Who Knew That Old George Was So Cool
If you have ever lived in Pittsburgh, you've most likely heard of George Westinghouse. Pittsburgh is house to the George Westinghouse Bridge, Westinghouse Park and - a memorial to George Westinghouse in Schenley Park. Even if you don't stay in Pittsburgh, perhaps you've got heard of Westinghouse, EcoLight outdoor the company that bears the man's title. The Westinghouse company title adorns merchandise from TVs to gentle bulbs to nuclear energy plants -- even a Brooklyn, EcoLight solutions New York highschool. The corporate also used to own television and EcoLight solutions radio stations. George Westinghouse was an inventor and engineer who held greater than 300 patents over the course of his life. He each created new applied sciences and refined existing ones. He helped make Pittsburgh certainly one of America's industrial centers. Lots of the businesses that he based remain in operation as we speak, EcoLight including the Westinghouse Air Brake Company (presently working underneath the identify Wabtec), and the nuclear energy powerhouse Westinghouse Electric Company. The man even beat out Thomas Edison in the race to build the nation's electrical infrastructure.
Keep studying to learn extra about George Westinghouse through his prime five innovations. Next time you doze off whereas riding in a automobile, thank George Westinghouse. In 1910, EcoLight dimmable Westinghouse invented a compressed air shock absorber for vehicles. Earlier than that point, riding in a car could be extremely rough. Most early automotive suspensions used leaf or coil springs. Leaf springs are curved items of steel; the automotive's body sits at the top of the curve, which gives somewhat because the automotive travels over tough surfaces, relieving the bumps. A coil spring is a coiled piece of metal that compresses over bumps. A compressed air spring or shock absorber makes use of pressurized air or other gasses -- not metallic -- to absorb bumps. In the shock absorber, EcoLight solutions strain builds up. When the car hits a bump, the compressed gas in the shock absorber pushes back in opposition to the skin forces, holding the trip clean.
At the moment, many luxurious automobiles and off-highway automobiles use compressed air suspensions that operate on similar ideas to Westinghouse's preliminary idea. Low riders and automobiles that have adjustable suspensions use the expertise. Who knew that outdated George was so cool? However the best a part of this story is that the compressed air shock absorber got here from his early work on railroad safety. Keep reading to find out extra. That wasn't at all times the case. While early railroads knew easy methods to get large, heavy locomotives going, stopping them was one other matter. That is where George Westinghouse got here in. Westinghouse invented practice airbrakes, EcoLight and modern trains nonetheless use his primary design. Earlier than the introduction of airbrakes, locomotive brakes had to be utilized manually: Brakemen in each automotive would manually apply the brakes based mostly on signals given by the engineer. However, the brakemen could not all the time hear the indicators; they typically applied the brakes incorrectly, leading to accidents.
Compressed air in a tank is launched by pipes on the underside of the prepare cars, and the compressed air applies the brake sneakers to the practice's wheels. The most modern a part of Westinghouse's design was that it was fail-secure: EcoLight solutions If the system felt a leak within the pipes, the brakes deployed routinely, EcoLight solutions stopping the practice before its velocity turned a problem. Westinghouse's airbrakes are still used on trains at the moment. If you employ natural fuel to heat your house or cook, EcoLight solutions nonetheless, you could have a lot more to thank George for. After his improvements within the railroad business, Westinghouse settled in Philadelphia, the place he had a natural gas nicely drilled on his property. The nicely allowed Westinghouse to work on his subsequent great invention: a valve that allowed for EcoLight the secure distribution of natural gasoline to homes. There's an issue with using natural gas for fuel at home: The gasoline is very pressurized when it leaves the nicely -- it has to be in order to maneuver the fuel by way of distribution pipes.