Interpretive Banners
High Voltage Heads Underground
Underground cables have provided a necessary substitute for the transmission of power through overhead lines for over 140 years, especially in urban areas and underwater.
American Landmarks in Renewable Energy
Americans made important contributions to the origins of renewable energy. Hydroelectric power goes back to Edison’s electric plants. Wind power achieved grid interconnection prior to WWII. The silicon solar cell followed in the wake of the transistor.
Powering Up: The GE and Westinghouse High Voltage Laboratories, from local to transnational grids
The GE and Westinghouse high voltage power engineering laboratories made possible safe, cost-effective long-distance power transmission at extra high voltages up to 765kV. This fabric wall charts their inception during the 1920s, when major cities became electrified, to their closure during the 1980s—in part owing to the demise of the US transformer and power circuit breaker markets.
Under the Waves: Insulating Transatlantic Communications
From the telegraph to the telephone, the development of our global undersea communications network depended critically on natural and then synthetic insulating materials.
Spotlight on the Electret Condenser Microphone
Electret condenser microphones make up 90 percent of some 2 billion microphones built into devices like cellphones, hearing aids, and headsets each year.
Crime and Conflict: Developing Land Mobile Radio
The early development of land mobile radio depended crucially on police and military innovations.
Calling on the Road: Mobile Communication in America, 1948–83
Two-way voice communications in automobiles developed in two major phases that culminated in the invention of the handheld cellphone.
Electric Vehicles and the Environment
For over 135 years, electric vehicles have offered a green and sanitary alternative to other forms of transportation.
The Rise and Fall of Early Electric Cars
Around 1900, the emerging automotive industry expected steam, electric, and gas-powered vehicles to all play a role in transportation.
Broadcasting Breaks Out
Radio broadcasting exploded after WWI as ex-military radio engineers plugged surplus vacuum tubes into Howard Armstrong’s regenerative circuit.
Broadcasting Becomes Big Business
Radio broadcasting created new industries, spurred further inventions, and transformed politics, music and entertainment.
Graphical Methods in Engineering Before the Digital Era
Before electronic computers, engineers leaned on graphical methods to reduce calculation and provide physical insight.
Dawn of the Satellite Era: From Sputnik to Early Bird
During the 1950s and 1960s, satellite communications went from science fiction to commercial reality.
Microwave Communications From the Micro-ray to the Moon
Shortening the wavelengths, increasing the power, and reducing the noise of wireless communications characterized the development of 20th century microwave technology.
Reading and Writing Maxwell’s Treatise
Maxwell’s Treatise connected his novel electromagnetic field theory and the potential theory of electrostatics with methods of electrical measurement.
The Maxwellians
When James Clerk Maxwell died in 1879, his theory of electromagnetism was one of several. During the 1880s, a group of committed “Maxwellians” turned it into a fundamental physical theory.
Edison and Tesla in Science Fiction
Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla share a legacy of over 125 years in popular culture.
Wrist-wearable Tech: From Imagination to Innovation
Visions of wrist electronics have evolved with what’s technologically possible.
The Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers
IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.
Solid State Devices: Early R&D Climate
Unique conditions fostered the rapid commercialization of solid state devices during the 1950s and 1960s.
The Rise of Integrated Circuits
In the 1960s, corporate R&D charted different pathways towards commercial silicon MOSFET microchips.
The Field Effect Transistor: From Concept to Product
The FET was patented in 1925. Why did it take four decades to bring to market?