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L'électricité - Histoire d'une révolution | Nota Bene | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: L'électricité - Histoire d'une révolution
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Hello my dear friends!
A museum that showcases an intagible object, often invisible?
It's possible! And it exists, here, in Mulhouse. We are in the
Electropolis Museum, whose principal sponsor is the EDF group. Devoted to electricity,
its history, from the first observations in Antiquity up to its industrial operation,
including the spectacular experimentations with "the electrical fairy"
who enchanted the masses between the ends of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Electricty! What would our 21st century human lives be like without it?
It wouldn't be total darkness.: we would still light with candles
or oil. On the other hand, no video games.Actually no video period.
And no video makers!!! No television, radio, not even movies
process described by the chinese ideograms as: "electric shadow"
Electricity used nowdays as much for transmitting the lights of culture and knowledge
as the simple physics light, it wouldn't be as much obscurity that would threaten the world
as obscurantism. Electricity links us together as never before
in human history. By telegram, then telephone, today
with internet, it allows us to link our voices, images, and with the expansion
of electrical transportation, it will also soon be the one taking us to the end of the street
as the end of the world. For a little over a century, electricity
illuminate the world and transformed our lives as no other invention since
fire or agriculture, millenia ago. But is it strictly speaking an invention?
In reality, not at all. Neither fire nor electricity are inventions.
To be exact, it isn't even a discovery! Not only is electricity
in the heart of the matter since the Universes Genesis, the electromagnetic forces
being part of the keystones that make matter possible, but for
human beings, this electricity, invisible to the naked eye, has nevertheless
manifested through various phenomenon leaving our ancestors sometimes in awe,
mostly terrified, since the first manifestation of this electrical force
we think of is, of course, the thunderbolt, whose power and destruction
potential inspired many myths to mankind. But other manifestations
have awakened the inquisitivness of the first civilisations. Magnetism, whose theoretical convergence
with electricity will only happen centuries later, is one of those
phenomenon. For example, in 600 BC, the greek scholar Thales of Miletus
noticed that when you rub yellow amber against certain materials
this substance would attract small feathers or straw.
And, independantly of its'electrostatic properties, Greeks called yellow amber "elektron"
a word promised to a bright future! The Ancients had also identified
other natural magnetization, like wools' triboelectric charging or
lodestones. But they considered these phenomenons and other natural
oddities as the manifestation of the soul of things, at best a
characteristic of life. And how to blame them when one of the main
sources of electricity in nature, other than thunder, are electrical fish, like torpedos
or cat-fish. And this natural electricity, able to dispense electricals shocks
from 60 to 350 volts, was used since Antiquity, especially in the medical field,
to treat migraines or gout attacks with what one can consider as
distant ancestor to electroshocks!
But it's in the 17th century, with the birth of experimental science, that electricity
really starts its epic saga. Queen Elizabeth the firsts' doctor named
William Gilbert , after comparing Earth to a huge magnet in 1600,
explained the poles magnetism, classified the matter that he first defines
as "electric". Magnetism and electricity. Following Isaac Newton's
works, Gravity is associated and are studied together.
In 1660, Otto von Guericke managed to create sparks by rubbing a rotating brimstone
It's a first one in the production of experimental electricity!
From Brimstone, Christiaan Huygens goes to Amber, then Francis Hawkbee replaces
Amber by glass, producing more and more impressive sparks.
Beyond these haphazard experimentations, theory also
gets a boost. Stephen Gray demonstrates that the "electrical vertue"
as it was called back then, can be carried along silk threads, then metal.
Casually, from static, electricity slowly becomes current! The French
Charles-Francis de Cisternai du Fay highlights 2 kinds of electricity:
"vitreous" and "resinous", that later Benjamin Franklin will redefine as
"positive" and "negative".
We are primed for the conception of generators, accumulators and other batteries
essential to give electricity
a real use beyond scientific curiosity. Two men,
a prussian: Ewald Georg von Kleist and a Dutch: Peter van Musschenbroek, are in a matter of months,
each on their own, between october 1745 and april 1746, change bottles
into the ancestor of the electrical condenser .
These milk bottles
once in a battery set-up, pun intended, allow to accumulate
electricity up to a unprecedented charge. From there,
these gentlemen scholars must be careful where they put their fingers
because the shocks increase in strength! It starts to sting pretty hard!
