Author: Sandy Isenstadt
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 026203817X
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 303
Book Description
How electric light created new spaces that transformed the built environment and the perception of modern architecture. In this book, Sandy Isenstadt examines electric light as a form of architecture—as a new, uniquely modern kind of building material. Electric light was more than just a novel way of brightening a room or illuminating a streetscape; it brought with it new ways of perceiving and experiencing space itself. If modernity can be characterized by rapid, incessant change, and modernism as the creative response to such change, Isenstadt argues, then electricity—instantaneous, malleable, ubiquitous, evanescent—is modernity's medium. Isenstadt shows how the introduction of electric lighting at the end of the nineteenth century created new architectural spaces that altered and sometimes eclipsed previously existing spaces. He constructs an architectural history of these new spaces through five examples, ranging from the tangible miracle of the light switch to the immaterial and borderless gloom of the wartime blackout. He describes what it means when an ordinary person can play God by flipping a switch; when the roving cone of automobile headlights places driver and passenger at the vertex of a luminous cavity; when lighting in factories is seen to enhance productivity; when Times Square became an emblem of illuminated commercial speech; and when the absence of electric light in a blackout produced a new type of space. In this book, the first sustained examination of the spatial effects of electric lighting, Isenstadt reconceives modernism in architecture to account for the new perceptual conditions and visual habits that followed widespread electrification.
Electric Light
Author: Sandy Isenstadt
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 026203817X
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 303
Book Description
How electric light created new spaces that transformed the built environment and the perception of modern architecture. In this book, Sandy Isenstadt examines electric light as a form of architecture—as a new, uniquely modern kind of building material. Electric light was more than just a novel way of brightening a room or illuminating a streetscape; it brought with it new ways of perceiving and experiencing space itself. If modernity can be characterized by rapid, incessant change, and modernism as the creative response to such change, Isenstadt argues, then electricity—instantaneous, malleable, ubiquitous, evanescent—is modernity's medium. Isenstadt shows how the introduction of electric lighting at the end of the nineteenth century created new architectural spaces that altered and sometimes eclipsed previously existing spaces. He constructs an architectural history of these new spaces through five examples, ranging from the tangible miracle of the light switch to the immaterial and borderless gloom of the wartime blackout. He describes what it means when an ordinary person can play God by flipping a switch; when the roving cone of automobile headlights places driver and passenger at the vertex of a luminous cavity; when lighting in factories is seen to enhance productivity; when Times Square became an emblem of illuminated commercial speech; and when the absence of electric light in a blackout produced a new type of space. In this book, the first sustained examination of the spatial effects of electric lighting, Isenstadt reconceives modernism in architecture to account for the new perceptual conditions and visual habits that followed widespread electrification.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 026203817X
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 303
Book Description
How electric light created new spaces that transformed the built environment and the perception of modern architecture. In this book, Sandy Isenstadt examines electric light as a form of architecture—as a new, uniquely modern kind of building material. Electric light was more than just a novel way of brightening a room or illuminating a streetscape; it brought with it new ways of perceiving and experiencing space itself. If modernity can be characterized by rapid, incessant change, and modernism as the creative response to such change, Isenstadt argues, then electricity—instantaneous, malleable, ubiquitous, evanescent—is modernity's medium. Isenstadt shows how the introduction of electric lighting at the end of the nineteenth century created new architectural spaces that altered and sometimes eclipsed previously existing spaces. He constructs an architectural history of these new spaces through five examples, ranging from the tangible miracle of the light switch to the immaterial and borderless gloom of the wartime blackout. He describes what it means when an ordinary person can play God by flipping a switch; when the roving cone of automobile headlights places driver and passenger at the vertex of a luminous cavity; when lighting in factories is seen to enhance productivity; when Times Square became an emblem of illuminated commercial speech; and when the absence of electric light in a blackout produced a new type of space. In this book, the first sustained examination of the spatial effects of electric lighting, Isenstadt reconceives modernism in architecture to account for the new perceptual conditions and visual habits that followed widespread electrification.
Incandescent Electric Lighting
Author: Lewis Howard Latimer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electric lighting, Incandescent
Languages : en
Pages : 162
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electric lighting, Incandescent
Languages : en
Pages : 162
Book Description
Edison's Electric Light
Author: Robert Friedel
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 0801899443
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 247
Book Description
In September 1878, Thomas Alva Edison brashly—and prematurely—proclaimed his breakthrough invention of a workable electric light. That announcement was followed by many months of intense experimentation that led to the successful completion of his Pearl Street station four years later. Edison was not alone—nor was he first—in developing an incandescent light bulb, but his was the most successful of all competing inventions. Drawing from the documents in the Edison archives, Robert Friedel and Paul Israel explain how this came to be. They explore the process of invention through the Menlo Park notes, discussing the full range of experiments, including the testing of a host of materials, the development of such crucial tools as the world's best vacuum pump, and the construction of the first large-scale electrical generators and power distribution systems. The result is a fascinating story of excitement, risk, and competition. Revised and updated from the original 1986 edition, this definitive study of the most famous invention of America's most famous inventor is completely keyed to the printed and electronic versions of the Edison Papers, inviting the reader to explore further the remarkable original sources.
