1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production of I Heart Radios 2 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with 4 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:19,120 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works in iHeart Radio and I Love all 5 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 1: things tech. And we are continuing our journey through the 6 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: history of General Electric or GE, a company that has 7 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: encountered some pretty significant challenges over the last decade or so. Now. 8 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:34,840 Speaker 1: In our first two episodes, I went through the founding 9 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:37,120 Speaker 1: of GE and then made my way all the way 10 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:39,479 Speaker 1: up through World War Two, and I talked about how 11 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: some of the top level executives of the company were 12 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 1: called upon by the US government to serve in wartime 13 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 1: government positions to help the US meet the needs of 14 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: supplying the military with the equipment necessary to fight the war. 15 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: I also talked about how g E continued to grow 16 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: as a company, building on new departments and divisions and 17 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: diversifying the company's businesses. And I ended the last episode 18 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: by talking about a court case that determined g E 19 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: was being anti competitive by leveraging patents in order to 20 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: act as an effective monopoly when it came to manufacturing 21 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: light bulbs. Now we're almost up to nineteen fifty and 22 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 1: it's time to get out of this world. The one 23 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:20,040 Speaker 1: thing I want to mention before we get into the 24 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:23,479 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties is that in nineteen forty six a scientist 25 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 1: at GE named Vincent Schaefer developed the process of cloud seating. 26 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: And the idea is pretty elegant but has long been 27 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 1: a subject of scientific dispute. So here's the process. It 28 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 1: involves distributing tiny particles into clouds in an effort to 29 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: make it rain. And the thought is that these particles 30 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: will act as nucleic sites for rain drops to form. 31 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: When the raindrops get large enough, they have enough weight 32 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,320 Speaker 1: to fall to Earth. And so that is the general 33 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 1: thought behind cloud seating. It's been practiced ever since, but 34 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: there have been many questions over whether or not cloud 35 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: seating actually works. Sometimes it would rain, sometimes it wouldn't, 36 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 1: And if it did rain, is there any way to 37 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 1: be sure that it was the cloud seeding that actually 38 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: made the difference. I mean, you had to have a 39 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: cloud there in the first place. You couldn't just manufacture 40 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:18,520 Speaker 1: a cloud. Experiments and labs suggested that it should work, 41 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 1: but the natural world is very different from the controlled 42 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: conditions of a lab environment. It didn't help that many 43 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,680 Speaker 1: of our measuring instruments lacked the precision to detect very 44 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: small raindrops, so you couldn't really monitor to see if 45 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: it was actually doing what it was supposed to do. 46 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 1: An experiment in two thousand eighteen suggests that cloud seating 47 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: does in fact work, at least to some extent. But 48 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,640 Speaker 1: there's another question that's still open, which is does cloud 49 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: seeding make economic sense? Does the amount of water produced 50 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: by rainfall justify the cost of flying aircraft up and 51 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: distributing the particles in the first place, Because it may 52 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: very well work, but it might not work well enough 53 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:02,360 Speaker 1: to make sense from a financial perspective. I just find 54 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: it fascinating that we've essentially been doing this for seventy 55 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:08,920 Speaker 1: years and we still don't know if we should be 56 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: doing it now. I can certainly see why cloud seating 57 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,240 Speaker 1: companies feel we should be doing it. I mean, that's 58 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 1: their business. But the jury is still technically out over 59 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:22,519 Speaker 1: whether or not it makes sense, and there's still a 60 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:25,359 Speaker 1: little bit debate on whether or not it really truly works, 61 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: or if it works in enough conditions for it to 62 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: be reasonable. Now in Ge made the first two door 63 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: refrigerator freezer combo. And I only mentioned it here because 64 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: I think it's cool. That's a pun. Now we're up 65 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: to the nineteen fifties. So in nineteen fifty one g 66 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 1: E built a new jet engine called the J seven nine. 67 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: And here's an interesting historical note. When engineers tested the 68 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: J seven nine, which had variable statures, the efficiency ratings 69 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: were so high that the engineers thought their instruments were malfunctioning. 