Davenport Motor
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| Audience/Grade: | 6-Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Design Entrepreneurship and Innovation History of Science and Technology Mechanical Engineering |
| Special Topic(s): |
History of Technology |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Reference - Article/Document |
| Media Type: |
Unknown |
| Author(s): |
Organization:Magnet Lab - National High Magnetic Field Laboratory |
| Description: | History of the invention of the DC motor by Thomas Davenport. Excerpt: "Some inventions are so ahead of their time that no one appreciates them until long after their inventors’ lives have ended. Today, for example, electric motors, which convert electrical energy into mechanical energy, power our vehicles and appliances such as refrigerators, fans, washers and dryers. But there was a time when the motor was little more than a curiosity. Davenport Motor In the early 1800s, Michael Faraday and a small number of other scientists built machines that demonstrated the basic principles of the electric motor. A blacksmith from Vermont named Thomas Davenport, an unlikely pioneer in the nascent field of electromagnetism, was one of the first to try to make money off the contraptions. The attempt financially ruined him. When he died in 1851, his dream of locomotives and large machines run by electricity was still unrealized. Davenport wanted to patent his motor, but initially the U.S. Patent Office denied his application. No one had ever been granted a patent for an electric device before, and the government office did not make it easy for him. He decided to try again after collecting letters of recommendation from professors and scientists who saw his motor demonstrations. This time, a fire at the office destroyed his application, the letters and the model he submitted. It was not until February 25, 1837, when Davenport finally received his long sought-after patent. Even with the patent Davenport was unable to make much money with his motor. He had trouble in the partnerships he formed, and the expense and erratic electricity supplied by the batteries then available meant that motors were less practical than the tried-and- true steam engine. Financially ruined, Davenport eventually left the laboratory he had set up in New York to return to Vermont with a plan for writing a book about his vision for the electric motor. He died before the book was completed and without ever really knowing what an impact his work would one day have on people around the world." |
| Rating: |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | Thomas Davenport DC motor motor design history of tehcnology |
| Is Component of: |
Center for Integrating Research & Learning - National High Magnet Field Lab |
| Usage Tip | |
| Use of Resource: |
Interesting case in history of technology or African American inventors. Linked to integrated teaching and research lab with related lesson plans, exercises and other teaching resources. |
| Difficulty: |
Easy |
| Interactivity Level: |
Medium |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | February 2008 |
| Platform/Format: |
WWW |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/education/tutorials/museum/davenportmot |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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