Title: Antique Mechanical Electric Motor Machine Model
Catalog Number: 3684
Category: Metals / Machine
Artist:
Country & Origin:
Historical Period: 20th Century
Approximate Date: 1930 to 1940
Signature: Unsigned
Condition: Good
Size:
Height: 4 3/4 inches
Width: 6 1/2 inches
Depth: 4 1/2 inches
Weight:
Description & Provenance: A very old red model Electric engine. I see these old engines as moveable art and fund to look at, I don't no if this one works butt it looks so cool. This is a early mechanical wonder of the past. It would look good on a desk or in a office. Most small or toy vintage electric motors resemble early larger antique steam and electric motors from the same time period or era and are open framed and or bi-polar in design. Many of the electric motors that came with erector sets or with toy steam engines like Weeden and Bing are similar looking but there are earlier and more elaborate models that were used as demonstrators in classes or labs as well. Others were sold in Novelty catalogs as working motors for small jobs. In addition to electric motors there are also hot air models known as "flame lickers", and the steam driven motors / generators meant to be set up with boilers by such makers as Bing, Jensen, Plank and others.
Origin, Encyclopedia & Researched Articles:
Encyclopedia Name: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Motor
The conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy by electromagnetic means was demonstrated by the British scientist Michael Faraday in 1821. A free-hanging wire was dipped into a pool of mercury, on which a permanent magnet was placed. When a current was passed through the wire, the wire rotated around the magnet, showing that the current gave rise to a circular magnetic field around the wire. This motor is often demonstrated in school physics classes, but brine (salt water) is sometimes used in place of the toxic mercury. This is the simplest form of a class of devices called homopolar motors. A later refinement is the Barlow's Wheel. These were demonstration devices only, unsuited to practical applications due to their primitive construction.
Jedlik's "electromagnetic self-rotor", 1827. (Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest. The historic motor still works perfectly today. In 1827, Hungarian Ányos Jedlik started experimenting with electromagnetic rotating devices he called "electromagnetic self-rotors". He used them for instructive purposes in universities, and in 1828 demonstrated the first device which contained the three main components of practical direct current motors: the stator, rotor and commutator. Both the stationary and the revolving parts were electromagnetic, employing no permanent magnets. Again, the devices had no practical application.
Verbal History:
Names like Edison, Westinghouse, Tesla and a few others come to mind when considering the introduction of electrical technology into our society. These inventors and others were the driving force that led America into a new age of power and their early efforts and designs are both important and an interesting facet of our history and a reminder of what it used to be like.
Comments are subject to review
Be the first to comment!