1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Tech Stuff, a production from my Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio 4 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: and I love all things tech and I am currently 5 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: on vacation. If you are in the Disney World area, 6 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: you might see me. Um. By the way, it was 7 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:34,959 Speaker 1: a big decision to actually go through with this vacation 8 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 1: and to go to Disney World, one that I'm still 9 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: conflicted over. But I am fully vaccinated, as is my 10 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: entire family, and we're all going to be super precautious, 11 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: you know, making sure that we wash our hands thoroughly, 12 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: and we were wearing masks and all that kind of stuff. 13 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: But I'd be lying to you if I said I 14 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: was comfortable with this, but hopefully we have a fun 15 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 1: time and I were turn home healthy and happy, and 16 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 1: um yeah, that's that's the best we can hope for. 17 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: But I didn't want to leave you without any episodes 18 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: while I'm away, and so I thought something that would 19 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: be interesting to do. What to be revisit a series 20 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: of episodes I did in September of two thousand nineteen, 21 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:23,120 Speaker 1: and it was a deep dive into the history of 22 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: General Electric a k a. G And the reason I 23 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 1: wanted to bring these back for this week is that 24 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,360 Speaker 1: we recently heard that g E is going to split 25 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:40,200 Speaker 1: into three separate companies, one that will focus on healthcare, 26 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: one that will focus on energy, and one that will 27 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:47,320 Speaker 1: focus on aviation. It will be the aviation one that 28 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: retains the name GE, by the way, so it's kind 29 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: of the end of an era, and I thought it 30 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: would be interesting to go back and listen to this 31 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: series of episodes where we do a deep dive on 32 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: the history of g E. So sit back and relax 33 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: and listen to The Founding of GE, originally published on 34 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 1: September second, two thousand nineteen. In mid August two thousand nineteen, 35 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: a financial analyst named Harry Marcopolis released a one hundred 36 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: seventy five page report alleging that g E, that is, 37 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: General Electric, the venerable company that is more than a 38 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: century old, was secretly on the verge of insolvency. He 39 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:36,359 Speaker 1: claimed the company was using accounting tricks to hide an 40 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: enormous threat to its very existence, something akin to the 41 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:44,760 Speaker 1: Shenanigan's in Ron polled years ago, and giving Marcopolis some 42 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 1: credibility was his own history. He had raised warning flags 43 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:52,639 Speaker 1: about Bernie Madeoff before the world found out about Madeoff's 44 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: Ponzi scheme. And to learn more about Ponzi schemes, you 45 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: should look up the classic stuff you should know episode 46 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: all about It. It's great, particularly with the way Chuck 47 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:08,559 Speaker 1: adopted It's a Ponzi scheme into that and subsequent episodes. 48 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: Now as I record these episodes, the report and the 49 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: responses to it are still part of the news cycle. 50 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: GE and some third party analysts have disputed Marcopolis's findings, 51 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,359 Speaker 1: claiming that Marcopolis himself actually stands to earn a lot 52 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,960 Speaker 1: of money by taking down GE. And Marcopolis has said 53 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: he was hired by a Hedge fund to look into 54 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:34,639 Speaker 1: GES practices, but he refuses to name the fund as 55 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: of the recording of this podcast. Meanwhile, some other third 56 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: parties seem to agree with at least some of Marcopolis's findings, 57 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: and GE has been under increased scrutiny for its accounting 58 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: practices over the last few years. So there are a 59 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 1: lot of unanswered questions around this, and it's by no 60 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 1: means a settled matter. I don't know if Marcopolis's allegations 61 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,840 Speaker 1: reflect reality, and in fact, if I'm being totally honest, 62 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: I don't even understand all of those allegations. And in 63 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 1: the interest of full disclosure, I have not read the 64 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: full one report, but I did think it would be 65 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: good to do a full rundown on the history of 66 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: General Electric. It is an incredibly influential company, and it 67 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:25,120 Speaker 1: spans many industries it has had and and it's heart 68 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:28,039 Speaker 1: to stress how big an impact it has had on 69 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 1: the history of the United States in particular and tech 70 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 1: in general. Now I should also add that back in 71 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:39,840 Speaker 1: two thousand twelve, Chris Palette and I recorded three episodes 72 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: about the history of GE. But Tech Stuff was a 73 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: different kind of show back in those days, so I 74 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: thought it might be good to take a deeper dive 75 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: into the history and see how GE shaped technology. And 76 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 1: beyond that being said, if I were to do a 77 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:59,480 Speaker 1: comprehensive history on the company and all its subsidiaries, this 78 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: series last a dozen episodes or more. So to avoid 79 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 1: making this episode and this podcast turned into GE Stuff, 80 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: I'm going to try and focus on what I think 81 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,280 Speaker 1: are some of the most important historical moments of GE, 82 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:14,720 Speaker 1: and a lot of that is in those early years. 83 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:17,720 Speaker 1: So let's go back to where it all began. And 84 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: like many corporate histories, this involves going back to older 85 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:24,920 Speaker 1: companies that would form the foundation for the one we 86 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:28,479 Speaker 1: actually want to talk about. So strap in guys and 87 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 1: women and all others. I don't mean to lump everybody 88 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 1: in under the term guys. Anyway, we all know about 89 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: Thomas Edison, right. He was an inventor, he was an entrepreneur, 90 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,720 Speaker 1: He was a master at self promotion and more. And 91 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:49,040 Speaker 1: some folks might throw in some less complementary labels in there, 92 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 1: perhaps suggesting he was also a thief, or if that's 93 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:54,719 Speaker 1: going too far, someone willing to take credit for the 94 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: work of people who are working beneath him. But whatever 95 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 1: your opinion of the fellow, Edison got stuff done. In 96 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 1: the eighteen seventies, Edison was working on the light bulb, 97 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: and no, he didn't invent the light bulb, but that's 98 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:12,359 Speaker 1: a story for another podcast. In fact, my former co 99 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: host Chris Poulett and I actually did cover that story 100 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 1: in an episode titled tech Stuff Gets a Bright Idea, 101 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 1: which published on October twenty nine, two thousand twelve. But 102 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:26,560 Speaker 1: Edison did make improvements on the lightbulb, working with his 103 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:29,960 Speaker 1: engineers to discover a material to serve as a suitable 104 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: filament too in condess, brightly enough, and long enough to 105 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:38,040 Speaker 1: be a practical use. In eighteen seventy eight, Edison founded 106 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 1: a company to concentrate on that goal. It was the 107 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:45,520 Speaker 1: Edison Electric Light Company. He had some big names in 108 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 1: US history, particularly US financial history, as his investors, folks 109 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:55,200 Speaker 1: like the Vanderbilts and JP Morgan. Now Morgan is going 110 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: to become very important to this story. Now. At the time, 111 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,440 Speaker 1: he had yet to find a suitable approach. The lightbulbs 112 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:05,479 Speaker 1: he made would burn out in just a few hours. 