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 0801899443
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 247
Book Description
In September 1878, Thomas Alva Edison brashly—and prematurely—proclaimed his breakthrough invention of a workable electric light. That announcement was followed by many months of intense experimentation that led to the successful completion of his Pearl Street station four years later. Edison was not alone—nor was he first—in developing an incandescent light bulb, but his was the most successful of all competing inventions. Drawing from the documents in the Edison archives, Robert Friedel and Paul Israel explain how this came to be. They explore the process of invention through the Menlo Park notes, discussing the full range of experiments, including the testing of a host of materials, the development of such crucial tools as the world's best vacuum pump, and the construction of the first large-scale electrical generators and power distribution systems. The result is a fascinating story of excitement, risk, and competition. Revised and updated from the original 1986 edition, this definitive study of the most famous invention of America's most famous inventor is completely keyed to the printed and electronic versions of the Edison Papers, inviting the reader to explore further the remarkable original sources.
The Age of Edison
Author: Ernest Freeberg
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143124447
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 368
Book Description
A sweeping history of the electric light revolution and the birth of modern America The late nineteenth century was a period of explosive technological creativity, but more than any other invention, Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulb marked the arrival of modernity, transforming its inventor into a mythic figure and avatar of an era. In The Age of Edison, award-winning author and historian Ernest Freeberg weaves a narrative that reaches from Coney Island and Broadway to the tiniest towns of rural America, tracing the progress of electric light through the reactions of everyone who saw it and capturing the wonder Edison’s invention inspired. It is a quintessentially American story of ingenuity, ambition, and possibility in which the greater forces of progress and change are made by one of our most humble and ubiquitous objects.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143124447
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 368
Book Description
A sweeping history of the electric light revolution and the birth of modern America The late nineteenth century was a period of explosive technological creativity, but more than any other invention, Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulb marked the arrival of modernity, transforming its inventor into a mythic figure and avatar of an era. In The Age of Edison, award-winning author and historian Ernest Freeberg weaves a narrative that reaches from Coney Island and Broadway to the tiniest towns of rural America, tracing the progress of electric light through the reactions of everyone who saw it and capturing the wonder Edison’s invention inspired. It is a quintessentially American story of ingenuity, ambition, and possibility in which the greater forces of progress and change are made by one of our most humble and ubiquitous objects.
The Book of Non-Electric Lighting
Author: Tim Matson
Publisher: The Countryman Press
ISBN: 0881507946
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 105
Book Description
Tim Matson surveys an often overlooked aspect of independent living—firelight. In this completely revised and updated classic, Matson describes in lively detail all the elements of firelight—beginning with an explanation of the lighting system he developed from his Vermont home. • The romantic history and modern molding of candlepower • Traditional kerosene lamps • The versatile Aladdin • Liquid propane (LP) gas lights • Kerosene and gas pressure lanterns (the Coleman) • Incandescent mantle safety • The "Return of Firelight" from glass-fronted hearths and stoves In addition, Matson shows how to select, assemble, install, and safely maintain these non-electric sources of light. This guide will be indispensable for vacation homes, camps, boats, RVs, independent homesteads—and anywhere in a blackout.
Publisher: The Countryman Press
ISBN: 0881507946
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 105
Book Description
Tim Matson surveys an often overlooked aspect of independent living—firelight. In this completely revised and updated classic, Matson describes in lively detail all the elements of firelight—beginning with an explanation of the lighting system he developed from his Vermont home. • The romantic history and modern molding of candlepower • Traditional kerosene lamps • The versatile Aladdin • Liquid propane (LP) gas lights • Kerosene and gas pressure lanterns (the Coleman) • Incandescent mantle safety • The "Return of Firelight" from glass-fronted hearths and stoves In addition, Matson shows how to select, assemble, install, and safely maintain these non-electric sources of light. This guide will be indispensable for vacation homes, camps, boats, RVs, independent homesteads—and anywhere in a blackout.
Electric Discharge Lamps
Author: John F. Waymouth
Publisher: MIT Press (MA)
ISBN:
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 410
Book Description
This book brings together an extraordinary amount of data on all the major types of electric discharge lamps which are now in commercial use.
Publisher: MIT Press (MA)
ISBN:
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 410
Book Description
This book brings together an extraordinary amount of data on all the major types of electric discharge lamps which are now in commercial use.
