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The Most Important Electrical Inventions and Discoveries in History

While no one discovered electricity – it’s always been a part of our natural world – there were many scientists and inventors over the years who learned how to harness it for life-changing results. Here are some of the most important electrical inventions and discoveries for you to ponder during this season of light when New York City is aglow to make the short days of winter cozier.

Alternating Current

Tesla’s legacy

When electrical power was first being explored for use in common public and residential settings, it was originally in DC (direct current form). Direct current only moves in one direction, while AC current changes direction periodically.

Alternating current turned out to be safer and more practical for the uses scientists envisioned for electricity. It was discovered and experimented with by inventor Nikola Tesla, who learned that AC current could be changed from high to low voltages and vice versa using transformers. We still use those basic concepts in bringing electricity to people’s homes and businesses today, and it revolutionized mass adoption of electrical power.

The Light Bulb

Refined by Edison

It’s commonly thought that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. However, versions of the light bulb were in the works long before the Wizard of Menlo Park refined this invention.

Sir Humphrey Davy created the first iteration of the incandescent bulb way back in 1802 by connecting the battery he had just invented to a piece of carbon, which began to glow and give off light.

In 1840, British scientist Warren de la Rue made great strides in light bulb technology when he placed a platinum filament coil in a vacuum tube. Platinum was expensive, though, so in 1850, de la Rue’s countryman Joseph Wilson Swan tried carbonized paper and eventually carbon thread.

Enter Thomas Edison, who capitalized on Swan’s advances with similar experiments – so similar that Swan even sued him for patent infringement. The two eventually joined forces, although Edison was credited with the light bulb, even though both contributed equally.

The Electric Motor

Replacing steam

We take for granted today so many items that are powered by electric motors, from vacuum cleaners to the pumps that keep boilers running for heat and hot water. But it wasn’t that long ago that motors were driven by steam and water, not electricity.

Tesla’s discoveries with AC current and Edison’s advocating for mainstream electrical power made using electricity to drive motors possible. Believe it or not, the technology was being played with long before Edison and Tesla’s time. In the mid 1700s, scientists Andrew Gordon, Michael Faraday, and Joseph Henry got the ball rolling by learning how to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy.

The first battery-powered electric motor appeared in Vermont in 1834, thanks to inventor Thomas Davenport. He actually used it to power a small printing press. It took another 50 years for electric motors to become more widely used, though, and in 1888, Tesla’s AC induction motor was patented.

More developments followed quickly, with three-phase induction motors developed by General Electric at the end of the century. Once electricity was installed in homes, factories, and other places, the race was on to find thousands of applications for electric motors that didn’t need batteries to run.

Transistors

Changing the face of modern technology

Transistors are a sophisticated type of electronic switch that permit current to be turned on and off on demand. Many of the modern devices we use today utilize transistors, including:

• Radios
• Pocket calculators
• Hearing aids
• Pacemakers
• Stereos
• Computers
• Smart phones
• Watches

The transistor was invented in 1947 at AT&T’s Bell Laboratories by William Shockley. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for this invention with fellow scientists Walter Brattain and John Bardeen.

Lithium-Ion Batteries

Lightweight and rechargeable

As noted above, batteries were an integral part of electrical discoveries and experimentation as a power source before AC electricity and modern outlets were available. But lithium-ion batteries changed the game in power, making it portable and renewable.

Batteries convert chemical energy into electrical power. In a lithium-ion battery, lithium ions (charged particles) move back and forth in a liquid to provide power for a wide range of items like mobile phones, electric vehicles, and hand tools. The big advantage to lithium-ion batteries is they are portable and considerably lighter than other types of batteries, which makes them much more practical. They can also be recharged, so the items that use them can be enjoyed over and over again.

The inventors of the lithium-ion battery were also Nobel Prize awardees in Chemistry. In 2019, Akira Yoshino, John B. Goodenough, and M. Stanley Whittingham took home the top honors from Sweden, having all contributed over the years to the development of this new form of sustainable energy.

Whether your property’s electrical panel needs a little updating to make better use of AC current or you want to swap out your old incandescent light bulbs for more efficient LED models, Bolt Electric is here to help. In spite of all the electrical advances described above and more, many buildings in New York City are still challenged by outdated and sometimes even unsafe electrical infrastructure. We can bring your condo or co-op building into the 21st century for you. Call Bolt Electric today at 212-434-0098 to schedule an appointment.