Light Bulb, Cash Register, Thermostat, Steam Turbine

 The Arc lamp needed too much power. We needed lights with higher light, not low. Edison tried 3,000 different versions of the light bulb. He invented the incandescent bulb in 1874. He invented the bulb to scatter light. It lights up dark places very cheaply. It replaced gas lamps at theaters and other places. They lit up the whole city of New York in 1878.

General stores were basic to rural economies. Store owners had employees stealing from them. James Ritty was born in Ohio in 1836. He opened a saloon in 1878. Ritty had employees stealing from him too, so he invented the Cash Register. It changed the American selling force.

Drebbel invented an early thermostat in the 1660s. Warren Johnson was born in Vermont in 1847. He became a science professor when he was 34. He invented the Thermostat in 1833. A multi-zone thermostat was developed in 1845. Used with air conditioning systems. Development of hot water heaters.

Charles Parsons was born in England in 1854. He assisted his father in astronomical work. Then he moved into electric machinery in 1884. He invented the Steam Turbine in 1884. The steam turbine converted heat into rotation. It makes bulk power production cheap. Westinghouse became very very interested and so did even companies in Britain. 

It was very interesting learning about these inventions. I liked why and how they were invented. I especially liked learning about the cash register.