Some actually have fun making a group of people jump like the prankster abbot Jean-Antoine de
Nollet, who kindly electrifies 240 soldiers to the great pleasure of
Louis the 15th and his Court. He'll do even better later by sending a divine
shock to a chain of Carthusian monks linked together by a 3 km (1.86mil) long
metal thread. Undoubtedly sparks are flying between men of science
and the public. During the 19th century, electricity puts on a show more often in public.
You have showmen who organise exhibitions but also scientists
who, in between serious experiments, show to an amazed public the effect
of an electrical charge on hair, or launch explosions and
ignite flammable mixtures from their fingertips, once isolated from the floor
and sufficiently charged up. The show is guaranteed! More seriously, the Italian
Alessandro Volta, on Brumaire the 16th year 10, or, if you prefer, the 7th of November 1801, shows
Napoleon Bonaparte, future Emperor, his electrical battery. This stack
of copper and zinc bathing in acide marked an important moment
in the History and the "electrical fairy": its the advent of DC current and the
starting point of multiple applications. Volta proves once and for all, against
his rival Galvani, that electricity is a physical phenomenon and not a biological one.
Research, "galvanised" par future perspectives, progresses by leaps and bounds under
the impulse of these 2 men that will give their names to electrical measuring units
and define the notions of current, charge and voltage: the Charles-Augustin Coulomb,
Andre-Marie Amper, and Georg Ohms. There are the theoricians, but also,
always seeking the next innovation, genious tinkerers like the German
Heinrich Ruhmkorff who created the first induction coil. Or all those who
helped create a machine capable of converting electricity into movement,
in other words, the design of a real electrical motor.
In this field, if you have to mention the English Michael Faraday, France
as well, with Jean-Gustave Bourbouze's motor.
It's the same design and principles as in the steam-engine
with pistons, balancers and rods. Except here, the whole system is propelled by a simple
electrical source activating electro-magnets, and not the burning of charcoal
needed for steam. A clean engine. Note that at the
end of the 19th century, the burgeoning motor car hesitated between electric and fossil fuel
On board his prototype called "Never Satisfied", the Belgian
Camille Jenatzi went over 100km/h (60mph) thanks to his two electrical engines
with a total power of 50 kilowatts, equivalent to 68 horse power. The car
could have been electric from the start but, unfortunately for the environment
it's the combustion engine who'll win for the following 100 years.
Too bad. But us, in the beginning of the 21st century, we know
we haven't heard the last of the electrical car!
If electrical energy start, with different engines, to convert into mouvement
the opposite is also true: in 1869 the Franco-belgian Zenobe Gramme devises his Dynamo
considered as the first real industrial power generator.
And it's here, in Mulhouse, that Gramme will demonstrate
his Dynamo to the manufacturers. It's also here that is was produced and sold
by Ducommun manufacturer. Amongst the first clients, the thread-making
DMC company, making it the first factory to use electrical lighting
in 1878. But one of the most game changing applications
of this new electrical knowledge is without a doubt the telegraph.
let's rewind a little: if we already could have electric impulses run along a thread,
it's in the early 1830's, thanks to the american
Samuel Morse and his international code that, for the first time,
information traveled at the speed of light. As soon as 1851, the telegraph
linked France to England via an underwater cable. 15 years later,
it was Europ to the States. This means of instantaneous communication
is a true game changer and the first step in a process that
makes our planet smaller and more connected. In a way it's telepathy
that becomes a reality. With Alexander Graham Bell's telephone,
this kind of "telepathy" makes another leap forward!
After allowing, with the telegraph, the circulation of thoughts, the cabling systems
quickly allowed the circulation of lights. With the arrival
of electrical lighting in the streets, theaters, retail stores and finally
the homes, the powerful electrical fairy illuminated the world little by little. In the US
Thomas Alva Edison, "the wizard of Menlo Park", by establishing General Electric
was the first to create a complete electrical distribution system, with
production center, distribution network and of course at the end of it
the possibility to connect the famous Bulb he perfected. Progressing with difficulty
because of lobby pressures from the gas companies (yep! already!) expansion
of electrical light was unstopable.
At night, our planet Earth shines with the brightness of a thousand flames, as if
the planet was reflecting the stars around it.
And here we are at the beginning of the 20th century, the one of transformations.
The world expos center all their attention on electricity and its applications.
