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Yellow plastic hard hat with solar-powered propeller on top, souvenir from, Knoxville World’s Fair, 1982

Energy

September 12, 2016 by Joyce Bedi and Alison Oswald

Inventive Minds: Inventing Green features the stories of historic and contemporary inventors whose work on socially-responsible technologies creates profound change for the common good.

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Wind power at the turn of the 20th century

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Patent model for windmill by Jacob Longyear and Daniel Clark, 1879. Windmill has 12 vanes and rudder/regulator

Jacob Longyear and Daniel Clark received a patent in 1879 for a new kind of regulator. Windmill patent model, AG*222515, Jacob Longyear and Daniel W. Clark, US Patent 222,515, December 9, 1879. © Smithsonian Institution


Windmills in the late 1800s were used primarily to pump water on rural homesteads. It was a competitive market, and many innovators worked to improve the technology. 

As electrification reached more American homes and farms from the 1930s on, windmills were replaced increasingly with electric motors. Today, concerns about fossil fuels and global climate change are driving new innovations in renewable wind power.

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Gem Steel Wind Engine trade card, color, about 1885

The Gem Steel Wind Engine was self-lubricating. Trade card, Gem Steel Wind Engine, about 1885. Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, AC0060-0003087-01, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian

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Eclipse Wind Mill trade card, around 1890

The self-regulating Eclipse windmill was originally patented by Rev. Leonard Wheeler in 1867. Trade card, Eclipse Wind Mill, around 1890. Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, AC0060-0003086-01, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

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Fairbanks Eclipse Wind Mill brochure, about 1890, illustrated in color with images of windmills, grazing livestock, large Victorian style farmhouse, and cutaway grain mill.

The “Fairbanks” was an all-steel windmill. Brochure, Fairbanks Eclipse Wind Mill, about 1890. Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, AC0060-0003091-01, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

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Challenge Wind Mill and Feed Mill Co., Batavia, Illinois, trade card, around 1900, illustrated in color with references to windmills sold and in use in Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, and on a Native American reservation in the US

The Challenge Co. of Batavia, Illinois produced several windmill designs for the US and overseas markets. Trade card, Challenge Wind Mill and Feed Mill Co., Batavia, Illinois, around 1900. Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, AC0060-0003195, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Alternative energy in the 1980s

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Yellow plastic hard hat with solar-powered propeller on top, souvenir from, Knoxville World’s Fair, 1982

Souvenir solar-powered hat, Knoxville World’s Fair, 1982, 1989.0438.3065. © Smithsonian Institution

Knoxville, Tennessee is home to the Tennessee Valley Authority, which supplies electric power to seven states. It also sits in the heart of a major coal-mining region and is about 30 miles east of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a leader in energy research. So it is not surprising that the city was selected as the site for the 1982 World’s Fair whose theme was “Energy Turns the World.” From the 266-foot-tall Sunsphere made of energy-efficient glass to the solar panels that powered the US Pavilion and the working windmills at Australia’s exhibition, the fair offered an enthusiastic glimpse into a future fueled by new energy technologies.

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US Postal Service commemorative stamps booklet, 1982. On right are first-day-of-issue stamps depicting solar, nuclear, and fossil and synthetic fuels. On left are 14 stamps depicting a variety of earlier World's Fairs

US Postal Service commemorative stamps booklet, 1982. Larry Zim World's Fair Collection, 1841-1988, AC0519-0000115-02, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

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US Postal Service commemorative stamps booklet cover with hand-drawn illustration of the Sunsphere, icon of the fair, 1982

US Postal Service commemorative stamps booklet Sunsphere cover illustration, 1982. Larry Zim World's Fair Collection, 1841-1988, AC0519-0000115-01, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Solar power in the late 20th century

Jerome Lemelson

Jerome Lemelson (1923–1997) created inventions in many fields, including solar energy. For example, page 121 of his notebook documents ideas he had in the 1960s for producing electricity from sunlight. He described a method to focus the sun’s rays in the oval hollow seen in his sketch. The hollow would be reflective and concentrate the sun's heat. That heat would be converted into electricity by semiconductors or other means.

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Jerome Lemelson's invention notebook volume A, pages 120–121, July 14, 1960

Jerome Lemelson's invention notebook volume A, pages 120–121, July 14, 1960, documents a method to focus the sun’s rays to concentrate the heat and convert it into electricity by semiconductors or other means. On loan, courtesy of the Lemelson family

Pages 130–131 of his notebook illustrate ideas he had in the 1960s for producing electricity from sunlight by focusing the sun’s rays with metallized plastic film stretched over a wire frame. An electron tube would convert the concentrated light into electrical power.

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Jerome Lemelson's invention notebook volume A, pages 130–131, 1960, include drawings of 2 semi-hemispheres that would focus the sun’s rays with metallized plastic film stretched over a wire frame.

Jerome Lemelson's invention notebook volume A, pages 130–131, 1960, illustrate ideas he had in the 1960s for producing electricity from sunlight by focusing the sun’s rays with metallized plastic film stretched over a wire frame. Courtesy of the Lemelson family

Consumer solar

Solar-powered consumer products—including wristwatches, radios, and calculators—were available soon after solar cells were invented in the 1950s.

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Synchronar 2100 solar-powered wristwatch, 1973, in original gift box

Roger Riehl, a self-taught electronics expert, invented one of the first watches to use solar energy. His highly accurate Synchronar 2100 had a recessed light-emitting diode (LED) display on the side of the watch.​ Synchronar 2100 wristwatch, 1973, gift of Howard Riehl, 2006.0130.01. © Smithsonian Institution

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Hoffman model KP709XS transistor solar radio in leatherette carrying case, about 1962. Solar panels are on the top of the radio

Hoffman Electronics manufactured cells for satellites but also introduced a portable transistor radio that could run on sunlight or batteries.​ Hoffman model KP709XS transistor solar radio, about 1962, gift of Glen E. Swanson. 2016.0054.01. © Smithsonian Institution

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Unisonic Solar 185 handheld electronic calculator in folding pocket case, about 1983. Solar panels are above number display

Five small solar panels at the top powered the Unisonic 185 calculator.​ Unisonic Solar 185 handheld electronic calculator, about 1983, gift of John B. Priser, 1987.0435.15. © Smithsonian Institution

Subhendu Guha

Subhendu Guha was born in Kolkata, India. After completing his PhD in 1968, he investigated properties of semiconductors and became interested in their use to convert sunlight into electricity (photovoltaics).  Guha focused his research on amorphous silicon, an element found in sand that can be applied as a thin film to produce a photovoltaic material. In the 1990s, he created a photovoltaic panel that was lightweight, flexible, rugged, durable, and easy to install. He also led the invention of flexible solar roofing shingles. Guha believed that it was important not only to reduce reliance on fossil fuels through solar energy but also to make electricity available for people in developing countries where no electrical grid exists.

Batteries today

Amy Prieto

Inventive Minds: Amy Prieto

Colombian-born inventor Amy Prieto’s research on new, fast-charging, long-lasting, and green rechargeable batteries. She joined the Colorado State University (CSU) chemistry department in 2005 after completing doctoral and post-doctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard University. She says that she was attracted to CSU because of the culture of collaboration there, with an openness to sharing resources and knowledge that she believes is crucial to her work.

Prieto founded her company, Prieto Battery, in 2009 to take the battery from research to prototype to commercialization. Still in development, the heart of the battery is a thin slice of copper “foam” that, like a sponge, is full of holes. This 3-dimensional structure increases the amount of surface area and allows lithium ions to move more freely and over shorter distances than in conventional batteries that are assembled in flat layers. Prieto explains that “the ions can go in many different directions, but they don’t have to go very far.”

In addition, Prieto’s solid-state battery contains none of the toxic or flammable liquid components found in traditional batteries. “As part of our mission to deliver a battery that can be used by the masses,” the company asserts, “Prieto is working to develop a process that is cost competitive and friendly to the environment.” This includes water-based manufacturing using citric acid (a common natural preservative) and a standard electroplating process.

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Components of prototype Prieto batteries, 2014. A wooden board holds several different types of cells for testing

Components of prototype Prieto batteries, 2014. The board holds several different types of cells for testing. Electrodes made with different combinations of copper foil, copper foam, and copper antimony are at the left. Standard paint sample color cards (center) are used to compare tests of the copper antimony substrate. A piece of copper foam is at the right. © 2014 Smithsonian Institution; photo by Richard Strauss. Courtesy of National Museum of American History; gift of Amy Prieto. © Smithsonian Institution

The Grid

Sunil Cherian

Sunil Cherian, the founder and CEO of Spirae, Inc. in Fort Collins, Colorado, works on smart grid technology that balances variations in supply and demand from diverse energy sources to best meet the needs of energy consumers.

Engines and Energy Policy

Bryan Willson

Bryan Willson, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Energy Institute at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, has a wide-ranging vision for clean energy.

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