Hydro-electricty. Who eventented/developed it?

[kirinke]

Hydro-electricty. Who eventented/developed it?

I used to remember the name, but I have since had several years of massive brain-belches. Please help.

 

[Umbran]

As I understand it, it's rather hard to attribute it to one person. Water's been used to run machines for centuries. All a hydro-electric plant is, at it's heart, is a turbine turned by water instead of steam. While there may be some design details first solved by one person, the idea wasn't new.

 

[kirinke]

ahh. hmmm. lemme rephrase. who was the first guy to develope the first hydro-electricity plant?

 

[Hand of Evil]

I thought it was Westinghouse but feel that is not right.

 

[Mark]

This might help...

http://www.fofweb.com/Subscription/Science/Helicon.asp?SID=2&iPin=ffests0426

 

[Umbran]

Google is your friend - Search on "first hydroelectric plant"

On September 30, 1882, the world's first hydroelectric power plant began operation on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin. The plant, later named the Appleton Edison Light Company, was initiated by Appleton paper manufacturer H.F. Rogers, who had been inspired by Thomas Edison's plans for an electricity-producing station in New York. With financial backing from three Appleton men, one a personal friend of Edison's, Rogers began building the Appleton plant at his riverside paper mill during the summer of 1882.

Unlike Edison's New York plant which used steam power to drive its generators, the Appleton plant used the energy of the Fox River. The operation's water wheel, generators, and copper wiring took only a few months to install and test. When the plant opened, just twenty-six days after Edison's, it produced enough electricity to light Rogers' home, the plant itself, and a nearby building.

 

[barsoomcore]

You'll almost always sound right answering questions like this with "Some Chinese guy".

Who invented the pneumatic brake? Some Chinese guy.
Who invented the printing press? Some Chinese guy.
Who invented gunpowder? Some Chinese guy.
What's this in my soup? Some Chinese guy.

That's a tip, kids. Write it down.

 

[kirinke]

thankies! exactly what i needed. ^_^