Soon, the production of electricity was involving the power of rivers
with hydroelctric plants, always more daunting, the power of wind
and tides, but also the power of the atom. But for the moment in this year 1901,
one of the most impressive devices to create electricity is: "The BIG machine"
It's the main attraction
of the electropolis museum, the Sulzer- BBC power generator. A honey-smooth device
straight out of a steampunk dream! A monster made of copper, cast iron and steel that Jules Verne
wouldn't deny. Actually, it is the type of technology that this
great advocate for electricity is said to have set in the heart of the Nautilus, as unique
and powerful energy source. The big Sulzer-BBC is a link
between the first and second industrialisation, between the 19th and 20th century,
between steam and electricity. Indeed, the Brown-Boveri alternator and its massive 6 meters (19.6ft)
of diameter, capable of delivering 900 kilowatts for an output of 400 volts,
was originally powered by a steam engine. When I say we're in Steampunkland!
The furnaces for the Sulzer produced
12 bars (174 Psi) of pressure in its cylinders which, through a system of pistons, rods and cranks
moved the huge alternator wheel. After 50 years of good services
in the DMC factory in Mulhouse, this jewel of industrial heritage barely
escaped scrapping. Entirely restaured in the 1980's, the big machine still
works today to the visitor's delight as part of a multimedia show
here, in the museum that was built for and around it.
Now, no more furnaces, but electrical motors, probalby
greener, but the big machine continues to amaze the spectators,
even if it's imposing rotor only goes at 21 rev per minute, representing only
a fourth of its original speed.
Another impressive piece in this collection is this Pelton hydroelctrical turbine.
Here, it isn't steam but a waterfall that powers it.
Its cupped rotor system, similar to those of the traditional watermill
was designed and adapted to power production par the american Lester Allan
Pelton in 1879. Since, it has been used by a number of modern hydropower plants.
This double wheel turbine, built in 1926 by Arlod, was set up
in Savoie below the 174m (571ft) high Perrière waterfall near Vignotan.
At its max capacity, it's close to 19 400 kW produced by its
alternator!
During the 20th century, electricity became trivialized.
Difficult today to find the aura of mystery that surrounded the fairy in the beginning.
From the performance halls, it went everywhere, even into our kitchens, through
appliances. For, and we tend to forget it, it's thanks to electricity
that we mastered cold: without it, no fridges. The very first
refrigerated cabinets, very costly, were secured to the ground. Then
in the 20's, models from the USA became more compact, like General Motors
famous "Frigidaire", a brand that is almost a generic term like
Scotch tape of Velcro. Here is a model from 1932
called Frigeco and fabricated by Edison's firm, General
Electric, for the french market. The spherical cooling system,
is now at the top of the appliance. In 1956,
we are closer to a familiar design, some brands even
allow a few excentricities like this "radiofridge" model from Philips.
The certainty to get fresh news! Except that with no antenna
you often have to keep the door open to get a signal! Not the
greatest idea, but innovation also comes with these kind of wrong good ideas....
After the cold, heat!
Here is the ancestor of electrical heating, the Paz & Silva lamp heater from 1910.
Esthetically pleasing, it hardly heats and does it badly. Usage of lamps
before the creation of resistances, made it fragile and expensive.
Resistances can be found in this
lovely glass heater cleverly named "Radiaglass" by Saint-Gobin manufactury!
And here are finaly a set of objects that will really make a splash:
the television set. In 1936,
the cathode-ray tube (CRT) is so long that the set
must be vertical and only the foldable miror allowed to see the image straight on.
Here again, technology evolves very quickly and in 1957, TV's already
look like those from our childhood, like this model
Teleavia whose design was inspired by the space exploration. Its robotic look
isn't surprising when you know that its manufacturer, Sud-Aviation, also made the Concorde.
Strange and historical objects like these ones, you'll discover plenty more
in the EDF Electropolis Museum in Mulhouse, and the exploration of electricity's history
that the museum offers will "cast a new light" on this natural phenomenon
which brought us so much but that we too often take for granted. It's the time
to realise how much electricity is the heart of our modern world
and what would lose if, like Barjavel in his novel "Ashes, Ashes" ,
we were suddenly without. So, it you have the opportunity, don't
hesitate to come here, in Mulhouse, to walk beside the electrical fairy and its history! Thanks to EDF for sponsoring this episode.
If you liked this episode, subscribe, share and give it a blue thumb and comment as well if you wish.
See you next time for a new episode. Bye!
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