Turbines, Steam
Evolution of an Industry
Since the turn of the twentieth century, the steam turbine has evolved from an experimental device to the major source of electrical generation. Practical steam turbine inventions coincided with the development of direct-current electric dynamos first used to power arc-lighting street systems. In the United States, the first central station to provide electrical lighting service was Thomas Edison's Pearl Street Station in New York City in 1882. Powered by 72 kW of steam engines, it served 1,284 16-candlepower dc lamps. This installation demonstrated the feasibility of central station electricity. Initially, Edison's system needed a large number of scattered power plants because it utilized direct current, and dc transmission was uneconomical over large distances. In 1885, George Westinghouse's Union Switch & Signal Co. acquired rights to manufacture and sell a European-design transformer, and the company then developed alternating-current distribution capability to utilize its transformers, which made longer-distance transmission of electricity practical. The Westinghouse Electric Co. was formed to exploit this device. By 1900 there were numerous dc and a few ac generating stations in the United States, all with reciprocating steam engines or hydraulic turbines as prime movers. However, the ac technology quickly became a primary factor in stimulating the development of power generation.
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