DURING THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, many cities built mills next to rivers to take advantage of the free mechanical energy provided by the flowing water. These water turbines powered machinery through a series of pulleys driven by belts. Soon, they were replaced by steam engines. These early mills were lit by lanterns. The 19th century was a period of rapid innovation and many science and technology greats were in their prime, including Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, Bell and Armstrong. By 1832, the first generator had been invented. Several inventors developed incandescent light bulbs, which typically burned out after only a few hours. Electrification did not really take off untilThomas Edison's successful light bulb in 1879. The next major step was establishing a system of power distribution. In 1882, the first generating station began operation on Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan. This station used a 100kW DC generator. The first AC generator was built four years later in 1886. On April 29, 1879, Public Square in Cleveland became the very first outdoor public space to be electrically illuminated.
展开▼
