BETA
Chapter 1
Harnessing electricity and light
Chapter 2
Revolutionizing how we travel
Chapter 3
The communication revolution
Chapter 4
Navigating the digital frontier
YOUR GOAL
Master of Great American inventions
Ch 1 · Harnessing electricity and light
sloane Route electrical currents to discover how American inventors harnessed electricity and light.
sloane Harnessing Electric Light
From Menlo Park, a brilliant idea took flight, Thomas Edison brought the world electric light!
sloane The opening of Manhattan's Pearl Street Station proved that electricity could be centrally generated and distributed to the public.
sloane The fierce rivalry between Nikola Tesla's alternating current and Thomas Edison's direct current shaped the modern power grid.
Fun Fact
Lightbulb filaments: Thomas Edison tested over 6,000 materials, including beard hair and coconut fiber, before finding that carbonized bamboo worked best.
Glossary
lightbulb (noun)
A glass bulb inserted into a socket, providing light by passing an electric current through a filament. Thomas Edison developed the first commercially practical version at his Menlo Park laboratory in 1879.
A glass bulb inserted into a socket, providing light by passing an electric current through a filament. Thomas Edison developed the first commercially practical version at his Menlo Park laboratory in 1879.
Quiz
What major international event in 1893 was lit entirely by Tesla's alternating current system?
Quiz
What material did Thomas Edison use for his first highly successful commercial lightbulb filament?
Quiz
Which company commercialized the first mass-produced dry cell battery for consumer use in 1896?
Quiz
What was the main advantage of alternating current (AC) over direct current (DC) in early power systems?
Quiz
Where was the first commercial central power plant in the United States, built by Edison in 1882, located?
Quiz
Who patented the first practical electric induction motor in 1888, enabling AC power to run machinery?
Quiz
Which two inventors championed Alternating Current (AC) over Direct Current (DC) during the War of the Currents?