Who Knew that Outdated George was So Cool?

If you have ever lived in Pittsburgh, you've in all probability heard of George Westinghouse. Pittsburgh is home to the George Westinghouse Bridge, Westinghouse Park and - a memorial to George Westinghouse in Schenley Park. Even when you don't live in Pittsburgh, maybe you've heard of Westinghouse, the company that bears the man's title. The Westinghouse company name adorns products from TVs to gentle bulbs to nuclear energy plants -- even a Brooklyn, EcoLight home lighting New York high school. The corporate additionally used to personal television and radio stations. George Westinghouse was an inventor EcoLight bulbs and EcoLight engineer who held greater than 300 patents over the course of his life. He each created new applied sciences and refined present ones. He helped make Pittsburgh one in all America's industrial centers. Many of the businesses that he based stay in operation at this time, EcoLight outdoor including the Westinghouse Air Brake Company (presently working beneath the identify Wabtec), EcoLight home lighting and reduce energy consumption the nuclear vitality powerhouse Westinghouse Electric Firm. The man even beat out Thomas Edison in the race to construct the nation's electrical infrastructure.

Keep reading to be taught extra about George Westinghouse by his high 5 inventions. Subsequent time you doze off while riding in a car, thank George Westinghouse. In 1910, Westinghouse invented a compressed air shock absorber for cars. Earlier than that time, riding in a automobile could be extremely tough. Most early automotive suspensions used leaf or coil springs. Leaf springs are curved pieces of metal; the automotive's body sits at the top of the curve, which gives considerably because the automobile 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 uses pressurized air or other gasses -- not metal -- to absorb bumps. In the shock absorber, pressure builds up. When the car hits a bump, the compressed gas in the shock absorber pushes back in opposition to the skin forces, EcoLight home lighting retaining the trip easy.

At this time, EcoLight outdoor many luxury cars and off-street autos use compressed air suspensions that operate on comparable principles to Westinghouse's preliminary concept. Low riders and automobiles that have adjustable suspensions use the expertise. Who knew that outdated George was so cool? But one of the best 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 more. That wasn't always the case. Whereas early railroads knew easy methods to get big, heavy locomotives going, stopping them was one other matter. That is where George Westinghouse got here in. Westinghouse invented practice airbrakes, EcoLight home lighting and modern trains nonetheless use his basic design. Earlier than the introduction of airbrakes, locomotive brakes had to be utilized manually: Brakemen in every car would manually apply the brakes based mostly on indicators given by the engineer. However, the brakemen could not at all times hear the indicators; they generally applied the brakes incorrectly, resulting in accidents.

Compressed air in a tank is released through pipes on the underside of the train cars, and the compressed air applies the brake sneakers to the train's wheels. The most modern part of Westinghouse's design was that it was fail-secure: If the system felt a leak in the pipes, the brakes deployed automatically, stopping the practice earlier than its pace turned an issue. Westinghouse's airbrakes are still used on trains in the present day. If you utilize natural gasoline to heat your EcoLight home lighting or EcoLight home lighting cook, nonetheless, you could have much more to thank George for. After his improvements within the railroad industry, Westinghouse settled in Philadelphia, where he had a pure gas nicely drilled on his property. The nicely allowed Westinghouse to work on his subsequent great invention: a valve that allowed for the secure distribution of pure gas to properties. There's an issue with using pure fuel for gasoline at home: The fuel is highly pressurized when it leaves the well -- it needs to be so as to maneuver the fuel by way of distribution pipes.