70 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: There's no way we're getting this level of energy efficiency 71 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: out of this thing. But then that raises a question 72 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: for a lot of people, what is a statter? What 73 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:17,359 Speaker 1: does that actually mean? Well, the name gives you a hint. Statter, stationary, 74 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: that kind of thing. So in jet engines, you have 75 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: fan blades that rotate. Those are rotors, and you had 76 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:27,600 Speaker 1: fan blades that hold in place. Those are called statters. 77 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: And the purpose of this combination is to both draw 78 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:35,240 Speaker 1: air into the engine and to compress that air before 79 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:39,360 Speaker 1: it enters into the combustion chamber. The adjustable status meant 80 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: that the engine could be finely tuned to produce higher 81 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: compressor pressures and to produce more usable energy as opposed 82 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: to waste heat. When you're actually burning fuel. In n 83 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: GE Research Laboratory, scientists named Tracy Hall announced that his 84 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 1: team had discovered a way to create synthetic diamond in 85 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: the lab. Halls team used a process involving high pressure 86 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: high temperature or hp HT. They were successful in producing 87 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 1: synthetic diamonds on December sixteenth, nineteen fifty four. Now, other 88 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:18,599 Speaker 1: teams were using different methods to create diamonds of in 89 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,840 Speaker 1: other companies as well, but it was Hall's efforts that 90 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: would receive the credit for designing the first reliable, reproducible 91 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: methodology to create commercially viable synthetic diamonds. So there are 92 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,040 Speaker 1: a lot of qualifiers there because there were people who 93 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:37,480 Speaker 1: were working on different methodologies and they were also producing diamonds, 94 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 1: but it wasn't considered to be as reliable nor as 95 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: viable for a commercial use. And these were not diamonds 96 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:49,279 Speaker 1: meant to adorn engagement rings or other jewelry. For one, 97 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:52,480 Speaker 1: they were brownish in color, so they weren't terribly attractive. 98 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,279 Speaker 1: They also were very very tiny. The largest diamond they 99 00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:01,640 Speaker 1: produced in that early batch measured point one five millimeters across, 100 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: so these were not large stones. More importantly, this purpose 101 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:09,279 Speaker 1: would be put to commercial uses. In fact, it wouldn't 102 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: be until the nineteen seventies that scientists would actually be 103 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:14,919 Speaker 1: able to create diamonds of sufficient quality and clarity that 104 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: they could be used in the gem industry. And even 105 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,600 Speaker 1: then the process was so labor intensive and so expensive 106 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 1: it was not economically feasible to create synthetic diamonds for 107 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: decorative purposes. The cost of the synthetic diamond would be 108 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 1: so high that would actually be cheaper for you to 109 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:38,159 Speaker 1: go out and buy a ring with a natural diamond 110 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: on it. Also, the whole topic of diamonds is one 111 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:47,520 Speaker 1: that I find particularly upsetting, But that's a that's a 112 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 1: topic for a totally different podcast. So how did they 113 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: make synthetic diamonds? Well, I'm sure most of you know, 114 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: diamonds are a form of carbon. It's a it's a 115 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:01,520 Speaker 1: crystalline form of carbon. You've gotta crystalline structure where you 116 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 1: have a carbon atom that's surrounded by four other carbon 117 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 1: atoms and they're all connected to each other through strong 118 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: covalent bonds. And diamonds are incredibly hard. They are the 119 