The Invention of the Electric Dynamo
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The Invention of the Electromotive Engine B. J. G. van der Kooij This case study is part of the research work being completed in preparation for a doctorate-dissertation to be submitted to the University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands (www.tudelft.nl). It is part of a series of case studies about “Innovation” under the title “The Invention Series.” About the text—This is a scholarly case study describing the historic developments that resulted in electromotive engines. It is based on a large number of historic and contemporary sources. As we did not conduct any research into primary sources, we made use of the efforts of numerous others by citing them quite extensively to preserve the original character of their contributions. Where possible we identified the individual authors of the citations. When an author is not identifiable, we identified the source of the text. Facts that are considered to be of a general character in the public domain are not cited. About the pictures—Many of the pictures used in this study were found on websites accessed through the Internet. Where possible they were traced to their origins, and the source is indicated. As most photos are past the age where copyright would apply, we feel that we make fair use of the pictures to illustrate the scholarly case, and this use is not an infringement of copyright. Copyright © 2015 B. J. G. van der Kooij Cover art is line drawing of Bush’ electric dynamo (US Patent № 189.997) and Dobrowolsky’s electric motor (US patent № 469.515). (courtesy USPTO) Version 1.1 (March 2015) All rights reserved. ISBN: 1503095878 ISBN-13: 978-1503095878 The Invention of the Electro-motive Engine Contents Contents ............................................................................................ i Preface ............................................................................................. v About the Invention Series ................................................................... vii About our research .............................................................................. viii About this case study ..............................................................................x Context for the discoveries ................................................................ 1 The nineteenth century .......................................................................... 3 A time of changes: political, economic, social, technical......................... 3 Science discovers and applies electricity ............................................... 24 Electricity as phenomenon: the nature of lightning ............................... 32 Electricity explored ...................................................................................... 38 Creation of electromagnetic power ........................................................... 63 Electrochemistry: the wet cell .................................................................... 66 The power of lightning understood ...................................................... 69 The invention of the electric DC motor ........................................... 71 The direct current electric motor ......................................................... 71 The electromagnetic reciprocal engine ..................................................... 72 The electromagnetic rotatory engine ........................................................ 76 The invention of the DC motor ................................................................ 82 A cluster of innovations for the DC motor ............................................ 85 i B.J.G. van der Kooij The invention of the electric dynamo .............................................. 87 Electricity generators: the dry battery ................................................... 88 Principle of the dynamo: DC/AC ............................................................. 90 Early magneto-electric dynamos ............................................................... 91 The self-exciting electric dynamo ............................................................ 108 Some of the later dynamos ....................................................................... 123 From Component to System ................................................................... 125 The invention of the magneto-electric dynamo .................................... 128 A cluster of innovation for the dynamo ................................................. 129 The Electric Revolution ..................................................................... 135 Industrial bonanza: cluster of businesses ............................................... 135 Booming markets ....................................................................................... 140 Early electric systems ................................................................................ 142 The era of power ............................................................................... 143 Mobile applications of DC motors ......................................................... 144 Stationary applications of DC motors .................................................... 153 The invention of the electric induction motor ............................... 159 Alternating current: electromagnetic components .............................. 162 From induction coil to three-phase transformer .................................. 162 Alternating current: the induction motor ........................................... 166 Science and engineering discover induction .......................................... 166 Early induction motors ............................................................................. 169 The polyphase induction motor .............................................................. 172 Parallel development of the AC generator .......................................... 184 Later versions of induction motors ........................................................ 190 The invention of the AC induction motor ............................................ 193 A cluster of innovation for the AC induction motor........................... 197 The development of the electric alternating-current power system ..... 199 AC-distribution networks ......................................................................... 200 George Westinghouse (1846–1914) ........................................................ 206 Battle of currents: DC versus AC ....................................................... 217 Edison versus Westinghouse ................................................................... 218 ii The Invention of the Electro-motive Engine Conclusion ................................................................................... 227 Human curiosity, ingenuity, and competition ..................................... 228 Curiosity in the nature of lightning ......................................................... 228 Ingenuity ..................................................................................................... 230 Competition ................................................................................................ 231 Societal change induced by technical change ...................................... 232 Second Industrial Revolution: “Power to the people” ........................ 232 References .................................................................................... 239 About the author........................................................................... 253 iii B.J.G. van der Kooij iv Preface When everything is said and done, and all our breath is gone, The only thing that stays Is history, to guide our future ways. My lifelong intellectual fascination with technical innovation within the context of society started in Delft, the Netherlands, in the 1970s at the University of Technology—at both the electrical engineering school and the business school.1 Having been educated as a technical student with vacuum tubes, followed by transistors, I found the change and novelty of the new technology of microelectronics to be mind-boggling—not so much from a technical point of view but because of all the opportunities for new products, new markets, and new organizations, with a potent technology as the driving force. During my studies at both the School of Electric Engineering and the School of Business Administration,2 I was lucky enough to spend some time in Japan and California, where I observed how cultures influence the context for technology-induced change and what is considered novel. In Japan I explored the research environment; in Silicon Valley I saw the business environment—from the nuances of the human interaction of the Japanese, to the stimulating and raw capitalism of the United States. The technology forecast of my engineering thesis made the coming technology push a little clearer: the personal computer was on the horizon. The implementation of innovation in small and medium enterprises, the subject of my management thesis, left me with a lot of questions. Could something like a Digital Delta be created in the Netherlands? During the journey of my life, innovation has been the theme. For example, in the mid-1970s, I joined a mature electric company that 1 At present the schools referred to are called the Electrical Engineering School at the Delft University of Technology and the School of International Business Administration at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. 2 The institutions’ actual names were Afdeling Electro-techniek, Vakgroep Mikro- Electronica,