gar
Senior Member
- Location
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Occupation
- EE
190411-0945 EDT
Almost 90 years ago the Ford Times issue for October 15, 1929 discusses the restoration of Menlo Park in Greenfield Village. In going thru some of my dad's papers I found this issue. It is remarkable what Edison accomplished in 2 years, 1878-1879. Note: in this time period there really were no voltmeters or ammeters, but there were galvanometers, resistors, Wheatstone bridges, and crude standard cells.
One column discusses the Edison dynamo. The units in the Menlo Park complex are replicas manufactured at GE for installation in the restored complex. A comment in the discussion was "While the tests were being run, scores of electrical engineers in the Schenectady works came in to watch the reconstructed bi-polars perform. They were much surprised at the high efficiency displayed, 90%.".
A while back I ask the question on how Edison measured rotating torque in 1879. The means is on display in the restored Menlo Park machine shop near the large steam engine. No one has provided the answer as of now. I suspect that some of you have seen the mechanism.
A schoolmate of mine, one grade above me, was born in the Sarah Jordan boarding house just across the street from the laboratory. He was named Jordan. And two classmate's fathers on a few nights slept in the house while working on the development of the Ford monoblock V8. This engine was largely developed in the Edison Fort Myers lab next door. From September 1936 to June 1938 I ate lunch in the boarding house. Meals were cooked on a wood stove.
Edison developed everything necessary for a complete working electrical distribution system in about 2 years.
In the museum I believe there is an original Edison dynamo.
September 4, 1882, only 3 years later, a much larger directly driven dynamo was put in operation at the Edison Pearl Street station. The only surviving generator from Pearl Street is in another building.
One reference indicates that Edison added a compound field winding by 1890.
.
Almost 90 years ago the Ford Times issue for October 15, 1929 discusses the restoration of Menlo Park in Greenfield Village. In going thru some of my dad's papers I found this issue. It is remarkable what Edison accomplished in 2 years, 1878-1879. Note: in this time period there really were no voltmeters or ammeters, but there were galvanometers, resistors, Wheatstone bridges, and crude standard cells.
One column discusses the Edison dynamo. The units in the Menlo Park complex are replicas manufactured at GE for installation in the restored complex. A comment in the discussion was "While the tests were being run, scores of electrical engineers in the Schenectady works came in to watch the reconstructed bi-polars perform. They were much surprised at the high efficiency displayed, 90%.".
A while back I ask the question on how Edison measured rotating torque in 1879. The means is on display in the restored Menlo Park machine shop near the large steam engine. No one has provided the answer as of now. I suspect that some of you have seen the mechanism.
A schoolmate of mine, one grade above me, was born in the Sarah Jordan boarding house just across the street from the laboratory. He was named Jordan. And two classmate's fathers on a few nights slept in the house while working on the development of the Ford monoblock V8. This engine was largely developed in the Edison Fort Myers lab next door. From September 1936 to June 1938 I ate lunch in the boarding house. Meals were cooked on a wood stove.
Edison developed everything necessary for a complete working electrical distribution system in about 2 years.
In the museum I believe there is an original Edison dynamo.
September 4, 1882, only 3 years later, a much larger directly driven dynamo was put in operation at the Edison Pearl Street station. The only surviving generator from Pearl Street is in another building.
One reference indicates that Edison added a compound field winding by 1890.
.
