Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1908-04-08
ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION.
Brief History OF Power Developments
Through This Agency.

Brief History of Power Developments
Through This Agency.
The development of electrical transmits
sion OF energy was, without a doubt, the
greatest boon to the industrial world in
the history of manufacturing. The inven-
tion OF the transformer enabled the engi-
neers to harness the most distant water
falls and to bring the power to the
industrial centers to turn the wheels vi
mills and factories, light the streets,
supply power for street cars ana illumi-
nate the buildings. without this machine,
hundreds Of thousands OF horse power
now in daily use would still be tumbling
to waste down the far away waterfalls and
wift-fiowing mountain streams.
Industries require excellent shipping
facilities, so the mills and factories could
not go to the distant inland water falls.
The transformer is the machine which
brought the mountain to Mohammed.
Now the water power is changed to cleo
trical power and transmitted over slender
copper wires to the manufact uring centers
Fifteen years ago this would have been
impossible, because, without the trans
former, the current could not be raised to
send it under pressure for any distance.
Low voltage would require a large trans
mission line and q heavy loss in current.
By way Of explanation, il the water power
itself were to be transmitted any distance
at low pressure, 1t would take. large
canal to carry the required amount Of
water; but il the water could be sent
under high pressure, . small pipe would
carry good many hundred horse power.
The transformers raise the voltage and
send the electrical current under high
pressure over q very small wire, and SO
great is this pressure that thousands Of
horse power can be sent to great distances
over small wires with very little losses.
In the past ten years the transformer
has grown from few kilowatts to few
thousand kilowatts in output, and from q
few thousand volts to 100000 volts. The
transformer has no moving parts. In
shape and outline it looks not unlike q
large oval boiler. The interior mechan-
ism consists Of large coils OF wire insulated
with Oil. A cooling device is attached to
keep temperature heiow the danger point.
It was but fifteen years ago when the
first 10,0O0-vo transmission line in this
| country was opened in Southern Cali
fornia, transmitting single phase current
from San Antonio Canon to light Pomona
and San Bernardino, distant fourteen and
twenty-eight miles. There were two
banks Of small transformers, raising the
pressure from 1 ZOO to 10000 volts. In all,
there were forty six-kilowatt trans
formers-the largest OF that day. A COM
parison Of these insignificant machines
with the six monster transformers being
constructed by the General Electric Co., at
Schenectady, N. Y, for the Great Western
Power Co., Of California, fully demon
strates the wonderful advancement of
high-tension transmission. These giant
machines each stand over twenty feet
1900 electrical horsepower at a pressure
of 100000 volts, with the remarkable effic-
iency Of 9S.6 per cent. q distance OF lbs
miles. For comparison for Ellsworth
readers it may be stated that the two large
transformers being installed at the new
power house here stand about twelve feet
high, and weigh 1900 pounds each. One
transmit alternating current was the Gold
King mine, at Telluride, Col, in 1890.
1t was in 1877 that DR.. William Siemens
indicated the possible commercial import
| ance Of electrical transmission for con-
siderable distances. About this time Mar
Gel Duprez, a Frenchman, was expert
menting in electrical transmission, and
successfully sent three horse-p power q
distance of twenty-five miles over ordinary
telegraph wires, using pressure Of 1900
volts; but he obtained at the motor only
81 per cent. OF the energy expended-a very
serious loss.
In 1889, NJ. Hillairet, of Paris, success
fully transmitted $50 horse power ten
miles to actuate motor in a paper MILL
All these first transmissions were Of
direct current. In 1881 alternating current
was employed in the Lauffen- frankfort,
Germany, experiment. There hundred
horse power, obtained from water power,
was transmitted q distance of los miles
with loss of only % per cent. The alter
| mating current installation at Telluride,
Col. was even more efficient.
These few installations Immediately at
trscted the attention Of such eminent en-
gineers and inventors as Edison, Tesla,
Thomson, Houston, Lord Kelvin and
others, and the transformer was developed
into the wonderful machine OF to-day,
which brings the mountain torrents to
the hearts Of the industrial cities OF the
plains.