A History of Electric Light & Power
Author: Brian Bowers
Publisher: Peter Peregrinus Limited
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296
Book Description
Publisher: Peter Peregrinus Limited
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296
Book Description
A Warning from the Edison Electric Light Co
Author: Edison Electric Light Company
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electric lighting, Incandescent
Languages : en
Pages : 104
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electric lighting, Incandescent
Languages : en
Pages : 104
Book Description
The Alchemy of Us
Author: Ainissa Ramirez
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262542269
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 392
Book Description
A “timely, informative, and fascinating” study of 8 inventions—and how they shaped our world—with “totally compelling” insights on little-known inventors throughout history (Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sixth Extinction) In The Alchemy of Us, scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez examines 8 inventions and reveals how they shaped the human experience: • Clocks • Steel rails • Copper communication cables • Photographic film • Light bulbs • Hard disks • Scientific labware • Silicon chips Ramirez tells the stories of the woman who sold time, the inventor who inspired Edison, and the hotheaded undertaker whose invention pointed the way to the computer. She describes how our pursuit of precision in timepieces changed how we sleep; how the railroad helped commercialize Christmas; how the necessary brevity of the telegram influenced Hemingway’s writing style; and how a young chemist exposed the use of Polaroid’s cameras to create passbooks to track black citizens in apartheid South Africa. These fascinating and inspiring stories offer new perspectives on our relationships with technologies. Ramirez shows not only how materials were shaped by inventors but also how those materials shaped culture, chronicling each invention and its consequences—intended and unintended. Filling in the gaps left by other books about technology, Ramirez showcases little-known inventors—particularly people of color and women—who had a significant impact but whose accomplishments have been hidden by mythmaking, bias, and convention. Doing so, she shows us the power of telling inclusive stories about technology. She also shows that innovation is universal—whether it's splicing beats with two turntables and a microphone or splicing genes with two test tubes and CRISPR.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262542269
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 392
Book Description
A “timely, informative, and fascinating” study of 8 inventions—and how they shaped our world—with “totally compelling” insights on little-known inventors throughout history (Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sixth Extinction) In The Alchemy of Us, scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez examines 8 inventions and reveals how they shaped the human experience: • Clocks • Steel rails • Copper communication cables • Photographic film • Light bulbs • Hard disks • Scientific labware • Silicon chips Ramirez tells the stories of the woman who sold time, the inventor who inspired Edison, and the hotheaded undertaker whose invention pointed the way to the computer. She describes how our pursuit of precision in timepieces changed how we sleep; how the railroad helped commercialize Christmas; how the necessary brevity of the telegram influenced Hemingway’s writing style; and how a young chemist exposed the use of Polaroid’s cameras to create passbooks to track black citizens in apartheid South Africa. These fascinating and inspiring stories offer new perspectives on our relationships with technologies. Ramirez shows not only how materials were shaped by inventors but also how those materials shaped culture, chronicling each invention and its consequences—intended and unintended. Filling in the gaps left by other books about technology, Ramirez showcases little-known inventors—particularly people of color and women—who had a significant impact but whose accomplishments have been hidden by mythmaking, bias, and convention. Doing so, she shows us the power of telling inclusive stories about technology. She also shows that innovation is universal—whether it's splicing beats with two turntables and a microphone or splicing genes with two test tubes and CRISPR.
The New York Public Library African American Desk Reference
Author: New York Public Library
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
ISBN: 1620459140
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 874
Book Description
Covering a wide range of knowledge, The New York Public Library African American Desk Reference is a magnificent resource for home, family, and business, and an essential addition to your personal reference library. "Indispensable for those interested in the African American experience. We have no better source for quick and reliable information." --Cornel West, Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University "As much about African American culture as one could possibly gain from one volume is now available in this highly readable, easily accessible, genuinely informative desk reference." --Johnetta B. Cole, PhD, President Emerita, Spelman College; Presidential Distinguished Professor, Emory University In over 5,000 fascinating information capsules, this landmark reference captures the most vital people, places, organizations, movements, and creative works of a people, and provides a practical resource for everyday living. In its nineteen chapters, you’ll find: * Timelines of African American History * Political and Civil Rights Leaders * African Contributions to the Making of the Americas * Holidays and Celebrations * Museums and Historical Sites * Religion and Spirituality * Health Tips and Recipes * Business Contacts and Professional Associations * Demographics and Population * Major Writers, Artists, and Musicians * Musical Forms * Sports * and more
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
ISBN: 1620459140
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 874
Book Description
Covering a wide range of knowledge, The New York Public Library African American Desk Reference is a magnificent resource for home, family, and business, and an essential addition to your personal reference library. "Indispensable for those interested in the African American experience. We have no better source for quick and reliable information." --Cornel West, Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University "As much about African American culture as one could possibly gain from one volume is now available in this highly readable, easily accessible, genuinely informative desk reference." --Johnetta B. Cole, PhD, President Emerita, Spelman College; Presidential Distinguished Professor, Emory University In over 5,000 fascinating information capsules, this landmark reference captures the most vital people, places, organizations, movements, and creative works of a people, and provides a practical resource for everyday living. In its nineteen chapters, you’ll find: * Timelines of African American History * Political and Civil Rights Leaders * African Contributions to the Making of the Americas * Holidays and Celebrations * Museums and Historical Sites * Religion and Spirituality * Health Tips and Recipes * Business Contacts and Professional Associations * Demographics and Population * Major Writers, Artists, and Musicians * Musical Forms * Sports * and more