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 1: hardest natural substance we found so far. They also have 120 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: a lot of different industrial uses. They can operate at 121 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: high temperatures where they can hold stiff firm. At high temperatures, 122 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 1: they don't really operate at all. They're just minerals, but 123 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 1: they hold together well at high temperatures. So you put 124 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:32,360 Speaker 1: it on something like a high speed cutting tool, and 125 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: the hardness combined with the fact that it's not going 126 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: to break down at high temperatures, means you can run 127 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,800 Speaker 1: that very high RPMs and start cutting through stuff pretty well. 128 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 1: In nature, diamonds form as carbon is compressed at very 129 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 1: high temperatures over a very long time, and if it 130 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 1: weren't for stuff like volcanoes, we probably never would have 131 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: found the things because they tend to form in the 132 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 1: Earth's mantle, which is not easy to get to. They 133 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,000 Speaker 1: they these zone where they form is about a hundred 134 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: miles beneath the surface of the Earth. That's far deeper 135 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: than we've ever drilled. Hall's lab used a belt press, 136 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 1: and this press could exert more than ten giga pascals 137 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: of pressure. A pascal is a unit of measurement for pressure, 138 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 1: and it equates to a Newton per square meter. Standard 139 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,800 Speaker 1: atmospheric pressure is about one d one point three to 140 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: five kilo pascals, So a giga pascal is one billion pascals. 141 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:36,200 Speaker 1: Ten giga pascals would be ten billion pascals, so that's 142 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 1: a lot of pressure. G would actually put it in 143 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:41,200 Speaker 1: another way for those of us who don't use you know, 144 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:45,680 Speaker 1: scientific notation for everything. They said, the press could exert 145 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:49,440 Speaker 1: one point five million pounds per square inch of pressure, 146 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:52,240 Speaker 1: So in other words, it's just a whole lot of pressure. 147 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:55,719 Speaker 1: And plus it would operate at a very high temperature. 148 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:57,839 Speaker 1: It would be heated to a temperature of more than 149 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:01,360 Speaker 1: three thousand six d fifty degrees fahrenheit or two thousand 150 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:06,600 Speaker 1: ten degrees celsius. This press pushed against a mixture of graphite, 151 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:10,560 Speaker 1: which is another form of carbon, and the graphite would 152 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:14,199 Speaker 1: be dissolved in a catalyst metal and catalyst metals could 153 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 1: include stuff like nickel or iron. A catalyst in a 154 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:20,719 Speaker 1: chemical reaction is something that facilitates and speeds up the 155 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:23,439 Speaker 1: chemical reaction. So in this case, and meant that we 156 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,960 Speaker 1: didn't have to wait millions of years for synthetic diamonds 157 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 1: to form, instead talk about twenty minutes. The largest of 158 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: those diamonds, like I said, was point one five millimeters across, 159 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:37,559 Speaker 1: so pretty darn tiny. The following year, g E introduced 160 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: hermetically sealed relays. These are electronic components that could be 161 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,520 Speaker 1: used in lots of different applications that otherwise might be 162 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,560 Speaker 1: sensitive to their environments, particularly in stuff like high altitude 163 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:55,000 Speaker 1: airplanes and aerospace applications, and variations of these components would 164 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:59,560 Speaker 1: be used throughout the next few decades in those particular applications. 165 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 1: It's just one early example of how GE would become 166 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:05,719 Speaker 1: an important part of the space race, which was just 167 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 1: heating up in the nineteen fifties between the United States 168 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:13,240 Speaker 1: and the then Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the company continued to 169 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:17,320 Speaker 1: expand its consumer product line. It had introduced a toaster 170 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 1: decades earlier, but in nineteen fifty six it introduced the 171 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:27,160 Speaker 1: toaster oven. Specifically, it was one called the tree toast 172 00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:31,160 Speaker 1: our oven, and it's adorable. You should look up a 173 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:34,479 Speaker 1: picture of it. That same year, GE built a commercial 174 00:10:34,559 --> 00:10:38,120 Speaker 1: jet engine based