Charles Wheatstone and the Resistance Bridge ECHNOLOGISTS are often so special­ Irony pervades this Briton's life-his Tized that it is uncommon to find one name is always attached to .some­ who succeeds at a wide variety of activi­ thing he didn't Invent, while one ties. Charles Wheatstone, however, a of hi.s inventions bear.s the member of the Royal Society, and name of another. knighted by , invented the accordion-like concertina, had an connect two cities, linked Liverpool with operational telegraph system five years Manchester. Their system was adopted before Samuel Morse, invented the ste­ by the British railways. Wheatstone also reoscope, and developed a secret code. invented a printing telegraph and was This ASE preparation program But he is best known for an electrical the first to experiment with underwater includes: , 1 , circuit that accurately measures resis­ cables. 1 tances, which he didn1t invent. He is most commonly identified with • serv. ice1manuals. • tests 1 WheO.tstone was born in Gloucester, the Wheatstone bridge for measuring ' , in 1802. His father taught resistance, a cirruit he did not develop • answe~ keys . music and made and and one for which he • certific~tes sold instruments, which never claimed credit. introduced young His close friend, (419j 535-4285 Wheatstone to music, Samuel Hunter, actu­ ' ' sound transmission, and ally devised it in Dana Corp. f School Publications wave propagation. Al­ 1833. ·Wheatstone's 800CFI' ankee Road ; though apprenticed to name became asso­ Ottawa Lake, MI 49267 ' : an uncle in the music ciated with the bridge business, he had no for­ pecause he often used mal technical instruc­ it in his experiments. Circle No. 1 3 tion and earned his liv­ His legitimate accom­ ing making and selling plishments included instruments with his inventing the rheo­ brother. stat and improving Wheatstone's early de generators. He years produced no out­ also discovered that standing inventions or the Earth's magnetic discoveries, but gave field was strong him a series of moder­ Photo reproduced by permission of the enough tostartagen­ ate successes. He built Trustees of the Science Museum erator. small experimental pipe Charles Wheatstone Of all Wheat- organs to analyze their stone1s accomplish­ ' air columns; he examined light given ments, perhaps the most colorful was off by burning metals, now called spec­ his invention of a secret code, or cipher. Techl Direclia'ns trum analysis; he measured the speed of Cryptography was a hobby of his, and Binders: he came up with a simple, reasonably electrons in a conductor and tried to Handsome, Inotebook-style wire slow down a spark; and he occasionally secure cipher in 1854. In an ironic binders hold 1 O issues of Tech Di­ 0 wrote technical papers and made pre­ twist of fate,.itwas named for his friend, rections. Dark blue with gbld Tech sentations. Wheatstone received reward Lyon Playfair, who resembled him so Directions logos, these binders look for his accomplishments in 1834 when much that his wife once confused the great on desk or bookshelf: and will he became professor of experimental two. Almost a century later, when fohn help you kee1p track of all the infor­ physics at King's College in . F. Kennedy's torpedo boat was de­ mation Tech dlirectionsI provides. you Because he was so shy, Wheatstone stroyed in the South Pacific, he used the during the year. · spent most of his time with laboratory Playfair cipher to send for help. I , Lisi price: $13.00; School price: $.10.61 experiments. His most significant suc­ Wheatsone died in Paris in 1875, where TD PRO Club members: cess was.inventing a telegraph. He was he was a member.of the Paris Academy $6.05 witr membership nUmber trying to transmit audio speech but com· of Sciences. ml promised with a visible speech method. Send check lor money order in the appropriate amount to: Instead of using dots and dashes, Dennis Karwatka is a professor, Depart­ Wheatstone's telegraph, invented with ment of Industrial Education and Technol­ Prakkkn Publications William Cooke, used five needles to point ogy, Morehead (KY) State University. Some P.

