Electricity in the service of human needs took centuries and the persistent and gradual discovery of a series of electrical phenomena.
About electricity
in the service of human needs, it took centuries and the persistent and gradual discovery of a series of electrical phenomena. It is difficult to say when was the first time something specific was known about electricity. People have noticed and been fascinated by natural phenomena such as lightning, thunders and the like a long time ago. It is believed that the ancient Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus (circa 600 BC) was the first to record that amber rubbed with fur attracts light objects such as hair, wool, and wood shavings. Humans’ desire to understand nature continues.
Much later
around 1600, English physician William Gilbert observed that other bodies, such as glass and wool, when rubbed with glass or fur acquire the same properties as amber. Gilbert says they were electrified. And it is no coincidence that in ancient Greek amber is called electron.
In the period from the 17th century to the end of the 19th century
significant discoveries have been made – distinguishing conductors from insulators, positive and negative electricity, galvanic effect, electric arc, electromagnetism and electrodynamics, electromagnetic induction, law of electrolysis, DC electric motor, carbon filament lamp, law of energy conservation.
The real turning point is the invention of the DC generator, which marks the era of electrification in the world. The last two decades of the 19th century saw a boom in the field of electricity, starting with the first DC power plant built in Paris in 1880 used to illuminate a limited area of the city. This was followed by the Edison Power Plant in New York in 1881, which used several generators to supply about 3,000 light bulbs for 59 consumers, in London in 1882, and in Berlin in 1883. The first AC power plant was built in Rome in 1886. Thousands of power plants were built in the United States and Europe in the 1990s, mainly to provide lighting.
Development continues. Nikola Tesla’s ingenious inventions and patents created conditions for the transmission of electricity over long distances. In 1891 a 175-km transmission line was built to transmit three-phase AC power from the hydroelectric plant in Laufen (Germany) to Frankfurt am Main based on the Tesla system.
In 1895
the first hydroelectric power plant, built according to Tesla patents, having three generators with a power of 3700 KW each started working in Niagara, USA. Electricity was transmitted at a distance of 35 km to the town of Buffalo, where it was used by the aluminum industry. The construction and start of operation of this hydropower plant is considered the start of electrification revolution of the world.
