- 259741
- 1965.259741
- catalog number
- 326224
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Environmental Button
- Description (Brief)
- This button demonstrates two different forms of solar power. Most people associate solar power with capturing the heat of the sun (solar thermal) or its light (photovoltaics) for use. Wind power is also a form of solar energy since the sun heats the atmosphere and causes air to circulate. For many people, the 1970s energy crisis was a call to action to change how electricity was generated and used. Making the choice to “go solar”—and encouraging others to do the same—reflected growing optimism about the potential of clean, accessible solar energy.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1970s
- ID Number
- 2003.0014.0402
- accession number
- 2003.0014
- catalog number
- 2003.0014.0402
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
wrapthrough photovoltaic cell
- Description (Brief)
- Solar cells come in many shapes and sizes, and are manufactured with a variety of materials. The wafer of these octagonal cells is made with the element silicon. The dark areas convert sunlight into electricity while the thick and thin lines are part of the electrical circuit. This “wrap-through” design features four quadrants, each having a set of concentric circles with radiating lines on the front. A hole is set at the center of each quadrant. On the back are two main circuit leads parallel to each other that intersect two of the holes making the electrical connection between the front and back of the wafer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2016.0061.12
- accession number
- 2016.0061
- catalog number
- 2016.0061.12
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Gas Tax Total
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- c. 1950
- c. 1940
- graphic artist
- Rutledge Equipment Company
- ID Number
- 2009.0018.08
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Riedler Pumping Engine, 1901
- Description
- Between 1901 and 1959, this beautiful machine sat in the bowels of an electrical power generating station at Niagara Falls, New York, pumping oil to lubricate the turbines and other machinery. The pump was driven by waterpower, using a massive 26-bucket Pelton wheel.
- Lester Pelton, a millwright in Nevada City, California, improved waterwheels in the 1870s by redesigning their buckets. In the newly patented Pelton wheels built by his company in San Francisco, a jet of high-pressure water would be split by the bucket's dual hemispheres, deflecting each half of the jet back almost 180 degrees and thereby moving the wheel with considerably greater force.
- Date made
- 1901
- maker
- Allis-Chalmers Company
- ID Number
- MC.321404
- catalog number
- 321404
- accession number
- 243295
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
"Sunglow Solar Furnace" Button
- Description (Brief)
- This button is from Sunglow Solar Systems, a New York company that sold a residential heater called the Solar Furnace. These units were made by International Solarthermics Corporation in 1975 and used the sun to warm “tons of rock” in an “A-frame ‘battery’” mounted next to a house. Air blown across this ‘battery’ would carry warm air throughout the house.
- Reference: William G. Connally, “Friends of Solar Heating Bask in Hope,” New York Times, 8 June 1975, 259. “Test Set Up on Solar Furnace,” Washington Post, 1 November 1975, C15.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1975
- ID Number
- 2003.0014.0401
- accession number
- 2003.0014
- catalog number
- 2003.0014.0401
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Barack Obama's Pan To Make America A Global Energy Leader
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2008
- depicted (sitter)
- Obama, Barack H.
- ID Number
- 2008.0087.025
- catalog number
- 2008.0087.025
- accession number
- 2008.0087
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
plate, hot
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1930
- ID Number
- 1977.0935.09
- catalog number
- 1977.0935.09
- accession number
- 1977.0935
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Resistance coil for Edison dynamo
- Description (Brief)
- Resistance Coil, Edison Electric Light System. A cylindrical wooden mount partially wrapped with platinum wire mounted on a rectangular wooden base, two brass wire connectors on base. Used with first dynamo set up in factory, January 1881. "This was in use but a very short time and was afterwards replaced by an adjustable resistance box."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1881
- maker
- Edison Electric Co.
- ID Number
- EM.180941
- catalog number
- 180941
- accession number
- 24315
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
"Making the Solar Transition SED" Button
- Description (Brief)
- For many people, the 1970s energy crisis was a call to action to change how electricity was generated and used. Making the choice to “go solar”—and encouraging others to do the same—reflected growing optimism about the potential of clean, accessible solar energy. The button’s donor had no information about "SED Solar Transition” and there are several possible organizations this button might refer to. Anyone with information about this button is encouraged to leave a comment (below.)