John Ambrose Fleming ! I AutoCAD S the nineteenth century merged The technologist ~ho opened I Awith the twentieth, electronics be­ the air waves I and its Applications gan to reveal its secrets. But only those Basics-Release 13 with the talent to interpret subtle ex­ Marcon1 ·d· es1gn a powerI 1u1 wire·1' ess perimental results could read the signs. transmitter at PoldhuJ in southwestern This highly acclaimed title is One such talent was john Ambrose England. That transmitter sent the first now available current with Fleming, inventor of the first practical transatlantic radio siQnal to St. Jol].zi's, Release 131 Available in a radio tube. Newfoundiand, on December 12, 1901. DOS and Windows edition, Fleming was born in Lancaster, En­ It was the lei.ter S-thr'ee dots in Mol-se these books provide complete gland, in 1849, but the family moved a code-repeated over a'n.d over. l instruction for mastering the few years later to London. His father The signal was weak and difficult to ' . ' basics of AutoCAD. In-depth was a minister, detect, and Fleming th~ughtaboutways discussions of AutoCAD fea­ and his mother to improve radio circuitry. The result! in tures and commands are cou­ came from a 1904, was the tube-typ'e diode. Based'on pled with hundreds of exercis­ the Edison effect, alt~rnating current es, questions, and drawing family that de­ entered the device, bJt only direct ci.tr­ problems. The complete veloped the teaching package includes a manufacture of rent left. Fleming called it a valve, since Solution Manual, Work Disks, Portland ce­ it turned on for rurrent~ flow in one di~ec­ and Transparency Packet! ment. _Fleming tion and turned off for:flow in the otner. had excellent His invention allowedl more precise O.e­ For more information contact: public school tection of radio waves and was heavilf education and used in early radio coPimunication.: lillli!1I GOODHEART-WILLCOX graduated from Like Edison, he . ~ 800-323-0440 the University was almost deaf,

Circle No~ 9 John Ambrose College of Lon­ and he said that Fleming don (UCL). His deafness height­ academic work ened his powers of earned him a position as "demonstrator con·cen trc;i ti on. of mechanisms and applieCi mechan­ Heming was a cap­ ics" at Cambridge University. tivating speaker, He later taught at a Nottingham col­ often making pub­ lege and was a consultant forthe Edison lic presentations, Electric Light Company. In 1885, he his last at the age became professor of elt?ctrical technol­ of 90. He wrote two ogy .at UCL, where he worked for 41 textbooks, a biog­ years. An outstanding teacher, Fleming raphy, and many also worked on carbon filament lamps, technical papers which had a short life and darkened and received many with use. Thomas Edison had tried to awards, including a improve the bulb by placing an elec­ knighthood. trode next to the filament. Positive volt­ Fleming's e1ec· age to the electrode produced a small tronicvalve laid the current that flowed between it and the groundwork for Lee filament. This was later called the Edison Deforest' s triode effect. Edison patented this-he patented amplifier ("Tech- o~e of Flem,ing's nology's Past," 1or1glnaltube.:.type everything-but did no more with it. 1 In 1889, Fleming began to research April 1983) and diodes. ' the phenomenon, experimenting with ushered in practi- I electrical conduction between filaments cal electronic communication. It is still in_a vacuum. He carried out countless used in television pitture tubes, com- ' ·. experiments on wireless transrriission puter screens, and radio transmitters. and reception. Though Fleming had a Fleming died in 1945 Jat 95. llll flair for linking complex electrical math­ ematics with their practical effect, his Dennis Karwatka is dprofessor, Depart­ research seemed to.lead nowhere, and ment of Industrial Educhtion and Technol­ he left it for several years. ogy, Morehead (KY) Sta:te University. Some Fleming became a technical advisor information for this colUmn was obtained to his friend", Italian radio developer through research spomored by Morehead Guglielmo Marconi, in 1899. He.helped Statf -~niversity. I ! Circle No. 1 0 8 Tech Diteclians • October 1995 ; · MSU ARCHIVES 1 ?51f't-t5J.J'i ' Stephenson's Railroad Rocket \ ! ITH steam engines powering more The rallway age began with the first Wand more factories in the early modern loco.rtotlve. , 1800s, the need for increased, and . · 1 I 1 horse transportation could not keep up ered locomotives, not winding engines• with the deµiand. Technologists consid- That was a gamble becauseI no one' ered steam engines to transport coal, knew how effectively m1etal wheels oii developing several promising locomo- metal