113 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 1: The following year, in eighteen seventy nine, his company produced 114 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: a lightbulb able to last for forty hours. Not superb 115 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 1: by any means, but a real sign of progress, and 116 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: Edison boldly stated that his company would make electricity affordable 117 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,440 Speaker 1: enough so that only the wealthy would ever burn candles. 118 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: That same year, again, eighteen seventy nine, for those who 119 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 1: have forgotten, a couple of teachers created their own company. 120 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:37,200 Speaker 1: Edwin James Houston was a physics teacher, and Alihu Thompson 121 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 1: taught chemistry and mechanics at the Central High School for 122 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: Boys in Philadelphia. They created a company called the American 123 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: Electric Company in New Britain, Connecticut, with the help of 124 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: some local investors. In eighty three, a different group of investors, 125 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 1: this time from Massachusetts, bought out the company from the 126 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:01,000 Speaker 1: original group of investors and the company got a new name, 127 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 1: the Thompson Houston Electric Company. Thompson would head up the 128 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 1: research and development department, which was called the Model Room. 129 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 1: A fellow named Charles A. Coffin, the head of the investors, 130 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:16,640 Speaker 1: would lead the company and act as a sort of 131 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:21,800 Speaker 1: president and chief financial officer, while Elwyn W. Rice led 132 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:24,880 Speaker 1: the manufacturing part of the business. Both of those names 133 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: will be important for Ge and Charles Coffin wasn't a 134 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,480 Speaker 1: physicist by nature. No, he was a man with a 135 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:34,960 Speaker 1: lot of soul. And by that I meant he was 136 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 1: a shoe manufacturer, as a dad joke for you. So 137 00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 1: where many of his fellow investors. They were all from 138 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 1: the shoe manufacturing industry, and they were all located in Lynn, Massachusetts, 139 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:52,120 Speaker 1: and they pulled their money to purchase this burgeoning, this 140 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:56,800 Speaker 1: this blossoming electric utility company, the Thompson Houston Electric Company 141 00:08:56,840 --> 00:09:00,560 Speaker 1: would relocate its headquarters to Lynn, Massachusetts, and get back 142 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 1: to that company in just a second. Edison was not 143 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:08,160 Speaker 1: just working on lamps in the eighteen seventies and eighteen eighties. 144 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:11,679 Speaker 1: He was also creating some of the first generators. These 145 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:16,720 Speaker 1: are devices that would convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. 146 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: On December seventeen eighty, he founded the Edison Electric Illuminating Company. 147 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: In eighteen eighty two, he was responsible for building and 148 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 1: operating the first steam generated power station in London to 149 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: power street lamps and a few private homes that were 150 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:36,360 Speaker 1: not far from the power plant. In New York, he 151 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:40,120 Speaker 1: was responsible for creating an electric power distribution system called 152 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 1: Pearl Street Station, which supplied electricity to fifty nine whole 153 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 1: customers in Lower Manhattan. Now, at the time, not everyone 154 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:52,760 Speaker 1: was sold on the idea of this new fangled electricity 155 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: replacing candles and gas lamps, so as an incentive, Edison's 156 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:02,720 Speaker 1: company offered the first three months of service at no charge. 157 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 1: He also began to acquire smaller businesses that were likewise 158 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:10,959 Speaker 1: getting into the electrical power generator game, and by eighteen 159 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:15,800 Speaker 1: ninety this motley group of companies merged to form Voltron, 160 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:19,960 Speaker 1: and by Voltron, I mean they became the Edison General 161 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:25,280 Speaker 1: Electric Company. It was this company that in eight installed 162 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:29,400 Speaker 1: electrical wires and switching equipment in the United States White House, 163 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:33,080 Speaker 1: and that made Benjamin Harrison, the twenty third President of 164 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 1: the United States, the first US president to have electricity 165 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:41,719 Speaker 1: in the White House. Back to the Thompson Houston Electric Company. 166 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:45,320 Speaker 1: Like Edison, Charles Coffin was determined to be a big 167 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:49,199 Speaker 1: player in the electricity generating business. He had led Thompson 168 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:52,480 Speaker 1: Houston to go international and he bought out a British 169 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:57,720 Speaker 1: company called the Brush Company, which did not sell brushes. No, 170 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:01,880 Speaker 1: it was actually founded by a guy named Charles Brush, 171 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 1: and it was a company that had patents for stuff 172 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:07,600 Speaker 1: like dynamos and had been in litigation with Thompson Houston 173 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:11,040 Speaker 1: Electric Company over some technologies. But we all know the 174 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:15,280 Speaker 1: old saying, right, if you can't beat them, by them, 175 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:19,600 Speaker 1: and that's what Thompson Houston Electric Company did. So both 176 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:24,120 Speaker 1: Edison General Electric Company and the Thompson Houston Electric Company 177 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:29,679 Speaker 1: were buying up competitors and more importantly, patent holders. So 178 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: they each had dozens of patents to their name, and 179 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 1: they were quickly becoming the dominant players in electricity generation 180 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 1: and distribution in the Northeast United States, and there was 181 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:44,640 Speaker 1: just enough overlap to make business tricky for both companies. 182 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:47,679 Speaker 1: Without stepping on the toes of the other, they could 183 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:50,840 Speaker 1: have become great rivals, and in fact they kind of were. 184 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:55,240 Speaker 1: Henry Villard, who was the president of Edison General Electric 185 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:58,959 Speaker 1: Thomas Edison, wasn't involved in the day to day operations 186 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:02,560 Speaker 1: of the company. Villard had an idea both Edison and 187 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:06,080 Speaker 1: Thompson Houston were in a bit of a cash crunch 188 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: as the market was in a bit of a slump. 189 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: In addition, because both companies owned dozens of patents, that 190 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,200 Speaker 1: made it hard to be the sole provider of any 191 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:20,560 Speaker 1: kind of electrical infrastructure. Business was too expensive. It was 192 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 1: not just expensive to lay out the infrastructure, but you 193 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:25,920 Speaker 1: had all these legal battles that would come up because 194 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 1: one company would allege that the other company was infringing 195 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:32,920 Speaker 1: on one or more patents. There were several lawsuits pending 196 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:35,720 Speaker 1: around patents, and there would likely be even more in 197 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: the future. Villard wanted to solve all these problems by 198 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:44,560 Speaker 1: having the two companies merge. Edison reportedly hated this idea 199 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:48,920 Speaker 1: and advised against it. Villard felt that the Edison Company 200 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:52,400 Speaker 1: was in a dominant position and could effectively define the 201 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:55,160 Speaker 1: terms of the merger, and so he tried to move 202 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:59,880 Speaker 1: on ahead. Then we get back to JP Morgan, the financier. 203 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 1: He had arrived at a similar conclusion regarding the merger, 204 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:08,400 Speaker 1: but he felt that the Thompson Houston Company was actually 205 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,840 Speaker 1: the one that was in a stronger position, and because 206 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: Morgan was Mr. Money Bags, he went behind Villard's back 207 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:19,080 Speaker 1: and began wheeling and dealing to make the merger happen, 208 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 1: but on very different terms than what Villard was thinking. 209 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:27,080 Speaker 1: Morgan spearheaded the effort to merge these two companies together 210 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:30,400 Speaker 1: to form a new entity, one that would become known 211 00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:34,960 Speaker 1: as the General Electric Company and later g E. The 212 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 1: headquarters for the company would be in Schenectady, New York, 213 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:43,480 Speaker 1: and Morrigan effectively removed Thomas Edison and Henry Villard from 214 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:47,560 Speaker 1: any sort of leadership role. Edison didn't even know about 215 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:51,640 Speaker 1: the merger until the day before it actually happened. Yikes, 216 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:57,000 Speaker 1: with their powers and patents combined, the two former competitors 217 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 1: could rapidly expand throughout the Northeast and beyond and moreover, 218 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:05,080 Speaker 1: the merger meant that the electric utilities industry in the 219 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 1: United States was now split between just two companies because 220 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:13,920 Speaker 1: General Electric companies had been swooped up, you know, all 221 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 1: Thomas Houston and Edison Electric had brought up all these 222 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:22,000 Speaker 1: smaller utilities, as had Westinghouse, the other big competitor in 223 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:25,960 Speaker 1: the US. So now the electric utilities industry in the 224 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,400 Speaker 1: United States was a dowopoli. It was either General Electric 225 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:33,120 Speaker 1: or it was Westinghouse and General Electric and Westinghouse had 226 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:38,160 Speaker 1: been part of a patent pool agreement in eight so 227 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:41,280 Speaker 1: this was a big deal. It would also mean the 228 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 1: end of the war of the currents between direct current 229 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,480 Speaker 1: and alternating current. I have a little bit more to 230 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 1: say about that in a minute. Now. I'm of two 231 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:55,960 Speaker 1: minds about this merger that JP Morgan initiated. Generally speaking, 232 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:00,600 Speaker 1: I'm in favor of competition in markets because that's usually 233 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:03,720 Speaker 1: what ends up being best for the consumer. It's way 234 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:07,360 Speaker 1: better if you have options and choices, because companies will 235 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 1: do different things in order to get customers, which usually 236 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: means cutting a better deal. But we're also talking about rain, 237 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:18,160 Speaker 1: which most people didn't even have access to electricity. The 238 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,760 Speaker 1: infrastructure itself had not been laid out, so there was 239 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:24,640 Speaker 1: a real need to do that, and with competition in 240 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:28,400 Speaker 1: the way, it made laying out the basic infrastructure to 241 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:32,320 Speaker 1: get electricity to people harder to do. The same thing 242 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:35,960 Speaker 1: would be true of the telecommunications industry, getting telephone lines 243 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,920 Speaker 1: out to people. It was tough to do that while 244 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,040 Speaker 1: also competing with other companies, and it could mean that 245 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 1: you could have different standards, corporate defined standards that are 246 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 1: incompatible with one another, laying out different regions. It was 247 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:57,240 Speaker 1: just a big mess. So you could argue that the 248 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:00,880 Speaker 1: monopoly like approach was actually been a official at least 249 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:06,000 Speaker 1: to establish the infrastructure. It just wasn't a good thing 250 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:10,760 Speaker 1: to have as an ongoing thing. The newly formed company 251 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 1: started in eighteen nine two, and Charles Coffin would serve 252 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,040 Speaker 1: as the first president. So though you could trace the 253 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:21,120 Speaker 1: history as far back as eighteen seventy eight, I think 254 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:27,400 Speaker 1: is a reasonable reckoning day for g E. S Natal day. 255 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 1: Now we're gonna take a quick break, but when we 256 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 1: come back, we'll talk a little bit more about what 257 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:36,000 Speaker 1: GE was doing during its first few years of existence. 258 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:48,280 Speaker 1: In eighteen nine three, Edison's company developed an electric locomotive 259 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:52,000 Speaker 1: that could use electricity to reach speeds of around thirty 260 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:54,920 Speaker 1: miles per hour, which the company showed off at the 261 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:59,680 Speaker 1: Chicago Exposition. This was another opportunity to demonstrate how electricity 262 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 1: could be used to a curious audience, and it helped 263 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:05,760 Speaker 1: promote the industry. You gotta remember again in eighteen nine, 264 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:09,119 Speaker 1: electricity is a brand new concept and to show that 265 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:12,640 Speaker 1: it had the power to do something that typically would 266 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:15,520 Speaker 1: be done with a steam engine was a very compelling 267 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:20,000 Speaker 1: use case. In eighteen four, Thomas Edison chose to sell 268 00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:23,520 Speaker 1: his shares in General Electric. He would continue to serve 269 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 1: as a consultant for the company, but the Wizard of 270 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:29,639 Speaker 1: Menlo Park would no longer be seen as the driving 271 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:33,240 Speaker 1: force or voice for General Electric, and to be fair, 272 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:36,200 Speaker 1: ever since the formation of the company he had little 273 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:40,000 Speaker 1: say in its direction. While the name and headquarters favored 274 00:17:40,119 --> 00:17:43,960 Speaker 1: Edison's old company, the management for General Electric largely came 275 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:48,840 Speaker 1: from the Thompson Houston Electric Company. So Edison out and 276 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:52,520 Speaker 1: at just four years old, General Electric would become part 277 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:57,320 Speaker 1: of financial history. See in eighteen ninety six, there was 278 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 1: this guy named Charles Dow and he took stocks of 279 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:06,719 Speaker 1: twelve large industrial companies to create a stocks average, and 280 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:09,240 Speaker 1: it was a sort of indicator as to how things 281 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:12,800 Speaker 1: were going in the industrial market overall. You would watch 282 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:16,440 Speaker 1: the averaged performance of these twelve companies and that would 283 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:19,439 Speaker 1: kind of tell you how things were going. As a 284 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:23,800 Speaker 1: broad rule of thumb, one of those twelve original companies 285 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: was you guessed it, General Electric. All of the original 286 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:31,800 Speaker 1: dozen companies, GE would be the only one to survive 287 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:35,520 Speaker 1: and remain on the dal Jones Industrial Average for more 288 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:40,760 Speaker 1: than a century, though spoiler alert, GE was removed from 289 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:43,760 Speaker 1: the dal Jones Industrial Average in two thousand and eighteen, 290 00:18:44,119 --> 00:18:47,520 Speaker 1: but I'll talk more about that in a later episode. 291 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:51,520 Speaker 1: Also in eighteen ninety six, Eli Hu Thompson, one of 292 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: the founders of the Thompson Houston Electric Company and a 293 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:59,040 Speaker 1: consultant at GE, created an improved X ray tube. So 294 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:02,720 Speaker 1: let's talk about X rays for a second. X rays 295 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:06,240 Speaker 1: are a type of electromagnetic radiation and they have a 296 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:10,320 Speaker 1: very short wavelength, much shorter than visible light. So if 297 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:13,240 Speaker 1: you were to look at a spectrum of electromagnetic radiation 298 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:18,119 Speaker 1: from longer wavelengths to shorter at the longest end would 299 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:22,159 Speaker 1: be radio waves. Those stretch very long, in some cases 300 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:26,359 Speaker 1: more than a kilometer. Then if you move down the spectrum, 301 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:30,440 Speaker 1: you come to microwaves below that are infrared waves. Then 302 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:33,600 Speaker 1: you have visible light, then you have ultra violet light. 303 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:36,119 Speaker 1: Then you have X rays. If you were to go 304 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:39,160 Speaker 1: even smaller on the wavelength scale, you would then reach 305 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:43,119 Speaker 1: gamma rays. X rays form when a charged particle like 306 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:47,520 Speaker 1: an electron, experiences acceleration or deceleration, and you want to 307 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:50,200 Speaker 1: have it be in a very controlled way to generate 308 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:55,200 Speaker 1: specific X rays of a particular wavelength. Wilhelm Conrad Rerunchen 309 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 1: and I always mess up that name. I apologize, but anyway, 310 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:02,399 Speaker 1: this is the fellow who first discovered X rays. In 311 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:07,480 Speaker 1: eight he was working with cathode ray tubes in a lab. 312 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:10,080 Speaker 1: These are crt s. Is the source of stuff you 313 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:13,359 Speaker 1: would find in old television sets. And he had concluded 314 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,160 Speaker 1: that there was a type of ray that was invisible 315 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:19,159 Speaker 1: to the eye, and it could pass through lots of 316 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 1: solid stuff like heavy black paper. In fact, he figured 317 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:24,919 Speaker 1: it could passed through lots of different stuff, and it 318 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:29,040 Speaker 1: could cast shadows of solid objects. It could pass through 319 00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:33,359 Speaker 1: flesh but not bone. And one of the earliest experiments 320 00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:36,720 Speaker 1: he conducted with this discovery was to use film to 321 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:40,080 Speaker 1: capture an X ray image of his wife's hand so 322 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:44,040 Speaker 1: that she could see the skeletal structure of her hand. 323 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:49,120 Speaker 1: So an X ray tube converts energy. Specifically, it converts 324 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:52,800 Speaker 1: electrical energy into two other types of energy. One of 325 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 1: those is heat and the other is X radiation. Ideally, 326 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:00,560 Speaker 1: you want to produce specific X radiation and you want 327 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:05,600 Speaker 1: to minimize heat production because really heat represents waste, it's 328 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:08,119 Speaker 1: lost energy in this case, so are the way we 329 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,760 Speaker 1: think of heat being waste energy for a car engine 330 00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:15,159 Speaker 1: as another example. So, an X ray tube is a 331 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:19,679 Speaker 1: particular type of cathode ray tube. That means inside the tube, 332 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:22,639 Speaker 1: which looks a little bit like a lightbulb, you have 333 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: an element called a cathode and you have another called 334 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:30,640 Speaker 1: an anode. Electrical current flows through the tube and electrons 335 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:34,960 Speaker 1: flow from cathode to anode. The cathode connects to the 336 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:37,840 Speaker 1: negative side of the circuit, the anode connects to the 337 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:40,000 Speaker 1: positive side. So in other words, you can think of 338 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:43,840 Speaker 1: the cathode as the component that sheds or contributes electrons. 339 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:48,400 Speaker 1: The anode is the component that accepts electrons. As part 340 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:52,480 Speaker 1: of this process, electrons lose energy as they move through 341 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:56,520 Speaker 1: the circuit, and this generates X radiation. The material in 342 00:21:56,560 --> 00:21:59,760 Speaker 1: the anode and the energy of the electrons determines how 343 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: the energy gets converted into heat rather than X radiation. 344 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:08,520 Speaker 1: Modern X ray tubes frequently have tungsten anodes, and there's 345 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:11,680 Speaker 1: a lot more we could explore with X rays, but honestly, 346 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 1: I think that would require its own episode, so we'll 347 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,719 Speaker 1: just leave it here. Just know that the X ray 348 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:19,200 Speaker 1: tubes are pretty similar to the tubes you'd find in 349 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:24,159 Speaker 1: old CRT televisions or monitors, though not modern TVs or 350 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:27,680 Speaker 1: displays because they they don't use cathode ray tubes anymore. 351 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:30,760 Speaker 1: The important thing for our episode here is that GE 352 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:34,320 Speaker 1: became a leader in that space, with Thompson creating the 353 00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:38,000 Speaker 1: improved X ray tube just one year after X rays 354 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:42,760 Speaker 1: had even been discovered. In nineteen hundred, Thomas Edison, still 355 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:47,520 Speaker 1: working as a consultant for General Electric, partnered with Willis R. 356 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:52,720 Speaker 1: Whitney and Charles Steinmitz to create the first industrial research 357 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:56,679 Speaker 1: laboratory in the United States. The purpose of the facility 358 00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:01,240 Speaker 1: was to act as an experimental division for GE, where 359 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:06,000 Speaker 1: engineers and scientists would work on innovating new technologies and 360 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:10,400 Speaker 1: new applications of existing tech, and even making scientific breakthroughs. 361 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:14,360 Speaker 1: It was in this facility where GE researchers could conduct 362 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:19,200 Speaker 1: original research projects. The functions of this facility closely resembled 363 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:22,879 Speaker 1: a model practiced in German universities. Much of the early 364 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:26,080 Speaker 1: work in the research lab focused on improving the existing 365 00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:28,960 Speaker 1: technologies that GE was producing at the time. It was 366 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:32,240 Speaker 1: only after a few years that the engineers were starting 367 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:37,400 Speaker 1: to look at totally new types of technology, scientific principles 368 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:40,240 Speaker 1: and applications. Also, this is where we get a little 369 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:43,399 Speaker 1: Monty Python and the Holy Grail with the lab. The 370 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:47,639 Speaker 1: original lab was not particularly grandiose. It was a barn 371 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:51,119 Speaker 1: located behind the house of one of the researchers for GE. But, 372 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:56,080 Speaker 1: and this will probably come as a surprise to absolutely nobody, 373 00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:59,720 Speaker 1: because they were working with electricity and heating elements, that 374 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 1: particular lab ended up catching fire and it burned down. 375 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:08,880 Speaker 1: After that, GE re established the lab in Schenectady, New York. 376 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:11,560 Speaker 1: The head of the research division was a professor from 377 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:14,359 Speaker 1: m I. T. And I'm sure there were many more 378 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:17,200 Speaker 1: fires over the following years, but as far as I know, 379 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:20,000 Speaker 1: none of them burned The whole lab down to the 380 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:23,240 Speaker 1: ground again. One early invention to come out of the 381 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:27,200 Speaker 1: lab was the electric fan in n two. Now, there 382 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:30,600 Speaker 1: is a small issue with this, and that other inventors 383 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:34,800 Speaker 1: had already created electric fans years earlier. An inventor with 384 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 1: the fabulous name Skyler Scott's Wheeler built one in eighteen 385 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:45,199 Speaker 1: eighty two, twenty years before GE would file patents for 386 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:49,960 Speaker 1: its electric fan design. Another guy named Philip Deal took 387 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,480 Speaker 1: the electric fan and flipped it a bit, creating the 388 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:56,040 Speaker 1: first ceiling fan. He essentially took a fan blade, attached 389 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 1: it to a sewing machine motor, and then bolted that 390 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:02,879 Speaker 1: motor to the ceiling in seven Now, I'm not sure 391 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:06,879 Speaker 1: what innovations General Electric contributed to the electric fan, but 392 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:09,159 Speaker 1: I will tell you I looked at lots of different 393 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,920 Speaker 1: sources when I was creating these these episodes, and many 394 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:17,080 Speaker 1: of them talk about two G E invents the electric fan, 395 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:20,760 Speaker 1: which clearly is not the case. Uh. Now, they might 396 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:23,000 Speaker 1: have come out with an electric fan, and they probably 397 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:27,159 Speaker 1: did create some interesting innovations with the fan, but they 398 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: didn't truly invent it. It'd been around for two decades already. 399 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:36,000 Speaker 1: In nineteen o three, GE acquired the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company, 400 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:40,560 Speaker 1: which manufactured transformers. In fact, William Stanley, the founder of 401 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:43,600 Speaker 1: the company, was the developer of the transformer. And a 402 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:48,400 Speaker 1: transformer in this case isn't a robot in disguise. Rather, 403 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:52,320 Speaker 1: it's an electrical device that converts alternating current electricity from 404 00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:55,919 Speaker 1: one voltage to another. And depending upon its design, a 405 00:25:55,960 --> 00:26:00,199 Speaker 1: transformer can step up or step down the voltage and 406 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:03,760 Speaker 1: it only works on alternating current. So let's talk a 407 00:26:03,760 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 1: bit about this and why it's important. Alright, at the 408 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:11,640 Speaker 1: dawn of the age of electricity, you had the current Wars, 409 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:15,640 Speaker 1: the brew haha over whether regions should invest in direct 410 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:20,440 Speaker 1: current or alternating current for the purposes of distributing electricity. 411 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:24,320 Speaker 1: Edison was in favor of direct current. Direct current is 412 00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:26,560 Speaker 1: the same sort of current you'd get with a battery. 413 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:30,560 Speaker 1: The electricity flows one way only through the circuit. It's 414 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:35,040 Speaker 1: a one direction type of thing. It's simple. But at 415 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:40,840 Speaker 1: the time, transmitting direct current over longer distances was impractical. 416 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:43,639 Speaker 1: So it worked fine if you were in a dense 417 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:47,680 Speaker 1: urban environment and you could build power generation plants at 418 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:51,080 Speaker 1: regular spots around the region, but it wouldn't didn't work 419 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:54,720 Speaker 1: so great if you're talking about stretching across rural areas, 420 00:26:55,440 --> 00:27:00,800 Speaker 1: that the transmitting direct current at lower voltages was inefficient. 421 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:04,520 Speaker 1: You lost too much electricity along the way, and it 422 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:07,600 Speaker 1: higher curtains. That was considered higher voltages, I should say 423 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:12,600 Speaker 1: it was considered very dangerous. Now, inter alternating current with 424 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:16,720 Speaker 1: alternating current, the flow of electricity reverses many times a second, 425 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:19,760 Speaker 1: going one way down the path and then reversing to 426 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:22,880 Speaker 1: go the other way. And one benefit of this approach 427 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 1: is that you can create transformers to step up the 428 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:30,919 Speaker 1: voltages for purposes of transmitting electricity over long distances, and 429 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:33,800 Speaker 1: then have another transformer on the other end to step 430 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:36,080 Speaker 1: the voltage back down so it can be used in 431 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:39,840 Speaker 1: households safely. And it all has to do with electromagnetism. 432 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:44,200 Speaker 1: Electricity flowing through a coil of wire creates a magnetic field, 433 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:48,239 Speaker 1: and if it's alternating current going through that coil, so 434 00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 1: it's you can think of it as going down the 435 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:53,960 Speaker 1: coil of wire and then reversing and going up the 436 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:57,359 Speaker 1: coil of wire and doing that many, many, many times 437 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:01,800 Speaker 1: per second. Well, then it creates a fluctuay eating magnetic field. Now, 438 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,080 Speaker 1: if you were to bring a second coil of wire 439 00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:08,399 Speaker 1: within that fluctuating magnetic field from the first coil of wire, 440 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:13,040 Speaker 1: something interesting happens. All right, we've got coils A and B. 441 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:17,399 Speaker 1: Each coil is wrapped around its own ferro magnetic core 442 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:22,040 Speaker 1: of iron or steel, something that can be magnetized. We 443 00:28:22,119 --> 00:28:26,360 Speaker 1: run an alternating current of electricity through coil A. Then 444 00:28:26,359 --> 00:28:29,119 Speaker 1: we bring coil B, with no current running through it, 445 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:32,920 Speaker 1: close enough so that it is within the fluctuating magnetic 446 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:37,240 Speaker 1: field that is generated as a consequence of coil a's 447 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:42,080 Speaker 1: electric current. That fluctuating magnetic field then induces a second 448 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:46,080 Speaker 1: electric current to flow through coil B. So now coil 449 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:49,160 Speaker 1: B is carrying a current because of being in that 450 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:53,880 Speaker 1: fluctuating magnetic field from coil A. Even more interesting is 451 00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:57,560 Speaker 1: that if coil B has more coils or turns, as 452 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:00,840 Speaker 1: we call it, then coil A does, The current running 453 00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 1: through coil B will have a higher voltage. The relationship 454 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:08,800 Speaker 1: between the number of turns is called the transformer turns ratio. 455 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:12,200 Speaker 1: So a power plant could run current through a line 456 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:15,600 Speaker 1: to a transformer and through the use of two sets 457 00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:19,600 Speaker 1: of coils, step up the voltage significantly. For a long 458 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:24,640 Speaker 1: distance transmission, where higher voltage is more efficient. I wonder 459 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:28,600 Speaker 1: if Thomas Edison was peeved the General Electric was purchasing 460 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:32,920 Speaker 1: companies that were building tech for alternating current applications. Actually, 461 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:36,160 Speaker 1: I don't have to wonder he was. He was pretty 462 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:39,600 Speaker 1: pretty upset about He did not like the idea of 463 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:44,760 Speaker 1: losing the War of the currents, even well after that 464 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:49,480 Speaker 1: war was settled. In nineteen o five, GE formed the 465 00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:54,400 Speaker 1: Electric Bond and Share Company also known as Abasco e 466 00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:58,280 Speaker 1: B A s c O. This was a holding company. 467 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:02,600 Speaker 1: Holding company as a company that exists largely to hold 468 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:06,800 Speaker 1: onto the stock of other companies. Usually, a holding company 469 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:11,760 Speaker 1: doesn't actually, you know, do anything. Its purpose is truly 470 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:17,040 Speaker 1: just financial in nature. GE used the employee Retirement Investment 471 00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:22,400 Speaker 1: Fund for its employees to purchase securities from smaller electric 472 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:26,600 Speaker 1: utility companies. This was largely in an effort to monopolize 473 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:30,440 Speaker 1: the electric utility industry. This was something that financier JP 474 00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:35,040 Speaker 1: Morgan was very keen on doing. A few other utilities 475 00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:39,680 Speaker 1: holding companies would be would would pop up and scoop 476 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 1: up other regional companies, and so you started to see 477 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:47,000 Speaker 1: even less competition in the region, and this would spell trouble. 478 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:49,800 Speaker 1: I'll explain more in a second, But first let's take 479 00:30:49,960 --> 00:31:00,840 Speaker 1: another quick break. Now I'm going to stick with this 480 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:05,000 Speaker 1: story about the holding company for a moment, and then 481 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:08,320 Speaker 1: we'll give back to the timeline. We're gonna go down 482 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:12,120 Speaker 1: this particular path just to get a complete picture of 483 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:18,000 Speaker 1: this story. So Abasco ends up controlling tons of companies 484 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:22,640 Speaker 1: and would even form subsidiaries of its own holding company 485 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:25,720 Speaker 1: to oversee groups of these because there were just so many. 486 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:29,120 Speaker 1: So you might have a subsidiary of Abasco that itself 487 00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:32,400 Speaker 1: was a holding company for like ten other companies. So 488 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:35,680 Speaker 1: eventually the United States government pays attention and comes to 489 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:39,320 Speaker 1: oppose the monopolization of utilities and says, you know, it 490 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 1: was okay when we were laying out the infrastructure to 491 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:46,440 Speaker 1: make sure people got access to electricity, but now we're 492 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:50,080 Speaker 1: not so comfortable with one company having this much control 493 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:55,240 Speaker 1: over electricity distribution. This reached a crescendo in ninety five 494 00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:59,520 Speaker 1: when Congress passed the Public Utility Company Holding Act. That 495 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:03,400 Speaker 1: act gave the securities an Exchange Commission, or sec the 496 00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:07,280 Speaker 1: authority to break up holding companies so that the individual 497 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:11,680 Speaker 1: states in the United States could oversee operations within their borders. 498 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:16,240 Speaker 1: Abasco fought tooth and nail to keep its holdings, but 499 00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:20,600 Speaker 1: ultimately lost that battle, and afterwards the entity that was 500 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:25,120 Speaker 1: Abasco would reorganize and become an investment company. Now I 501 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:28,560 Speaker 1: include the story here because it's just one of many 502 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:32,440 Speaker 1: examples of how General Electric drew focus and criticism for 503 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:36,000 Speaker 1: its operations, and it shows how powerful and influential the 504 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:38,920 Speaker 1: company has been over the years. All right, now we're 505 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:42,680 Speaker 1: gonna jump back to the timeline that we were covering before. 506 00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:46,840 Speaker 1: So around the same time that Abasca was forming, a 507 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:51,480 Speaker 1: GE engineer named Ernst Alexanderson developed a type of high 508 00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:56,840 Speaker 1: frequency alternator and we now call the Alexanderson alternator, and 509 00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:59,680 Speaker 1: it was for the purposes of creating a radio transmitter. 510 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:02,760 Speaker 1: He was doing this upon request from another guy, an 511 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:06,680 Speaker 1: inventor named Reginald Fessenden, who had been trying to solve 512 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:12,040 Speaker 1: the problem of sending sound over radio waves, essentially radio broadcasting. 513 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:14,880 Speaker 1: Fessenden had figured out that he needed a much higher 514 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:19,120 Speaker 1: frequency alternator than what was currently available to achieve his goal, 515 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:23,400 Speaker 1: so he sent out the request to GE and Alexanderson 516 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:26,560 Speaker 1: started to work on the project. An alternator, by the way, 517 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:30,840 Speaker 1: is a device that creates an alternating current. The Alexanderson 518 00:33:30,880 --> 00:33:34,840 Speaker 1: alternator could create a continuous radio wave, and that's a 519 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:39,080 Speaker 1: radio wave with a constant amplitude and frequency. I won't 520 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:41,440 Speaker 1: go into it further here, as I've done plenty of 521 00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:44,600 Speaker 1: episodes about radio waves and technology, but it would be 522 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:47,320 Speaker 1: an early example of how General Electric would become an 523 00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 1: important part of the history of radio. So far, I've 524 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:54,880 Speaker 1: been talking about electric utilities and radio waves. But around 525 00:33:54,880 --> 00:33:57,719 Speaker 1: the same time so nineteen o five or so, General 526 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:01,760 Speaker 1: Electric would also dip its enormous corporate toe into the 527 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:06,320 Speaker 1: tempting waters of consumer appliances. The first one I could 528 00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:10,120 Speaker 1: find on General Electric's own website was the Model D 529 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:15,120 Speaker 1: twelve and electric toaster. Other sources cite a nineteen o 530 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:19,600 Speaker 1: six electric range as the first consumer product. The toaster, 531 00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:23,040 Speaker 1: by the way, looks terrifying to me because it doesn't 532 00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:28,160 Speaker 1: have any solid surfaces. It's essentially a couple of racks, 533 00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:33,239 Speaker 1: open air racks that holds slices of bread and they 534 00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:37,480 Speaker 1: are placed on either side of a series of unprotected 535 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:41,040 Speaker 1: heating coils. So I would imagine this thing was quite 536 00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:43,840 Speaker 1: the fire hazard in its day. Oh and in case 537 00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:47,440 Speaker 1: you wonder like, how does this stuff work? That's easy. 538 00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:52,799 Speaker 1: Conductive materials, that is, materials that can conduct electrons are 539 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:56,120 Speaker 1: usually not perfect conductors most of the time. Now, if 540 00:34:56,120 --> 00:35:00,160 Speaker 1: you can cool one down to near absolute z euro 541 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:04,640 Speaker 1: you can get a super conductor that doesn't lose any conductivity. Uh. 542 00:35:04,719 --> 00:35:08,160 Speaker 1: And if you use larger gauges of conductive material, you 543 00:35:08,239 --> 00:35:13,000 Speaker 1: reduce resistance. But because of a variety of factors, most 544 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:16,680 Speaker 1: conductors have a certain amount of resistance to electric current. 545 00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:22,120 Speaker 1: Based on all these different variables, that resistance manifests as heat. Now, 546 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:27,399 Speaker 1: normally we don't want heat in our conductive materials. Electronics 547 00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:31,040 Speaker 1: don't respond too well with getting hot. But with stuff 548 00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:34,600 Speaker 1: like electric ranges and toasters, the whole point is to 549 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:38,080 Speaker 1: generate heat. We use materials that have a resistance so 550 00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:41,279 Speaker 1: that enough electrical energy will convert to heat in order 551 00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:44,120 Speaker 1: to cook or toast whatever it is we're exposing to 552 00:35:44,160 --> 00:35:47,200 Speaker 1: those elements. On the other end of the scale from 553 00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:50,960 Speaker 1: a countertop toaster is the delivery g E made to 554 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:56,080 Speaker 1: the New York Central Railroad in nine. The company supplied 555 00:35:56,480 --> 00:36:01,840 Speaker 1: thirty electric locomotives, each weighing in at ninety four tons. 556 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:07,359 Speaker 1: The locomotives had two thousand, eight hundred horsepower each. This 557 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:11,760 Speaker 1: isn't just an interesting tidbit in gees history. The electric 558 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:15,799 Speaker 1: locomotive and rails in New York would shape the development 559 00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:20,560 Speaker 1: of Manhattan itself, as did the electrical infrastructure. So one 560 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:24,359 Speaker 1: could argue that modern Manhattan wouldn't look anything like it 561 00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:28,759 Speaker 1: does today without General Electrics business in the area. That 562 00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:33,760 Speaker 1: General Electrics involvement itself was what helped shape the modern 563 00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:37,680 Speaker 1: appearance of Manhattan. And because I'll probably forget about it 564 00:36:37,719 --> 00:36:41,280 Speaker 1: before I get to the recent past. In a later episode, 565 00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:45,480 Speaker 1: not very long ago from the recording, General Electrics spun 566 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:49,520 Speaker 1: off its locomotive business in a merger with another locomotive 567 00:36:49,520 --> 00:36:53,160 Speaker 1: company called wab Tech w A B T e C. 568 00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:58,120 Speaker 1: The eleven billion dollar deal saw ge and its shareholders 569 00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:01,799 Speaker 1: take fifty point one at stake in the ownership of 570 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:05,359 Speaker 1: this new company, with wab Text shareholders getting the other 571 00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:08,640 Speaker 1: forty nine point nine. This was part of the larger 572 00:37:08,680 --> 00:37:12,239 Speaker 1: effort to shed some of g S businesses, as I 573 00:37:12,239 --> 00:37:16,080 Speaker 1: think it's already apparent that the company had grown extremely large, 574 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:20,440 Speaker 1: with lots of different departments involved in various industries. That 575 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:23,120 Speaker 1: was true even in the early nineteen hundreds, but it 576 00:37:23,160 --> 00:37:26,080 Speaker 1: gets way more apparent as this series will go on. 577 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:31,399 Speaker 1: In nineteen o nine, engineers at General Electric, led by 578 00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:35,960 Speaker 1: a guy named William Coolidge, developed the ductal tungsten filament 579 00:37:36,239 --> 00:37:41,239 Speaker 1: for incandescent light bulbs. Tungsten holds together well at high temperatures, 580 00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:44,320 Speaker 1: and it gives off a warm light when it incandescees, 581 00:37:44,719 --> 00:37:47,040 Speaker 1: but it's also a pretty tough metal to work with. 582 00:37:47,360 --> 00:37:50,759 Speaker 1: Coolidge created a process that made the metal easier and 583 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:53,200 Speaker 1: more pliable to work with, and it was off to 584 00:37:53,239 --> 00:37:56,920 Speaker 1: the races. It made the Edison design much more efficient 585 00:37:56,960 --> 00:37:59,960 Speaker 1: and practical, and it quickly became the standard material for 586 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:03,440 Speaker 1: light bulbs. It's essentially the same stuff you'd find in 587 00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:08,160 Speaker 1: the filament in an incandescent light bulb today. In nineteen eleven, 588 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:12,480 Speaker 1: we have another acquisition sort of General Electric absorbed a 589 00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:17,799 Speaker 1: company called the National Electric Lamp Association or NILA in 590 00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:22,080 Speaker 1: e l A, and that organization traced its own history 591 00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:25,320 Speaker 1: back to nineteen o one. G had already been part 592 00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:28,400 Speaker 1: of NILA's history, having become a shareholder in the company 593 00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:30,920 Speaker 1: back in nineteen o two, just one year after it 594 00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:35,160 Speaker 1: was founded, and providing the old Brush Electric Company facilities 595 00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:39,719 Speaker 1: to serve as NILA's headquarters. Over time, General Electrics stake 596 00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:43,520 Speaker 1: in the company grew, and federal courts took notice, and 597 00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:47,120 Speaker 1: there were talks of antitrust concerns and GE was essentially 598 00:38:47,120 --> 00:38:51,840 Speaker 1: told it had to dissolve NILA, so General Electric absorbed 599 00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:56,880 Speaker 1: NILA into its own overall business. NILA had recently finished 600 00:38:56,920 --> 00:39:01,200 Speaker 1: building an industrial complex in Cleveland, Ohio, and NILA Park 601 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:04,880 Speaker 1: would become the first industrial park in the United States. 602 00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:08,080 Speaker 1: And here's where I admit I finally looked up the 603 00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:11,600 Speaker 1: definition for an industrial park, because I've heard the term 604 00:39:11,719 --> 00:39:14,759 Speaker 1: hundreds of times but never really thought to see exactly 605 00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:18,359 Speaker 1: what the definition was, So imagine my surprise to find 606 00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:21,600 Speaker 1: out it means pretty much what it sounds like. An 607 00:39:21,600 --> 00:39:25,400 Speaker 1: industrial park is an area that is zoned for industrial development, 608 00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:27,760 Speaker 1: kind of like how a business park or an office 609 00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:32,000 Speaker 1: park is an area zoned for offices. Sometimes the obvious 610 00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:37,280 Speaker 1: answer is in fact the correct one. In nineteen twelve, 611 00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:42,440 Speaker 1: GE researchers developed improved vacuum tubes, which would help usher 612 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:46,279 Speaker 1: in the early era of electronics. Before the development of 613 00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:51,160 Speaker 1: the transistor, the vacuum tube was crucial for electronics. A 614 00:39:51,239 --> 00:39:55,600 Speaker 1: vacuum tube is also known as a thermionic valve. Thermionic 615 00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:58,120 Speaker 1: gives you a hint of One of the important concepts 616 00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:01,160 Speaker 1: in this device has to do with heat and Vacuum 617 00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:04,240 Speaker 1: tubes are in many ways similar to cathode ray tubes 618 00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:08,040 Speaker 1: or light bulbs. Like a cathode ray tube, a vacuum 619 00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:11,480 Speaker 1: tube has a cathode and an anode separated from each 620 00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:14,600 Speaker 1: other inside a glass tube, and as the name vacuum 621 00:40:14,640 --> 00:40:17,880 Speaker 1: tube tells us, the inside of the tube has no 622 00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:21,360 Speaker 1: air in it. It is a vacuum. Heating the cathode 623 00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:26,480 Speaker 1: causes it to shed electrons in a process called thermionic emission. 624 00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:30,960 Speaker 1: Applying a positive voltage to the anode plate attracts those 625 00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:35,880 Speaker 1: electrons across the gap in the vacuum, creating a current flow. 626 00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:39,920 Speaker 1: A vacuum tube with just two electrodes, the cathode and 627 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:43,439 Speaker 1: the anode, is called a diode. This is a type 628 00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:46,759 Speaker 1: of tube that allows electricity to only flow in a 629 00:40:46,840 --> 00:40:49,719 Speaker 1: single direction, so it's like a one way street for 630 00:40:49,800 --> 00:40:52,799 Speaker 1: electrical current. That we also have to remember that we 631 00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:56,719 Speaker 1: describe current as the direction of positive to negative, so 632 00:40:57,080 --> 00:41:01,160 Speaker 1: this is confusing. Electrons are traveling from negative to positive, 633 00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:04,760 Speaker 1: but we call the currents direction the opposite, So current 634 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:08,720 Speaker 1: flows from anode to cathode even though electrons are flowing 635 00:41:08,960 --> 00:41:12,040 Speaker 1: from cathode to anode. And I know it's confusing, and 636 00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:16,800 Speaker 1: I blame Benjamin Franklin, But that's another story. One important 637 00:41:16,840 --> 00:41:21,480 Speaker 1: task these diodes did was convert alternating current to direct current. 638 00:41:21,880 --> 00:41:26,320 Speaker 1: This was important since electricity transmission was through alternating current, 639 00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:29,960 Speaker 1: but most devices you would plug into outlets relied on 640 00:41:30,160 --> 00:41:32,879 Speaker 1: direct currents, so you had to be able to convert them. 641 00:41:33,320 --> 00:41:36,920 Speaker 1: But vacuum tubes didn't just stop there. Back in seven 642 00:41:37,239 --> 00:41:41,080 Speaker 1: lead to Forest, an American inventor, created the first triode 643 00:41:41,360 --> 00:41:45,120 Speaker 1: vacuum tube. So this was a vacuum tube with three electrodes. 644 00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:48,560 Speaker 1: You had the anode, you had the cathode, and the 645 00:41:48,560 --> 00:41:52,120 Speaker 1: third electrode was a control grid. Think of it as 646 00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:56,520 Speaker 1: a sort of filter or mesh between the cathode and 647 00:41:56,600 --> 00:42:00,920 Speaker 1: the anode. So the cathode is shedding electron, the anode 648 00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:04,800 Speaker 1: is accepting electrons, and the control grid is between the two. 649 00:42:05,840 --> 00:42:08,600 Speaker 1: Connectors to the control grid allow for a change and 650 00:42:08,719 --> 00:42:12,400 Speaker 1: voltage to be applied to the grid itself. So adjusting 651 00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:15,040 Speaker 1: the voltage to the control grid acts as a kind 652 00:42:15,080 --> 00:42:19,399 Speaker 1: of valve adjusting exactly how many electrons can flow from 653 00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:21,840 Speaker 1: the cathode to the an notte. So if you applied 654 00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:25,399 Speaker 1: a negative voltage to the control grid, the control grid 655 00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:31,680 Speaker 1: will repel electrons, right because like charge will repel like charge. 656 00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:35,640 Speaker 1: Negative repels negative, and that would mean that you would 657 00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:39,239 Speaker 1: slow down the stream going from cathode to an notte. 658 00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:42,640 Speaker 1: So it's almost like turning a tap of water and 659 00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:45,439 Speaker 1: turning it so that the water is barely trickling out. 660 00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:49,160 Speaker 1: If you apply a strong enough negative charge to the 661 00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:52,319 Speaker 1: control grid, you turn off the flow entirely. But if 662 00:42:52,320 --> 00:42:56,160 Speaker 1: you apply a positive voltage, that increases the number of 663 00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:59,520 Speaker 1: electrons that flow through to the anode. And in fact, 664 00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:03,160 Speaker 1: such a YouTube can be used to amplify an electrical signal. 665 00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:05,719 Speaker 1: So let me explain how that works really quickly. See 666 00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:09,480 Speaker 1: a small signal coming into the control grid, perhaps one 667 00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:12,640 Speaker 1: created by say a radio wave, can be converted into 668 00:43:12,719 --> 00:43:16,600 Speaker 1: a much larger signal with the exact same wave form. 669 00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:19,920 Speaker 1: Another example is using a microphone. If you're using a microphone, 670 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:23,600 Speaker 1: you're speaking into the microphone. The vibrations caused by the 671 00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:27,360 Speaker 1: sounds you are making cause a diaphragm to move inside 672 00:43:27,400 --> 00:43:31,920 Speaker 1: the microphone. That in turn causes a tiny electro magnet 673 00:43:32,120 --> 00:43:36,000 Speaker 1: to generate a weak electrical signal, and this signal is 674 00:43:36,040 --> 00:43:38,839 Speaker 1: far too weak to power a speaker. But let's say 675 00:43:38,840 --> 00:43:42,480 Speaker 1: you send this electrical signal so that feeds into the 676 00:43:42,520 --> 00:43:46,760 Speaker 1: control grid of a triode vacuum tube. It will control 677 00:43:46,840 --> 00:43:49,960 Speaker 1: the flow of electrons through that tube, and you can 678 00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:53,480 Speaker 1: have a much more powerful electrical signal coming out of 679 00:43:53,480 --> 00:43:56,879 Speaker 1: that tube that matches the one you created coming out 680 00:43:56,920 --> 00:44:00,279 Speaker 1: of your microphone, and that one would be enough for 681 00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:02,600 Speaker 1: you to send to a speaker to power it. It's 682 00:44:02,640 --> 00:44:06,640 Speaker 1: really pretty darn cool. Vacuum tubes would be used in 683 00:44:06,719 --> 00:44:09,520 Speaker 1: all sorts of early electronics, and they would usher in 684 00:44:09,560 --> 00:44:13,160 Speaker 1: an age of rapid development, though it was also one 685 00:44:13,200 --> 00:44:16,560 Speaker 1: in which those electronics were all very large, because vacuum 686 00:44:16,560 --> 00:44:20,120 Speaker 1: tubes are pretty big themselves, so a computer with vacuum 687 00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:23,560 Speaker 1: tubes and computers would come much later. But a computer 688 00:44:23,640 --> 00:44:26,920 Speaker 1: running on vacuum tubes would by necessity take up a 689 00:44:26,960 --> 00:44:29,239 Speaker 1: great deal of space, and it would also generate a 690 00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:31,799 Speaker 1: lot of heat. It wouldn't be until the development of 691 00:44:31,840 --> 00:44:35,359 Speaker 1: the transistor that these problems would be surmounted and we'd 692 00:44:35,360 --> 00:44:38,640 Speaker 1: be able to miniaturize electronics. Now, I think this is 693 00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:41,120 Speaker 1: a good place for us to leave off with the 694 00:44:41,120 --> 00:44:45,160 Speaker 1: story of GE. To recap, the company formed during an 695 00:44:45,200 --> 00:44:48,920 Speaker 1: era of industrialization and was largely under the influence of 696 00:44:48,960 --> 00:44:53,880 Speaker 1: a monopolistic capitalist, that being JP Morgan. It had hardly 697 00:44:54,080 --> 00:44:57,160 Speaker 1: any competition to speak of, being part of a duopoli 698 00:44:57,360 --> 00:45:00,040 Speaker 1: with Westinghouse and having far more of the mark A 699 00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:03,160 Speaker 1: share in the United States, and it's focus on research 700 00:45:03,200 --> 00:45:06,360 Speaker 1: and development as well as acquisitions meant it was becoming 701 00:45:06,400 --> 00:45:10,480 Speaker 1: increasingly powerful and cementing its near future. Now, in the 702 00:45:10,520 --> 00:45:13,160 Speaker 1: next episode, we'll look at how GE would play an 703 00:45:13,200 --> 00:45:16,720 Speaker 1: important part in establishing radio broadcasting in the United States, 704 00:45:17,239 --> 00:45:20,480 Speaker 1: as well as its early history with NBC, and we'll 705 00:45:20,520 --> 00:45:23,799 Speaker 1: also learn about how the US government began to chip 706 00:45:23,840 --> 00:45:26,319 Speaker 1: away at some of the moves Morrigan had made in 707 00:45:26,360 --> 00:45:28,759 Speaker 1: the early years of the company. But for now, it's 708 00:45:28,760 --> 00:45:31,560 Speaker 1: time to sign off. If you guys have suggestions for 709 00:45:31,600 --> 00:45:34,080 Speaker 1: future episodes of tech Stuff, why not send me an 710 00:45:34,080 --> 00:45:37,080 Speaker 1: email the addresses tech Stuff at how stuff works dot 711 00:45:37,160 --> 00:45:39,560 Speaker 1: com or pop on over to our website that's tech 712 00:45:39,640 --> 00:45:42,440 Speaker 1: Stuff podcast dot com. You're gonna find an archive of 713 00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:45,000 Speaker 1: all of our past episodes there. You're also going to 714 00:45:45,040 --> 00:45:48,640 Speaker 1: find links to our social media accounts, so you can 715 00:45:48,719 --> 00:45:51,480 Speaker 1: leave us a message on things like Facebook or Twitter. 716 00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:54,320 Speaker 1: And you'll also find a link to our online store, 717 00:45:54,360 --> 00:45:56,600 Speaker 1: where every purchase you make goes to help the show 718 00:45:56,640 --> 00:45:59,160 Speaker 1: and we greatly appreciate it, and I'll talk to you 719 00:45:59,200 --> 00:46:08,040 Speaker 1: again really soon. Y Text Stuff is an I heart 720 00:46:08,120 --> 00:46:11,879 Speaker 1: Radio production. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit 721 00:46:11,920 --> 00:46:14,960 Speaker 1: the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 722 00:46:15,080 --> 00:46:16,400 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.