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The first electric light
The first electric light was made in 1800 by Humphry Davy, he experimented with electricity and invented an electric battery. When he connected wires to his battery and a piece of carbon, the carbon glowed, producing light. This is called an electric arc. -
The first telegraph
Developed in the 1830s and 1840s by Samuel Morse (1791-1872) and other inventors, the telegraph revolutionized long-distance communication. -
The first electric car
American Thomas Davenport is credited with building the first practical electric vehicle -- a small locomotive. -
The first fuel cell
In 1842, Grove developed the first fuel cell which was also called the gas voltaic battery. It produced electrical energy by combining hydrogen and oxygen. -
Windmill
Daniel Halladay and John Burnham start the U.S. Wind Engine Company and build the Halladay Windmill, which is designed for the landscape of the American West. -
The first Pelton water wheel
In the late 1870s, he invented the Pelton water wheel, at that time the most efficient design of the impulse water turbine. It was invented to supply power. -
The first incandescent light
In 1879, Edison discovered that a carbon filament in an oxygen-free bulb glowed but did not burn up for 40 hours. Edison eventually produced a bulb that could glow for over 1500 hours. -
Power flows long distance
The first long-distance transmission of electricity takes place, linking a powerhouse at Willamette Falls to a string of lights in Portland, Oregon, 14 miles to the west -
Solar power motor
The first experimental solar power plant was in 1902, in Olney, Illinois, by H.E. Willsie and John Boyle. In 1904 they set up the Willsie Sun company in St. Louis, and built a 6-horsepower motor. -
Air conditioning
Willis Carrier builds the first air conditioner to combat humidity inside a printing company.