rails could haul ~eavy loads up tives, but George Stephenson's 1829 hills. Just in case, Steph~nson dug long Rocket launched the railway age. trenches and tunnels along the route Stephenson was born in 1781 near to level the rail- I : Newcastle, in an important English coal bed. The difficult mining area. He began working in a project took five mine at a young age. Receiving n_o for- years. mal education, he was illiterate until 18 LMR officials and never read well as an adult. He held a competi- spoke with a strong local accent that tion in late 1829 was difficult for people outside the re- to select the best gion to understand. locomotive for He developed a reputation for out- the railway. Ste- standing knowledge of machinery and phenson's Rocket . caine to the attention of a wealthy coal was one of four mine owner in Darlington-a town about entrants. The 4.5 25 miles from Stockton where ships re- ton, bright yel- COeorge ceived coal for delivery to European low locomotive Stephenson ports. Horse-drawn wagons could not was the first to : J support the traffic, and Stephenson was exhibit modern characteristics. It had a hired tohelplayoutandconstructequip- 25-tube boiler with steam exhaust intb ment for the Stockton and Darlington thefireboxtoimproved~aft. Waterprec heated in a container that surrounded the boiler. Two steeply angled cylin­ ders, one on each side, rotated the wheels instead of the axle. It easily won the competition with a iop speed of 29 mph and no breakdowrls. The experimental Rocket was not meant for everyday traffic. Different cylinders were tested ini 1831, and the chimney was redesigned: Other changes were made to piping, v~lves, and sup­ Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh ports. A Carlisle coal company bought Model of the Rocket locomotive the Rocket in 1836, and it passed to Lon'. don's Science Museum ill 1862. Largely Railway (SOR), the first public railway. unrestored, it is now onlpublic display. With the SOR, he established the dis­ With eight locomotives similar to tance between.the· rails as 4' 8-1/2'­ the Rocket, the LMR opetied in 1830 and still the standard gauge. The SOR com­ was an immediate succ~ss. Rail trans'­ bined horse and steam equipment. There p orta tion had come l of age, and .were some locomotives, but stationary Stephenson was the one chiefly associ'. "winding" engines wound rope on a ated with it. He worked on four othe~ drum to pull loaded wagons up hills .. major railway projects b~fore he retired Textile was Britain's most important in 1843. He died at his Chesterfield factory product, and large quantities of home in 1848. J flil.: I raw cotton entered Liverpool's harbor I to go by barge to factories in Manches­ Dennis Karwatka is a p~ofessor, Depa~­ ter. Canal shipping was slow, unreli­ ment of lndiistrial Educat'ion and Technoi­ able, and expensive, and in 1824, fac­ ogy, Morehead (KY) State! University. Some l·I tory owners asked Stephenson to lay out information for this column was obtained 1· the Liverpool and Manchester Railway through research sponsoredI by Morehead' ' (LMR). He recommended. steam-pow- State University. I- l Circle No. 1 4 1 2 Tech Dlreclians • September 1995 i. MSU ARCHfvES· · -'.~!M'l-/1.:·5-lj ------~o·-~- fill! r:·a'fit~~arety'Eyewear I , '.. ~.:rhat Students Want to Wear ~ . Past Dennis Karwatka ~ Triton Safety Eyewear I Hot New Style c---,D I ~ With A Economical Price New · Ada Lovelace-The First Computer Programmer " Triton safety glasses feature a lightweight un~ary ' t lens design with T is sometimes difficultto identify pre­ Had this British wo.l.an had the ' the side shields Icise origins in technology, and people funding she needed, 1ve may have molded into the l ~ often add qualifiers like the first practi­ had the computer revolution In · lens. Hard-coated, \._ -A,., cal incandescent lamp, or the first pat­ the nineteenth century.I impact-resistant 4.L - ~ ented automobile. No such restriction is polycarbonate lens ~ .'. ~ ·.·_ . j"\' -·_ I I add durability. - ./ - necessary for Ada Lovelace. She was the puter programming, which particularly Adjustable temple world's first computer programmer. In impressed Babbage. Fr~m this publicci­ lenghts to fit various head sizes. Available in four 1845, she wrote a program for Charles tion, the modern world; knows the cte- attractive frame colors. Babbage's computer. (See ''Technolog"y's tails of Babbage's computer.' . I' Past," August 1994.) At Babbage's request} Lovelace wrote 3839 Black 3841 Red Lovelace was born Augusta Ada a computer program. She' worked out a' 3840 Aqua 3842 Violet Byron in 1815 in London. She was the procedure to calculate Bernoulli nu~­ 1-36 _ 37-71 - 72·150_ 151-299 - 300+ only child of British poet Lord (George bers. The numbers are Used in speciai- 2.99 ...... 