off the J seventy nine design, which 175 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:40,840 Speaker 1: was intended for military aircraft that wasn't meant to be 176 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:44,880 Speaker 1: for commercial aircraft. So this new engine, which had the 177 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:49,360 Speaker 1: designation c J eight oh five, would mark General Electrics 178 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:53,000 Speaker 1: entry into the commercial jet engine business. So now they 179 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 1: were building jet engines not just for the U. S. Military, 180 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:59,600 Speaker 1: but also for companies like Boeing and other companies were 181 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 1: creating aircraft. Seven would be a really big year for GE. 182 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: The company secured a contract with the United States Air 183 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,320 Speaker 1: Force to provide the engine for an experimental supersonic aircraft, 184 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:14,800 Speaker 1: the x B seventy Valkyrie. Now the X in aircraft 185 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:18,280 Speaker 1: names is a big tip off that that's an experimental prototype. 186 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:21,960 Speaker 1: You'll often see X as part of the designation at 187 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:26,120 Speaker 1: the beginning of various aircraft that usually means experimental. The engine, 188 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:29,439 Speaker 1: called d J ninety three, was capable of producing enough 189 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:32,920 Speaker 1: thrust to propel the experimental aircraft to three times the 190 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: speed of sound, and it would travel an altitude of 191 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:40,120 Speaker 1: seventy thousand feet or about twenty one meters. Not the time, 192 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:44,080 Speaker 1: the thinking was that the greatest threat to bombers were 193 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:47,720 Speaker 1: intercept aircraft. So if you could fly high enough and 194 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:50,240 Speaker 1: fast enough, you wouldn't have to worry about that. No 195 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:52,400 Speaker 1: one would ever be able to get a bead on you. 196 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:55,120 Speaker 1: They wouldn't be able to to track you and fire 197 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:57,720 Speaker 1: on you at that speed and at that altitude. So 198 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:01,680 Speaker 1: the Valkyrie would be safe against tip called defenses. However, 199 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:05,880 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union was developing service to air missile technology 200 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:08,760 Speaker 1: and that started to bring into question whether or not 201 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:12,880 Speaker 1: the Valkyrie would be equally as effective against that sort 202 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:16,920 Speaker 1: of defense system. And one of the ways to get 203 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:20,280 Speaker 1: around that would be to fly the Valkyrie at lower altitudes, 204 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,679 Speaker 1: where it could fly beneath radar. But if you did that, 205 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:26,679 Speaker 1: you also had to fly slower. You couldn't fly at 206 00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:30,959 Speaker 1: the same mock three speed at lower altitudes. That meant 207 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,120 Speaker 1: that the bomber would be flying lower and slower than 208 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:36,480 Speaker 1: it was designed to do, and it would be no 209 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,840 Speaker 1: more effective than other bombers that were already in use 210 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 1: at that time, and it was more expensive. So with 211 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:48,199 Speaker 1: all of those considerations stacked against the Valkyrie, the ultimate 212 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:51,440 Speaker 1: decision was not to go into production and build those 213 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:54,480 Speaker 1: out as a production model, so it just remained an 214 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 1: experimental prototype. But it is super cool to look at. 215 00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:58,440 Speaker 1: If you ever want to look at a picture of 216 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 1: a x B said in the Valcrie, they're pretty neat looking. 217 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:05,200 Speaker 1: Something else that happened in nineteen seven was that General 218 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:10,080 Speaker 1: Electric constructed a nuclear power plant in Alameda County California, 219 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:13,400 Speaker 1: and it was the first nuclear reactor to be connected 220 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:17,040 Speaker 1: to a commercial electricity grid. In other words, General Electric 221 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:20,720 Speaker 1: was able to produce electricity that would go to average 222 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: citizens over an Alameda County. And I've talked a little 223 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,560 Speaker 1: bit about how nuclear power plants work, I'll just give 224 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:31,720 Speaker 1: a very very high level rundown. So you have a 225 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:35,320 Speaker 1: nuclear material that undergoes nuclear decay, and as part of 226 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:39,960 Speaker 1: that process, it releases subatomic particles, typically neutrons, and those 227 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:44,040 Speaker 1: neutrons collide with other atoms of that same nuclear material. 