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1970s
- ID Number
- 2003.0014.0380
- accession number
- 2003.0014
- catalog number
- 2003.0014.0380
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Wind Power
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1986.0773.105
- accession number
- 1986.0773
- catalog number
- 1986.0773.105
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
"Look Up CAL SEIA Solar Jobs Ralley 1983"
- Description (Brief)
- This button promoted a political rally in California held by the Solar Energy Industry Association in 1983. The rally organizers sought to emphasize solar power’s potential to generate jobs as well as electricity. For many people, the 1970s energy crisis was a call to action to change how electricity was generated and used. Making the choice to “go solar”—and encouraging others to do the same—reflected growing optimism about the potential of clean, accessible solar energy.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1983
- ID Number
- 2003.0014.0381
- accession number
- 2003.0014
- catalog number
- 2003.0014.0381
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Button
- Description (Brief)
- This colorful button was distributed by Solar Future, an advocacy group in Sacramento, California, promoting solar energy. For many people, the 1970s energy crisis was a call to action to change how electricity was generated and used. Making the choice to “go solar”—and encouraging others to do the same—reflected growing optimism about the potential of clean, accessible solar energy.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1970s
- ID Number
- 2003.0014.0405
- catalog number
- 2003.0014.0405
- accession number
- 2003.0014
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
First Van de Graaff generator, 1931
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1979.0564.01.04
- accession number
- 1979.0564
- catalog number
- 1979.0564.01.04
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
button
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1981.0487.01
- accession number
- 1981.0487
- catalog number
- 1981.0487.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
card
- Location
- Currently not on view
- used date
- 2011
- depicted (sitter)
- Palin, Sarah Heath
- ID Number
- 2012.0163.44
- accession number
- 2012.0163
- catalog number
- 2012.0163.44
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
sticker
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- c1980
- ID Number
- 1981.0434.14
- catalog number
- 1981.0434.14
- accession number
- 1981.0434
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
"Project Sun" Button
- Description (Brief)
- For many people, the 1970s energy crisis was a call to action to change how electricity was generated and used. Making the choice to “go solar”—and encouraging others to do the same—reflected growing optimism about the potential of clean, accessible solar energy. The button’s donor had no information about “Project Sun” and there are several possible projects this button might refer to. Anyone with information about this button is encouraged to leave a comment (below.)
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1970s
- ID Number
- 2003.0014.0399
- accession number
- 2003.0014
- catalog number
- 2003.0014.0399
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
"Roofus One in a Million" Button
- Description (Brief)
- This button promoted the U.S. Department of Energy’s Million Solar Roof initiative, a program that ran from 1997 to 2005. Directed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, the program served as a model for state-level programs including the California Solar Initiative. For many people, the 1970s energy crisis was a call to action to change how electricity was generated and used. Making the choice to “go solar”—and encouraging others to do the same—reflected growing optimism about the potential of clean, accessible solar energy.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1997-2005
- ID Number
- 2003.0014.0378
- accession number
- 2003.0014
- catalog number
- 2003.0014.0378
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
carburetor, coal gas
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patent date
- 1875-01-14
- ID Number
- 1977.1216.005
- catalog number
- 1977.1216.005
- accession number
- 1977.1216
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Pages
Filter Your Results
Click to remove a filter:
- data source
-
topic
- Energy & Power 646
- Lamps 409
- Industrialization 56
- Manufacturing industries 56
- Mathematics 52
- Science 52
- Ecology 28
- Modern Physics 26
- Scientific apparatus and instruments 26
- Transportation 24
- Lasers 23
- Environmental Buttons 17
- On the Water exhibit 17
- Architecture 14
- Engineering 12
- Artifact Walls exhibit 11
- Politics 9
- Thomson Welding 9
- Clothing and dress 8
- Dress accessories 8
-
object type
- Incandescent lamps (lighting device components) 210
- discharge lamp 140
- fluorescent lamp 76
- Models 16
- Lighting Devices; Edison; Coiled; Metal 15
- solar cell 15
- discharge lamp components 12
- laser 12
- photovoltaic cell 12
- Button 11
- Lighting Devices 10
- Patents 10
- welding sample 9
- button 8
- discharge lamp; Fluorescent 7
- Fluorescent 6
- Lighting Devices; Edison; Horseshoe; Carbon 6
- discharge lamp component 6
- incandescent lamp components 6
- Hair ornaments 5
- date
- place
- culture
-
set name
- Work and Industry: Electricity 543
- Electric Lamps 409
- National Museum of American History 97
- Industry & Manufacturing 56
- Lighting a Revolution 55
- Science & Mathematics 52
- Medicine and Science: Modern Physics 28
- Modern Physics 25
- Transportation 24
- Lasers 23
- Work 21
- Measuring & Mapping 19
- Work and Industry: Maritime 19
- Environmental Buttons 17
- Medicine and Science: Biological Sciences 17
- On the Water exhibit 17
- On the Water 16
- American Enterprise 15
- Natural Resources 14