2.80 ...... 2.60 ...... 2.49 ...... 2.43 Gordon) Byron and ized Salculus opera­ his wife Annabella tions, but the activity Jamz Safety Eyewear Milbanke Byron. Her was orily a mathemati­ parents separated Fashion Frames in 14 Colors cal ekercise. Since whenshewasamonth Babbdge's computer and Two Frame Sizes old, and although she was never' built, it was Traditional style safety eyewear offers later corresponded not phssible· to teSt Lightweight frame, univeisal bridge and form fit with her father, she s prograni. temples with Lovel~ce' never met him. But it would have integrated \. ~ A gifted yoimgster, worked. When used sideshie!ds. CJ{' Lovelace displayed Hardcoated lens for , with modern comput­ improved scratch both artistic and in­ ers, her program gives and abrasion tellectual abilities. the expected values. resistance. Tripodic bridge elevates lenses to help Educated by tutors, Babbage and Love­ prevent scratching. Jamz safety glasses have a she was especially lace vranted to bring lifetime guarantee against breakage. (Excludeds lens proficient in math­ the computer to the or glasses that have b~n abusecl) ematics, as was her Ada Lovelace world'. but it would 5Bmm 54mm mother. Lovelace re- have taken much ceived special instruction from the money to make the 200)000 close-toler­ 3982 Crystal 3983 Crystal prominent mathematician Augustus de 3978 Lime cince parts and carefullypssemble them. 3979 Lime Morgan, who was partly responsible for 3976 Lemon To finance their project, they used their 3977 Lemon developing modern algebra and had a 3980 Melon 3981 Melon mathematical skills in ~ risky manner, 3970 Candy Apple 3971 Candy Apple high opinion of Lovelace's abilities. developing a system for gambling on 3972 Grape 3973 Grape Despite domestic obligations of her horse races. When it ditln•t work, both I 3974 Ice Blue 3975 Ice Blue marriage to a nobleman in 1835, which lost large sums of money; Lovelace found 3786 Tan (Saber) 3787 Tan (Saber) made her the Countess of Lovelace, and herself at the mercy of blackmailers and 3828 White 3829 White lifelong poor health, Lovelace expanded died heavily in debtin 18S2 at age 36. She 3830 Yellow 3831 Yellow her mathematical skills through self­ is buried next to her fatHer in the central 3824 Green 3825 Green study. She regularly corresponded with Eng I and town of Newstead.' ,' 3826 Red 3827 Red scientist Michael Faraday and astrono­ 3822 Blue The only computer Ilanguage ever 3823 Blue mer John Herschel and the popular sci­ developed by the U.S. Department of 3832 Black 3833 Black entific writer Mary Somerville, who in­ Defense became available in 1979. It is 1-36 37-71 72-150 151-299 300+ troduced her to Babbage. Lovelace and named ADA in honor of the Countess of 2.28 """' 2.13 """""2.00 """' 1.91"""""1.83 Babbage developed a close personal and Lovelace. Babbage and Lovelace were professional relationship. generations ahead of t~eir time, and it BUY 12 PAIR OF JAMZ In 1842 in Turin, Italy, Babbage made has long been reasonably speculated AND RECEIVE 1 PAIR FREE I technical presentations on the computer that, had their horse racjng system made Call For More Information Or he was designing. Babbcige asked money, we might havei had computers Lovelace to translate an account of the in the mid-nineteenth century. Iii Our Complete Catalog lectures from French into English. She ' I 1-800-221-9222 added her own insights, which'included Dennis Karwatka is a ,J,rofessor, Depart­

examples that could demonstrate the ment of Industrial0 Educatton and Technol­ machine's calculating ability. The final ogy, Morehead (KY) Stat~ University. So,,;e J!Jtl?dlc@©@ document was three times the size of the information for this coluhin was obtained P.O. Box 386 Roseville, Ml 48066 original and showed that Lovelace com­ through research ~ponso~ed by Morehead pletelyunderstood the principles of com- State University. Circle No. 20 20 Tech Direcfians • May 1995 Start a I Successful Henry Maudslay- I Cornerstone of the Industrial Revolu'tion Modular Technology I I LTHOUGH power tools of the early This talented British machinist Education Program I ' Anineteenth century were being de­ and. Inventor probably served J at your School ... signed with quality in the advancement bt technology mind, manufacture was just coming to best through h/s' training I; Prepare your students for grips with close tolerances and high of young people. precision. Henry Maudslay's pioneer­ THE FUTURE! 1 I ing efforts in precision nies and for scientific measuremeilts. Choose from 20 tested, seW,paced, work helped many others in the field. In 1800, inventoi Marc lsambbrd ' "Multl·Medla" Leaming Programs ... He has often been identified as the Brunel, father of Isdmbard Kingd~m , • Easy Classroom Implementation. inventor of the slide restlathe and was Brunel ({/TechnologY's Past," Mai-ch · I ' • Aexible Lesson Plans Written the first to successfully use machine 1994), asked Maudslqy to help develop ' by Teachers for Teachers. tools for high speed, mass production. new machinery for the British Ndvy. • Apple I/, IBM & MAC Compatible. Born in 1771 in , England, The Navy needed 100Jooonewwooden • Unmatched Technical Support Maudslay went to work at the Woolwich pulley blocks each year, ·and produc­ & Customer Service. at age 12. Showing much tion barely kept up with demand. Bruhel mechanical aptitude, he quickly moved developed the process' for making them' Call our MTE Coordinator today... to forging work. A series of robberies in automatically, and Mliudslay invented Ext.101 London increased the demand for door the machinery. ! 1·800·622·1000 locks, and manufacturer In six years, their Navy-owned fac­ Canada Call 1-800-267-7482 Ext. 101 hired 18-year-old Maudslay as an ap· tory featured the world's first nilly HEARLIHY & CO. · prentice locksmith. He be­ mechanized, large-scO.le 714 W. COLUMBIA ST. came plant superinten­ mass pro'duction line. Ten ~- SPRINGFIELD OH 45504 dent the following year. unskilled workers oper­ Circle No. 20 Over eight years with ated 44 machines, prodhc­ Bramah, Maudslay's in­ ing up to 160,000 pulley ventive genius prompted blocks p~r year. Powered the mass production of by a single 30 hp steam Let us help you high quality locks. He de­ engine, lthe belt-dri_;en vised tools to make work machin~s were so Wen find the key! ·raster and more accurate. made that several re­ When Bramah refused mained ib co~tinuous i:ise Maudslay a request for a for 145 years. raise to help support his Maudslay's machine family, Maudslayopened tools and measuring in­ uphisownmachineshop, struments showed a con­ taking with him the de­ cern for Precision that in- Reproduced by perminion of the fl I signs for a new . Trustees of the Science Museum Uenced 1a generation J Of British technologists. His In 1798, Maudslay Henry Maudslay I - I _ brought out his classic companriattracteddoz~ns cutting lathe, which used a lead of the most gifted young people, and screw to power a Slide rest. A cutting Maudslay willingly provided their ihi­ tool clamped in the slide rest automati· tial training. All went bn to help guide cally traveled the length of the Britain through the hidustrial Revolu­ workpiece. Earlier metallathes required . tion. Two of Maudslay's brightest stu­ dents made significant contributionS- operators to hold a cutting tool, greatly . I I We have the video limiting accuracy. Maudslay did not developed the first programs, books and invent the slide rest lathe, but he per­ standardized screwthieads,I and Jan1es. software to suit your fected it and was the first to make a Nasmyth invented the instructional needs. Call for machine tool entirely out' of metal. andothermachinetoo1s. Maudslaydi~ a free catalog or preview. His large industrial were far in 1831 at his home in , not far more accurate than the smaller ones in from his birthplace. I li1I (800) 727-5507 common use. They have been called the I cornerstone of the Industrial Revolu­ Dennis Karwatka is Ia professor, De­ tion. Maudslay used his machines to partment ofIndustrial Education and Tech­ make .affordable to nology, Morehead (KYJJ State University. 0.0001 "-almost unheard of accuracy. Some information for this column was db- I .,. As an independent machinist, he made fained through research' sponsored 'by' e measuring equipment for other compa- Morehead State University. ' Circle No. 21 1 6 Tech Dlreclions • September 1994 ~ ~~ _, afety Products Fo'r School Facilities

Henry Bessemer and Steel Production

0 metal is more more widely used It took a lot of hot ~ir and this J N than steel. But steel-

Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine T'S difficult to imagine a modem world Cal/Ing a pioneer In Iwithout the computers that do every­ computing ls an understatement. thing from controlllng machine tools to providing exciting simulation games. • Arithmetic unit-the calculating Unlike many inventions, the computer section can be traced back to a single person­ • Programmable unit-to select the Charles Babbage, a Briton who designed calrulating sequences an "analytical engine." In an era before • Memory~ear· positions , he planned to operate his • Outputmechanism-printer, plot­ computer with steam. ter, or punched cards. Born to a wealthy banking family The punched card idea came from near London in 1791, Babbage received f. M. jacquard, who used cards to control i excellent education and earned degrees his French textile looms. from Cambridge University. He was fas, Babbage used one I ' I cinated by the lengthy printed tables of size card to specify ~hisels trigonometric and other functions. They arithmetical op­ on·aWheel. were all hand calculated and had many erations. Larger I I undiscovered errors. Babbage visualized cards input data A Camprehensi11e Reference a device to calculate mathematical val­ and controlled ta Mad~m Waadwa'rking ues and automatically print them. placing answers in Tools! and Materials He paid talented machinists to make the store, Bab­ Bf Jim Effner I the more than 4,000 gears, levers, cams, bage's word for and linkages necessary for a calculator memory. During A unique1 look at wooqworking he designed, which demanded exceed­ the 30 years he Charles Babbage technology, ! on a Wheel be­ ingly close tolerances. Babbage's diffi­ worked on his gins with a'. study of wobd, With cult personality-perhaps the result of computer, he developed conditional particular ehiphasis on n~w man­ the deaths of his wife, father, and two branching, looping, and subroutines­ made panel;materials, and;then de­ children in 1827--upset many of the all important in modern computing. tails the essentials of the tools wood- workers use! ; machinists he had contracted. For what- .Babbage called his computer an ana­ 1 ever reason, his calcu­ lytical engine and made Covering design, manUfacture, lator was never com­ precise cardboard tem­ safety featu~es, and applic3tions for pleted, but a demon­ plates of its estimated saws, shaft tools,I profile cutters,' rout- stration model was as­ 200,000 parts. Its con­ ers, and special process tools, this sembled in 1832. struction turned out to encyclopedif:reference includes per­ With 2,000 indi­ be vastly more challeng- · formance criteria and formulas for vidual parts, it was 72 ing than his calculator. getting the f most from te~hnology cm x 59 cm x 61 cm-1/7 The accuracy require­ now available to woodworkers. Nu­ the design size. Hand­ ments greatly strained merous illu~trations depicting tool geometry, rrlaterial distributjon, tool powered, it operated nineteenth centurytech­ • I ,. function, anp more, accompany de- faultlessly and was the nology, and his person­ tailed descriptions of tech~ological ality again got in the earliest automatic cal­ developments in the woodworking culator. It remains the way. His invention was industry. finest example of nine­ never built. A crude I \ teenth century precision demonstration model In the author's words, this guide machining and the was under construction to modern iwoodworking' tools is most celebrated icon of when he died in 1871. "a study of chemistry, physics, bi­ ology, mec~anics, economics, and the prehistory of com­ Babbage's 1832 calculator Babbage was many 1 1 puting. It is presently generations ahead of his more." I on display at London's Science Museum. time and enjoys more widespread es­ 1992 ,,1 208 pp., paperback Babbage's calculator processed num­ teem today than he ever did during his ISBN-0-911168-82-6 bers the only way it could, adding or lifetime. Calling. Babbage a pioneer is List: $21 .951 Schools~ $17.56 subtracting them in a particular se­ more than a casual tribute. IE I ! quence. He considered a more general !""'"'"~Prakken , purpose machine with mathematical Dennis Kanvatka is a professor, Depart­ ___. P~bllcatlons,: Inc. tasks determined by the user. The five ment ofIndustrial Education and Technol­ P.O. Box 8623 processing sections he developed in 1833 ogy, Morehead (KY) State University. Some Ann Arbor, Ml 48107-8623 ' ' ' are identical to those used by early information for this column was obtained 1 (800) 530-WORD I ' modern computers: through research sponsored by Morehead FAX: (313) 769-8383 • Input device-punched cards State University. . I I Babbage photo reproduced by permission of the Trustees of the Science Museum Circle No. 36 1 I TECHNOLOGY'SI PAST. 41 I 'O. t.O~ ~O~·\ ~u' ~~o ~ote;,. Charles Algernon Parsons and the · ~eG~tUG we· can thank this nineteenth­ His originally had a single pro­ \'(\s . century British Inventor for the peller shaft that turned at 1,600 rpm. It . I steam turbines we use provided disappointing results. The Giveyour for power today. shaft turned at such high speed that Parsons discovered the characteristic of students bout 83 percent of America's elec­ cavitation. Bubbles created from dis­ Atricity comes from nuclear and coal­ solved air led to a drop in propeller the career edge! burning power plants that use steam thrust. Parsons redesigned the Turbinia THE DOCTOR OF MOTORS turbines connected to alternators. These to use three propellers from three 700 W'r?l©!f~$$U©INl#\IL modern steam turbi~es are almost iden­ hp steam tt.irbines, and he introduced tical to the one Charles Algernon Par­ his invention in a most dramatic man­ This ASE ~reparation. p~m sons invented in 1884.