228 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 1: This is your fuel, and when they collide with those 229 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:50,640 Speaker 1: other atoms, it initiates a chain reaction. Those atoms then 230 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:54,199 Speaker 1: go undergo radioactive decay and they release neutrons and so 231 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:57,199 Speaker 1: on and so forth. So if there's enough thistle material, 232 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,240 Speaker 1: that is material that can split apart in the few will, 233 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:03,840 Speaker 1: this reaction can be sustained until the amount of fuel 234 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:07,080 Speaker 1: dips below critical levels, in which case you start to 235 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:10,760 Speaker 1: have fewer and fewer reactions and you've spent the nuclear fuel. 236 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:13,800 Speaker 1: Doesn't mean that all the nuclear radiation stuff is gone, 237 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:17,480 Speaker 1: far from it, but it's no longer producing the reactions 238 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:20,680 Speaker 1: at the level you need to sustain that reaction indefinitely. 239 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 1: This is a nuclear power plant. Now, the concentration of 240 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:29,120 Speaker 1: nuclear material is really high where that reaction starts to 241 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 1: pick up speed over and over and over again, and 242 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:34,680 Speaker 1: this happens in the blink of an eye. Then you 243 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:37,560 Speaker 1: can set off a much more explosive chain reaction. In 244 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,280 Speaker 1: that case you have a nuclear bomb rather than a 245 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:44,240 Speaker 1: power plant, and that that concentration is key there. That's 246 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:49,280 Speaker 1: why you'll hear stories about how how much UH uranium 247 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:53,000 Speaker 1: you would need for a nuclear power plant versus one 248 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 1: for you know, refined uranium for a nuclear bomb. Now, 249 00:14:56,680 --> 00:15:00,200 Speaker 1: this reaction produces a lot of heat, and it's the 250 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:03,520 Speaker 1: heat that's the key for these nuclear power plants. That heat, 251 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:09,000 Speaker 1: usually through a paired system of pipes, transfers to a boiler, 252 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:12,240 Speaker 1: and the water in the boiler boils into steam, and 253 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 1: that steam then turns turbines which generate electricity. So a 254 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:19,720 Speaker 1: nuclear power plant is, if you think about it, really 255 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:23,960 Speaker 1: just a way to boil water, really fast and really efficiently. 256 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:27,960 Speaker 1: Cold power plants also boil water, but obviously they do 257 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,920 Speaker 1: it through combustion rather than through a nuclear reaction. So 258 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:37,080 Speaker 1: the interesting thing to me is that the the part 259 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 1: that generates the heat is different, but the end result 260 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:43,000 Speaker 1: is very much the same in the sense that you're 261 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:48,440 Speaker 1: boiling water to create steam to turn turbines to generate electricity. Now, 262 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,240 Speaker 1: I'll not go down the nuclear power rabbit hole because 263 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:55,600 Speaker 1: there's much more to talk about just with general electric 264 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:58,400 Speaker 1: But if you want to learn more about nuclear power plants, 265 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:01,160 Speaker 1: do a quick search over at text of podcast dot com. 266 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:03,080 Speaker 1: That's where we have an archive of all of our 267 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:06,040 Speaker 1: past episodes. You can also learn the difference between fission 268 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 1: nuclear reactors, which are what we use today, and fusion 269 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,760 Speaker 1: nuclear reactors, which we hope we can make feasible in 270 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 1: the near future. We have done fusion reactions already, but 271 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:21,840 Speaker 1: the question is can you make that sustainable? Can you 272 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:24,600 Speaker 1: make it economically feasible. That's a question that we have 273 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:27,200 Speaker 1: not yet answered, but if we are able to do it, 274 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:31,520 Speaker 1: it could transform the world anyway. The ge facility, which 275 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:35,680 Speaker 1: was called the Valacitos Nuclear Center, it still exists, uh. 276 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:39,440 Speaker 1: It was only an active power plant until nineteen sixty three. 277 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 1: At that point, the federal government told g E to 278 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:45,920 Speaker 1: shut it down, So the boiler reactor was shut down 279 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:49,720 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty three, but GE maintains the facility mainly 280 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 1: for the purposes of testing an analysis, particularly testing radiated 281 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:59,440 Speaker 1: materials to see how long they remain at dangerous levels 282 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:03,800 Speaker 1: of radiation. For example, So if you have instruments or suits, 283 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:06,919 Speaker 1: things like that that would exist in a radiation radiation 284 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:10,280 Speaker 1: UH filled area, you want to know how long is 285 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:13,120 Speaker 1: that stuff going to be dangerous UM. That's just part 286 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:16,359 Speaker 1: of what they do now. A major part of that facility. 287 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,520 Speaker 1: UH One of the largest of the reactors on that 288 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 1: site got shut down in ninety seven. It was still 289 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:25,640 Speaker 1: being used for research purposes, but not to generate electricity. 290 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:28,920 Speaker 1: Why was it shut down, Well, it was discovered that 291 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:32,679 Speaker 1: it had the unfortunate distinction of sitting nearly directly on 292 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:35,840 Speaker 1: top of a fault line. There was a legitimate concern 293 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,520 Speaker 1: over what might happen should an earthquake hit while the 294 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:43,160 Speaker 1: reactor was an operation. There is still a smaller reactor 295 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 1: on the site that operates in the one kilowatt range, 296 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:49,919 Speaker 1: but that's the only one as far as I can tell. Otherwise, 297 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,720 Speaker 1: all the other reactors have been completely decommissioned to shut down. 298 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:57,080 Speaker 1: We've got a lot more to say about general electric 299 00:17:57,240 --> 00:17:59,800 Speaker 1: but before I get into that. Let's take a quick break. 300 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:10,960 Speaker 1: The work out of GEES research Lab was pretty incredible. 301 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:14,480 Speaker 1: In the nineteen fifties. You had the nuclear scientists building 302 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: that first licensed power plant to provide electricity to a grid. 303 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:22,200 Speaker 1: You had synthetic diamonds, and you had Robert H. Windorf 304 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:25,480 Speaker 1: who created a substance called borazon in the lab. Borizon 305 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:27,840 Speaker 1: is is a man made substance. You don't find it 306 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 1: in nature, but it's almost as hard as diamond and 307 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:35,560 Speaker 1: it can be used in temperatures much higher than even 308 00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:37,960 Speaker 1: diamonds can be used in. Like diamonds will break down 309 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: once you get over a certain temperature, but borazon can 310 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:43,239 Speaker 1: hold together longer. So it would also become a very 311 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:47,040 Speaker 1: useful component in industrial cutting tools for example. Now around 312 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:49,959 Speaker 1: the same time, a different group of engineers were building 313 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: something perhaps a bit less lofty in the grand scheme 314 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:58,800 Speaker 1: of things, but that would be the humble electric can opener. 315 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:02,119 Speaker 1: G introduce is the first consumer electric can opener in 316 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:05,600 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty eight, and pet ownership has never been the 317 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:10,000 Speaker 1: same since. In nineteen fifty nine, g E introduced the 318 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:13,320 Speaker 1: halogen lamp. These work in a way very similar to 319 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:18,439 Speaker 1: incandescent lamps. There's a tungsten filament inside a very small bulb, 320 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:23,399 Speaker 1: and encasing the filament is a quartz envelope. Inside the 321 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:26,920 Speaker 1: envelope is a gas from the halogen group of gases. 322 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 1: So this is different from what the kind of gas 323 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:32,880 Speaker 1: you would find in your typical incandescent bulb. The benefit 324 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 1: of halogen gas is that it can combine with tungsten vapor. 325 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:41,000 Speaker 1: So when the tungsten filament heats up and it starts 326 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:44,080 Speaker 1: to give off light, it's also giving off tungsten vapor. 327 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,160 Speaker 1: You know, tungsten is essentially burning off of the filament. 328 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,600 Speaker 1: That vapor combines with the halogen gas and then it 329 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:54,840 Speaker 1: gets deposited back onto the tungsten filament, at least some 330 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:58,679 Speaker 1: of it does, so some of that vaporized tungsten gets returned. 331 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:01,359 Speaker 1: That actually helps ex in the useful life of the 332 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:05,080 Speaker 1: halogen lamp. Halogen lamps can produce a lot more light 333 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:08,840 Speaker 1: per unit of energy compared to an incandescent bulb. They 334 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:11,760 Speaker 1: also produce a lot more heat, and as someone who 335 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:16,200 Speaker 1: has sadly a few halogen lamp fixtures in his house, 336 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,840 Speaker 1: I can speak from experiences. Those things get real hot. 337 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:24,399 Speaker 1: Guys like you will burn your fingers. I know I 338 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: have anyway. In nineteen sixty a device built by g 339 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:31,320 Speaker 1: E became the first man made object to be recovered 340 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,920 Speaker 1: after going into orbit around the Earth. It was code 341 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:37,520 Speaker 1: named by g E the r v X to a 342 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:42,119 Speaker 1: re entry vehicle that was part of the Discoverer thirteen satellite. 343 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:45,280 Speaker 1: The discovered thirteen satellite kind of set the stage for 344 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:49,520 Speaker 1: space based reconnaissance and spy missions. Now, granted, that was 345 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:54,160 Speaker 1: not the public facing part of the mission. Obviously, letting 346 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:57,320 Speaker 1: everyone know, hey, this is a spy satellite is not 347 00:20:57,480 --> 00:20:59,879 Speaker 1: the best plan if you want to use it for 348 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:03,280 Speaker 1: you know, spy stuff. So there was a cover story, 349 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: and the cover story was essentially that it was a 350 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:08,959 Speaker 1: science experiment, but in reality it was a classified mission 351 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:11,840 Speaker 1: that was overseen by both the Air Force and the 352 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:14,879 Speaker 1: c I A. G would go on to open up 353 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,800 Speaker 1: a space center in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in nineteen sixty 354 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:21,919 Speaker 1: one because they were getting more and more involved in 355 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:26,680 Speaker 1: building components for the space race. Also in nineteen sixty 356 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,879 Speaker 1: there was a guy named Jack Welch who joined g 357 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 1: E as a chemical engineer. He'll be really important later, 358 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:37,720 Speaker 1: So remember that name, Jack Welch. We'll get back to it. 359 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:41,800 Speaker 1: Nineteen sixty two, scientists from GE would develop one of 360 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:47,280 Speaker 1: the first solid state lasers using semiconductors. Interestingly, scientists at 361 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:50,639 Speaker 1: IBM and over at M I T were independently doing 362 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,560 Speaker 1: the exact same thing, and all the parties pretty much 363 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:57,359 Speaker 1: cracked the problem right around the same time. This set 364 00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,919 Speaker 1: off a bit of a patent rush, with GE beating 365 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:02,200 Speaker 1: IBM to the punch by a little more than a week. 366 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 1: I just find it fascinating that the solid state laser 367 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:09,160 Speaker 1: was one of those things that multiple parties invented at 368 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 1: around the same time, independently of each other. But to 369 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:16,119 Speaker 1: be fair, the stage had already been set with early 370 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 1: work in masers and lasers, so these were not the 371 00:22:19,359 --> 00:22:23,520 Speaker 1: first lasers. They were the first solid state ones. Solid 372 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,720 Speaker 1: state lasers would then find their way into numerous technologies 373 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:29,960 Speaker 1: and applications. Early on, scientists theorized that they could be 374 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:34,240 Speaker 1: incredibly useful in communications, but they would become so commonplace 375 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:36,880 Speaker 1: that we'd rely on them to play our tunes for us. 376 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:40,199 Speaker 1: Because the laser and stuff like CD players, DVD players, 377 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 1: Blu ray players, those are all solid state lasers. So 378 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:46,359 Speaker 1: what was truly cutting edge technology in nineteen sixty two. 379 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:48,639 Speaker 1: Is now so commonplace that you can go out and 380 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:51,480 Speaker 1: buy one and use it to frustrate your pets. You know, 381 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:53,240 Speaker 1: you can just go get a little key chain with 382 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:56,439 Speaker 1: a solid state laser on it. Um. But I'm pretty 383 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:58,560 Speaker 1: sure back in nineteen sixty two, no one thought that 384 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,720 Speaker 1: that was going to be a few future possibility. D 385 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:06,480 Speaker 1: E scientists were also working with superconductors and magnetism. Now, 386 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:09,359 Speaker 1: a conductor is a material that allows electrons to pass 387 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:13,480 Speaker 1: through it. You know, it conducts electricity. A superconductor is 388 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: a material that does this with no resistance to the 389 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:20,639 Speaker 1: flow of electricity. So, under normal conditions, conductors have a 390 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,600 Speaker 1: bit of resistance to electricity, and the amount of resistance 391 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:27,560 Speaker 1: is dependent upon several factors, like how what what the 392 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:31,000 