Inventors
William
Stanley, Jr.
 William Stanley, Jr. invented the
induction coil. The induction coil was very important, in the 1880s, electricity
(DC) was dangerous and could not be used for consumer uses such as lighting,
but it was known that alternating current (AC) voltage could be varied
by use of induction coils.
William
Stanley was born in 1858. During his lifetime he was granted 129 patents
covering a wide range of electric devices. The most notable of these is
the induction coil, a transformer that creates alternating current electricity.
In the 1880s every electricity distribution system used direct current
(DC). The problem is that DC transmission over long distances is impractical,
requires thick wires, is dangerous and could not be used for lighting.
On the other hand, alternating current (AC) systems did not have these
drawbacks. AC voltage systems could be varied by use of induction coils,
but no practical coil system had been invented. Stanley's patent #349,611
changed all this and became the prototype for all future transformers.
 Born
in Brooklyn, New York, William Stanley attended private schools before
enrolling at Yale University. He began to study law at age 21 but less
than a semester later left school to look for a job in the emerging field
of electricity.
William Stanley's first job was as
an electrician with one of the early manufacturers of telegraph keys and
fire alarms. He designed one of the country's first electrical installations
for a store on New York's Fifth Avenue. After inventor and industrialist
George Westinghouse learned of Stanley's accomplishments, he hired William
Stanley as his chief engineer at his Pittsburgh factory. It was during
this time that Stanley began work on the transformer.
After Stanley left Pittsburgh, in
1886 he built the first AC system, providing lighting for offices and stores
on the Main Street of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He made transformers,
auxiliary electrical equipment, and electrical appliances. The Stanley
Electric Manufacturing Company was purchased by General Electric in 1903.
William
Stanley, Jr.
William Stanley, Jr. invented the
induction coil - National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Related Innovations
Electricity
©Mary
Bellis
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