· ner. includes: I 1 Parsons was born in 1854 in London, As the British Navy conducted sea 1 England. His father was a noted as­ trials in 1896, Parsons took the Turbinia • service manuals. . tronomerand once president of the Brit­ into the English Channel and easily •tests! · ish Royal Society. Parsons and his broth­ steamed past the piston-powered ships • ans\\'.er keys ' ers received private instruction from • certi~cates , scientists their father. hired to operate ' I his observatory, located'in in (419) 535-4285 Ireland. They spent much of their spare I Dana co..p. - School Publications time in the castle's workshops construct­ 8000 Yankee Roaa ing·such items as a small steam engine, a lens grinder,. and an ocean depth Ottak Lake, Ml 49267: gauge. Parsons attended Trinity College I l · and Cambridge University, receiving a degree in mathematics. Parsons first worked in a machine shop and then for a locomotive builder. In 1884, he moved to the Clark Chap­ man Company, a manufacturer of elec­ trical generating equipment· near · Newcastle. Producing cheap electricity demanded driving systems more pow­ Parsons' turbine launch, the Turbin/a erful than piston engines, so Parsons began to investigate steam turbines, at a speed of 34 knots. Embarrassed which had long been considered but naval officers did not appreciate the never successfully constructed. unauthorized demonstration and ini­ He quickly saw the error of previous tially rejected steam turbines for their designs. Instead of using just one spin­ ships. But in 1905, the HMS ning turbine wheel, Parsons connected became the first large several together, thus taking advantage ship to use them. The 70,000 hp of the steam power gradually instead of Mauretania became the first commer­ with one large blast. Jn only three cial ship to use steam turbines in 1907. months, he constructed a 30-stage steam For the next 22 years, it held the record turbine and alternator about the size of for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic a small bed. It developed 7 .5 kilowatts Ocean. The Turbinia ls on display at . and turned at 18,000 rpm, about 15 Newcastle's Museum of Science and times faster than steam engines. It was . the world's first turbo alternator; and Parsons was a pleasant man with a the company manufactured them for warm personality, who enjoyed mak­ electric lights on ships. That first unit is ing mechanical toys for his children. He on display at London's Science Museum. died In Jamaica in 1931. Iii Several hundred steam turbines were ih-use by 1889, and Parsons was receiv­ Dennis Kanvatka is a professor, Depart­ ing income from the"royalty on his pat­ ment ofIndustrial Education and Technol­ ents. He opened his own company and ogy, Morehead (KY) State Uni~rsity. Some turned his attention to turbine-powered information for this column was obtained ships. After testing scale models, Par­ through research sponsored by Morehead sons built a 100' x 9' experimental boat. State University. 1~·-..r"''I #' ,_ -; - . MSU ARCH Start Your Successful MODULAR------. Thomas Telford-the Colossus of Roads TECHNOLOGY THE ancient Romans built 50,000 This mastermind of civil engineer­ I miles of roads and developed con­ ing opened.the road to success­ EDUCATION struction techniques we still use today. llterally-for countless nine­ I . • Although not the first to follow in their teenth-century Europeans PROGRAM!. footsteps, Thomas Telford is more closely Ask AboutI Our NEW' LEVEL II identified with road construction than subject to the British Commission for any other person ifl British history. With Highland Roads. The commission ac­ Mod/lies that Feature: a nod toward the seven wonders of the • Mare Problem' Solving I' cepted his analysis, and he worked on I ' ancient world, he is often called the the road building project for the next 28 • Mare Oiallenging Hands;<>n Activities Colossus of Roads. years. • Greater l~-Depth Study J Telford was born in 1757 in a small Telford's roads were better than oth­ Olaose from 29 flexlbte Lesson Plans Scottish village near the English border. ers because he followed methods pio­ wnHen by Teachers for Teachers His father, a shepherd, died shortly af­ neered by the Romans. He dug down a ' ' ter Telford's birth, leaving his mother to foot or more along the roadway, filling - CALL TODAY • raise her only