Creators
Abril Ibarra Siqueiros and Karen Spitzer
Transcript
Among the various inventions that lived in his three-dimensional imagination, Nikola Tesla, a famous Croatian inventor, had always dreamed of using the falls of Niagara to build a power plant knowing this nature’s energy could power machines. In 1893, this dream became closer to manifesting when George Westinghouse, an inventor himself and entrepreneur that Tesla had been working for as a power developer and engineer, was granted the contract to build the powerhouse.
In 1895 the first major hydro-electric power plant in the world was built in Niagara Falls, NY and was delivering power. It was designed by Tesla and financed by Westinghouse, as well as other investors, including J.P. Morgan. At this time, there were three generators set up of 5,000 horsepower each, which produced 2,200 volts. The plant was fueled by Tesla’s invention of alternating currents and harnessed power from the falls for long distance electricity. It was the first electrification of the world and sent power about twenty-two miles from Niagara to Buffalo, NY at midnight on November 16, 1896. New York City, about 400 miles away from the power plant, later received Niagara’s energy, powering its electric lights. By 1905, it was producing and providing one tenth of the United States’ electrical power.
Despite Tesla’s significant involvement, he was not the only mind behind this facility. A group of engineers formed the team that would make this idea into a reality. Thomas Evershed conducted work on the Erie Canal and was a water power engineer, among other things. With the harnessing attention Niagara’s power was gaining, this became an opportunity to leave a final mark at the age of sixty-nine and was his last major project. Electrical engineer Benjamin G. Lamme designed various apparatus, such as generators, motors, and rotary converters. He improved on Tesla’s generator designs, as well as built them. Before Tesla and Lamme, Oliver Shallenberger was a pioneer of AC power at Westinghouse. He was responsible for developing the polyphase meters that were required for the power plant. Other Westinghouse engineers cited as contributors to Niagara power development are: William Stanley, a pioneer electrical inventor, Lewis B. Stillwell, Paul M. Lincoln, and mechanical engineer Albert Schmid. Together, still with even more involved, they initiated the beginning of the electrical age. The polyphase system of power created became the basis for following electrical power services utilized thereafter and presently.
The plant triggered development and the industrialization of Niagara Falls. The original Westinghouse generators remained in operation until 1961. Adam’s Power Station (Power House No. 3) is the only surviving remains of the Niagara Falls Power Plant.
Bibliography and credits
381,968 – Electro magnetic motor [photograph]. (1888). Retrieved April 11, 2013,
from: http://www.pbs.org/tesla/res/381968.html.
417,794 – Armature for electric machines [patent]. (1889). Retrieved April 11, 2013,
from: http://www.pbs.org/tesla/res/417794.html.
555,109 – Alternating motor [patent]. (1896). Retrieved April 11, 2013, from:
http://www.pbs.org/tesla/res/555190.html.
A Niagara generator under construction at Westinghouse in Pittsburg
[photograph]. (1894). Retrieved April 5, 2013, from: http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/images/ll_ni_dyna01.jpg.
Armature of a 5000 horse-power Westinghouse generator [photograph]. (1918).
Retrieved April 9, 2013, from: http://library.buffalo.edu/exhibits/panam/sel/armature.html.
Bergstresser, R. (1970). Dr. Nikola Tesla, the forgotten super man of our industrial age.
Mokelumne Hill, CA: Health Research.
Burgan, M. (2009). Nikola Tesla: Physicist, inventor, electrical engineer. Minneapolis,
MN: Compass Point Books.
Edison Tech Center. (2013). Harnessing Niagara Falls: The Adams Power Station. edisontechcenter.org. Retrieved April 14, 2013, from: http://edisontechcenter.org/Niagara.htm.
George Westinghouse [photograph]. (1906). Retrieved April 2, 2013, from:
http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/images/wc_west01.jpg.
Google Maps. (2013). [Niagara Falls, NY to Buffalo, NY] [screen-shot]. Retrieved April
2, 2013, from: http://www.maps.google.com.
J.P. Morgan [photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2013, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JohnPierpontMorgan.png.
Lewis B. Stillwell [photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2013, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lewis_B._Stillwell.jpg.
Library of Congress. (1910). Benj. G. Lamme (LOC) [photograph]. Retrieved
April 2, 2013, from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/8579700115/.
N.Y. N.Y. City. From Brooklyn Bridge at night [photograph]. (1880-1910?). Retrieved
April 2, 2013, from: http://iarchives.nysed.gov/PubImageWeb/viewImageData.jsp?id=67735.
New Voyage Communications. (2000). Tesla: Master of Lightning. PBS.com. Retrieved April 14, 2013, from: http://www.pbs.org/tesla/index.html.
Niagara Falls, from Goat Island [etching]. (ca. 1867). Retrieved April 2, 2013,
from: http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/images/ll_niag_etch.jpg.
Oliver B. Shallenberger [photograph]. (1898). Retrieved April 2, 2013, from:
http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Oliver_B_Shallenberger.jpg&filetimestamp=20080916130057.
[Paul Lincoln] [photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2013, from:
http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/File:2214_-_lincoln.jpg.
Rybak, J. P. (1999). Nikola tesla: Scientific savant. Popular Electronics, 16(11), 40-48+.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/197155543?accountid=147304.
Shallenberger Polyphase Wattmeter [sketch]. (1895). Retrieved April 2, 2013, from:
http://books.google.com/books?id=czAyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA507&dq=niagara+falls+Shallenberger&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fItuUc6XBKzh4APP9IGgDQ&ved=0CE0Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Shallenberger%20polyphase&f=false, pg. 507.
Strand, G. (2008). Inventing Niagara [Kindle Edition]. Retrieved from
http://www.amazon.com.
Tesla aged 36 [postcard]. (1890). Retrieved April 2, 2013, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tesla_aged_36.jpeg.
Tesla seated by coil [photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2013, from:
http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/images/cs_seated01.jpg.
Tesla Society. (n.d.). Niagara Falls and Nikola Tesla. Tesla Memorial Society of New York. Retrieved April 14, 2013, from: http://www.teslasociety.com/niagarafalls.htm.
Tesla with a wireless light [photograph]. (ca. 1919). Retrieved April 5, 2013, from: http://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?id=NMAH-AC0047-0000014.
Thomas Evershed [engraving]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2013, from:
http://www.buffalohistory.org/Explore/Exhibits/virtual_exhibits/wheels_of_power/part_1.htm.
Track 04 (Rosemary) [unknown artist] [mp3]. (n.d.).
Retrieved from http://archive.org/details/Rosemary_201303.
William Stanley, Jr. [photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2013, from:
http://edisontechcenter.org/WilliamStanley.html.
miNYstories 