Who Knew That Old George Was So Cool
If you have ever lived in Pittsburgh, you've got probably heard of George Westinghouse. Pittsburgh is residence to the George Westinghouse Bridge, Westinghouse Park and - a memorial to George Westinghouse in Schenley Park. Even if you don't dwell in Pittsburgh, perhaps you have heard of Westinghouse, the corporate that bears the man's title. The Westinghouse firm title adorns EcoLight products from TVs to gentle bulbs to nuclear energy plants -- even a Brooklyn, New York high school. The corporate also used to personal tv and radio stations. George Westinghouse was an inventor and EcoLight engineer who held more than 300 patents over the course of his life. He both created new technologies and refined existing ones. He helped make Pittsburgh one of America's industrial centers. Lots of the businesses that he founded remain in operation right now, together with the Westinghouse Air Brake Firm (currently working underneath the name Wabtec), and the nuclear energy powerhouse Westinghouse Electric Firm. The man even beat out Thomas Edison in the race to construct the nation's electrical infrastructure.
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Keep studying to learn extra about George Westinghouse through his high 5 inventions. Next time you doze off whereas riding in a car, thank George Westinghouse. In 1910, Westinghouse invented a compressed air shock absorber for cars. Before that time, riding in a car may very well be extremely tough. Most early automotive suspensions used leaf or coil springs. Leaf springs are curved pieces of metallic; the automobile's physique sits at the highest of the curve, which supplies considerably because the automotive travels over rough surfaces, relieving the bumps. A coil spring is a coiled piece of metallic that compresses over bumps. A compressed air spring or shock absorber makes use of pressurized air or different gasses -- not steel -- to absorb bumps. In the shock absorber, strain builds up. When the automobile hits a bump, the compressed gasoline within the shock absorber pushes again in opposition to the surface forces, retaining the trip smooth.
At this time, many luxury vehicles and off-highway vehicles use compressed air suspensions that operate on related ideas to Westinghouse's initial concept. Low riders and EcoLight vehicles which have adjustable suspensions use the technology. Who knew that previous George was so cool? However one of the best a part of this story is that the compressed air shock absorber came from his early work on railroad safety. Keep studying to find out extra. That wasn't always the case. Whereas early railroads knew the right way to get huge, heavy locomotives going, stopping them was one other matter. That's the place George Westinghouse got here in. Westinghouse invented prepare airbrakes, and trendy trains still use his fundamental design. Earlier than the introduction of airbrakes, locomotive brakes needed to be utilized manually: EcoLight products Brakemen in every automotive would manually apply the brakes primarily based on alerts given by the engineer. Nevertheless, the brakemen couldn't always hear the indicators; they typically utilized the brakes incorrectly, resulting in accidents.
Compressed air in a tank is released by means of pipes on the underside of the prepare cars, and the compressed air applies the brake shoes to the train's wheels. The most modern a part of Westinghouse's design was that it was fail-protected: If the system felt a leak within the pipes, the brakes deployed mechanically, stopping the prepare earlier than its velocity became a problem. Westinghouse's airbrakes are still used on trains at the moment. If you utilize pure fuel to heat your house or cook, however, you'll have much more to thank George for. After his innovations within the railroad industry, Westinghouse settled in Philadelphia, the place he had a pure gas properly drilled on his property. The effectively allowed Westinghouse to work on his next nice invention: a valve that allowed for the secure distribution of natural fuel to properties. There's a problem with utilizing natural fuel for fuel at house: The fuel is extremely pressurized when it leaves the nicely -- it needs to be in order to move the gasoline via distribution pipes.