child in a single room the base with a foundation of loose To Receive your FREE An provided by a benefactor. uncle paid stones. Depending oii conditions, he "Moving Ahead With MTE" for elementary school, and Telford often followed that with flat stones, Video & Planning Guide earned extra money ·herding animals. then a crowned surface of broken stone. I . Apprenticed to a stone mason at 14, Dust and water from the stones formed Telford learned his trade well because 1-800j622-1090 Ext. 101 a mortar that bound the surface into a CANADA Coll 1'800-267-7482 Ext. 101 there were large projects in the area. hard layer. Telford's roads also had . I But after his apprenticeship, work was deep ditches on each side to control not available, water. The shape gave rise to the word so Telford bor­ tp!~IHY ~m~. highway. 714 W. Columbia Strfft ~ rowed some The difficulties of construction in Sprfngflafd. Ohio 45504 clothes and mountainous country were immense. ' ' Circle No. 43 rode a horse Transporting stone for bridges and lime. 1------f------,---­ more than for mortar was strenuous. Raw materi­ 300 miles to als went as far as possible by water, and London where then overland bypackhorses. Road foun­ he found work dations and surfaces used local stone, laying stones. but even that had to be carried over Young Tel­ rough terrain. 1995 ford WQ.S a re­ Telford supervised about 1, 100 miles Architecture liable worker of highland road construction and also Text and studied at spent 19 years working on the night. Large- Cciledonian canal, which connects I 1y self-edu­ Thomas Telford Scotland's major lakes, including Loch cated, he be­ Ness. With so many road, canp.l, sus­ came supervisor of public works in Shrop­ pension bridge, and dock projects, shire in 1787. His first major project in Telford usually hired subcontractors to 1793 involved building a series of ca­ do the work-workers who later went nals In that region;. Practically all of the ,f Provide~ comprehensive instruction on to form the core of Scotland's mod­ fllr preparing an:hltectural working many canals and aqueducts he built in ern construction companies. drawings. , . England, Scotland, Wales, and Sweden Telford wasa pleasant person with a ,f Also des,igned' as a reference _fllr are still in use. Much of his success was reputation· for fairness, honesty, and design and construction pnnciples due to his knowledge of the problems of good judgment. A bachelor, he spent and methods. I ordinary workers. In fact, he was so well ,/ Covers doth traditional and his free time reading and writing poetry computer-based drafting methods. liked that many of his subordinates and established several public libraries. worked themselves to exhaustion to ,/ Organizilct logically around the Telford died in 1834 and is one of the design-building process. I please him. few technologists buried in London's When Telford visited his home in ,/ lncludeslsufficient technical data to Westminster Abbey. Iii design most types of dwellings. ~cotland, he saw many northern high­ ,f Most up-,to-dateI book currently' on landers leaving to find employment else­ Dennis Karwatka is a professor, Depart­ the market. where due to the poor roads. Farmers, ment ofIndustrial Education and Technol­ I . for example, could not easily get prod­ For mare Information contact: ,ogy, Morehead (KY) State University. Some I I ucts to market because the roads in the information for this column was obtained GOODHEART·WILLCOX highlands were mostly dirt·tracks. In through research sponsored by Morehead 123 WTaftCr, Sou1h Hol!and. IL60473 I Call Toll Free: 1.aoo-323-0440 1802, Telford wrote a report on the State University. ' ·Circle No. 44 I . • TECHNOLOGY'S-PAST 53 I Start a Wiiiiam H.F. Talbot-From Negative to Positive Successful Today's photography could not :Modular Technology have evolved without the milestone set by this British man . Education Pi'qgram ofmany Interests. -at your School ... was 100 grains of silver nitrate dis­ solved in six oz. of water, and his fixer -··Prepare your students for was saltwater. To make a print, Talbot " THE FUTURE! placed the negative in a printing frame with another sensitized sheet of paper. 'Choose from 20 tested, sett paced. ~·Multl·Medla" Leaming Programs._ Exposure to bright sunlight produced ; the positive image. , _ _ .. . . ,•- EasyClassroomll1Jll8m8ntalion.· ! Tcilbot originally called his proce8s •'~ Rexlble Lesson Prans-Wtltten li·r· "photogenic drawing" but changed its '.· by TeachelS tor T9ach91S. f name to calotype from the Greekkalos, ;. · Apple I/, IBM & MAC.Co;,j,arible. meaning beautiful. He took out a patent ,._ Unmatched Technical Support '. & Customer Service.,..

~-. ~-