Electric Illumination: Volume 1

Published in 1882–5, this two-volume work, illustrated throughout, appeared when electric lighting was a fresh and propitious technological development.

James Dredge (Edited by)

9781108070638, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 18 December 2014

904 pages, 829 b/w illus.
29.6 x 21 x 4.8 cm, 2.36 kg

Two years after Thomas Edison patented his electric light bulb, the 1881 International Exposition of Electricity in Paris, featuring many spectacular lighting displays, showcased the potential of this technology for commercial and domestic use. The accompanying International Congress of Electricians also agreed on international standards for units of electrical resistance, potential and current. In its wake, James Dredge (1840–1906), editor of the British periodical Engineering, compiled this illustrated overview of electrical technology and its application to lighting. First published in two volumes between 1882 and 1885, and using material that had previously appeared in Engineering, as well as new articles by various contributors, this substantial work reflects the complexities and possibilities of a propitious technological development. Among other topics, Volume 1 covers electrical units, methods of generation, conductors, and various kinds of lamp. The appendices give abstracts of British electrical patents from 1837 to 1872.

Preface
Part I: 1. Electrical units
2. The measurement of electrical intensity
3. The voltaic arc
4. The mechanical production of electric currents
5. The theory of dynamo-electric generators
Part II: 1. Magneto and dynamo-electric generators
Part III: 1. Conductors
2. Carbons
3. Arc lamps
4. The Jablochkoff candle
5. Incandescence-arc lamps
6. Incandescence lamps
Index
Appendix.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX]