History of Electricity Infobook

History of Electricity
Starting with Ben
Mr. Edison and His Light
Many people think Benjamin

Franklin discovered electricity
with his famous kite-flying
experiments in 1752. That isnt
the whole story. Electricity was
not discovered all at once.
In 1879, Thomas Edison

focused on inventing a
practical light bulb, one that
would last a long time before
burning out. The challenge
was finding a strong material
to be used as the filament, the
small wire inside the bulb that
conducts the electricity.
Electricity is an actionnot
really a thingso different
forms of electricity had been
known in nature for a long
time. Lightning and static
electricity were two forms.
In the early years, electricity Image courtesy of NOAA Photo Library
became associated with light.
After all, electricity lights up the sky during a thunderstorm. Likewise,
static electricity creates tiny, fiery sparks. People wanted a cheap and
safe way to light their homes, and scientists thought electricity could
do it.
A Different Kind of Power: The Battery

The road to developing a practical use of electricity was a long one. Until
1800, there was no dependable source of electricity for experiments.
It was in this year that an Italian scientist named Alessandro Volta
soaked some paper in salt water, placed zinc and copper on alternate
sides of the paper, and watched the chemical reaction produce an
electric current. Volta had created the first electric cell.
By connecting many of these cells together, Volta was able to string a
current and create a battery. (It is in honor of Volta that we measure
battery power in volts.) Finally, a safe and dependable source of
electricity was available, making it easy for scientists to study electricity.
The electric age was just around the corner!
A Current Began
English scientist Michael Faraday was the first to realize that an electric
current could be produced by passing a magnet through copper wiring.
Both the electric generator and the electric motor are based on this
principle. (A generator converts motion energy into electricity. A motor
converts electrical energy into motion.)
Finally, Edison used ordinary

cotton thread that had been
soaked in carbon. The filament
did not burninstead, it
Image courtesy of U.S. Library of Congress
became incandescent; that
Thomas Edison in his lab in 1901.
is, it glowed. These new lights
were battery-powered, though, and expensive.
The next obstacle was developing an electrical system that could
provide people with a practical, inexpensive source of energy. Edison
went about looking for ways to make electricity both practical and
inexpensive. He engineered the first electric power plant that was able
to carry electricity to peoples homes.
Edisons Pearl Street Power Station started up its generator on
September 4, 1882, in New York City. About 85 customers in lower
Manhattan received enough power to light 5,000 lamps. His customers
paid a lot for their electricity. In todays dollars, the electricity cost $5
per kilowatt-hour! Todays electricity costs about twelve cents per
kilowatt-hour.
The Question: AC or DC?

The turning point of the electric age came a few years later with the
development of AC (alternating current) power systems. Now power
plants could transport electricity much farther than before. In 1895,
George Westinghouse and his associates opened a major power plant
at Niagara Falls that used AC power.
While Edisons DC (direct current) plant could only transport electricity
within one square mile of his Pearl Street Power Station, the Niagara
Falls plant was able to transport electricity over 200 miles!
Electricity didnt have an easy beginning. While many people were
thrilled with all the new inventions, some people were afraid of
electricity and wary of bringing it into their homes. They were afraid to
let their children near this strange new power source.
Many social critics of the day saw electricity as an end to a simpler,
less hectic way of life. Poets commented that electric lights were less
romantic than gaslights. Perhaps they were right, but the new electric
age could not be dimmed.
In 1920, about two percent of U.S. energy was used to make electricity.
In 2010, with the increasing use of technologies powered by electricity,
it was 41 percent.
2011 The NEED Project
P.O. Box 10101, Manassas, VA 20108
1.800.875.5029
www.NEED.org
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History of Electricity

Starting with Ben

Mr. Edison and His Light

Many people think Benjamin

In 1879, Thomas Edison

A Different Kind of Power: The Battery

Finally, Edison used ordinary

The Question: AC or DC?

2011 The NEED Project

P.O. Box 10101, Manassas, VA 20108

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