Speaker 1: actual material is, You know, what is the conductive material. Also, 393 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:35,560 Speaker 1: it's thickness or gauge. So a thin copper wire, for example, 394 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 1: has higher resistance than a thick copper cable. They're both 395 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,560 Speaker 1: made of the same thing, but the physical structure is 396 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:46,040 Speaker 1: different and that changes the resistance of the material. G 397 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 1: S super conducting magnet was the first to break through 398 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:53,199 Speaker 1: the one hundred thousand gass limit. The gass is a 399 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:57,760 Speaker 1: unit of measurement for magnetic flux density. I'll give you 400 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:00,800 Speaker 1: the technical definition of a gass as laid out by 401 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:06,040 Speaker 1: the Encyclopedia Britannica. So here we go. One goss quote 402 00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:10,480 Speaker 1: corresponds to the magnetic flux density that will induce an 403 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:15,480 Speaker 1: electromotive force of one ab volt in each linear centimeter 404 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:18,639 Speaker 1: of a wire moving laterally at one cimeter per second 405 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: at right angles to a magnetic flux end quote. Okay, 406 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:25,360 Speaker 1: so that's a bit of a mouthful. Anyway, we rate 407 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:28,919 Speaker 1: magnets in goss. That's how we measure their strength. So 408 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:33,440 Speaker 1: g S super conducting magnet was incredibly powerful. It would 409 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:36,960 Speaker 1: also lay the foundation for practical applications of that type 410 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,520 Speaker 1: of a magnet, particularly in the creation of magnetic resonance 411 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: imaging technologies, and GE would play a very important role 412 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:46,880 Speaker 1: in developing that technology, or the m r I as 413 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:50,640 Speaker 1: we would say, um very important part of g S business. 414 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,000 Speaker 1: One of the fun facts I discovered while researching these 415 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:58,520 Speaker 1: episodes is that the footprints that the Apollo eleven astronauts 416 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:02,439 Speaker 1: left on the Moon are there in thanks to GE. Specifically, 417 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:05,560 Speaker 1: the boots worn by the astronauts had silicone rubber in 418 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:08,920 Speaker 1: them that had been manufactured by g E. So that's 419 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,760 Speaker 1: a g E footprint up there in a way. But 420 00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:14,000 Speaker 1: that was just one of the contributions g E made 421 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:16,919 Speaker 1: to the Apollo program. I don't want to discount or 422 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:19,520 Speaker 1: dismiss any of the other ones that the company made. 423 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:23,520 Speaker 1: They actually provided a lot of technology to the space program. 424 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:28,200 Speaker 1: General Electric was involved in designing or manufacturing several systems 425 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:31,040 Speaker 1: related to the space race, including the ship to satellite 426 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:34,120 Speaker 1: communication system that allowed the Apollo crew to send TV 427 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:37,480 Speaker 1: images from the capsule to satellites orbiting the Earth, which 428 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:41,000 Speaker 1: in turn beamed those images down to terrestrial stations. In 429 00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:46,520 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy three, another ge researcher, dr Ivar Giev, would 430 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:50,200 Speaker 1: get a Nobel prize. He had back in nineteen sixty 431 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:54,800 Speaker 1: discovered the truly odd behavior of super conductive tunneling. So 432 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:57,080 Speaker 1: what the heck is tunneling? What it all has to 433 00:25:57,119 --> 00:26:00,639 Speaker 1: do with the weird weird world of quantum mechanics and 434 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:04,959 Speaker 1: quantum physics. So when I was in school, we learned 435 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:08,240 Speaker 1: that electrons orbit the nucleus of atoms in a certain 436 00:26:08,359 --> 00:26:12,119 Speaker 1: energy state, and electrons would quote unquote want to occupy 437 00:26:12,359 --> 00:26:16,399 Speaker 1: the lowest energy state available. Once that energy state was 438 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:19,639 Speaker 1: full of electrons, then the next electrons would fill up 439 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:22,600 Speaker 1: the next available state further out from the nucleus, and 440 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 1: so on and so on, until you had all the 441 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:28,600 Speaker 1: electrons that that particular atom would have, whether it was 442 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:31,320 Speaker 1: a base version of the atom or an eon or whatever. 443 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:35,520 Speaker 1: This was a pretty big simplification of what is actually 444 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:38,919 Speaker 1: going on, and in my books, I remember seeing the 445 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:41,719 Speaker 1: old illustrations. We had newer ones too, but I remember 446 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:44,280 Speaker 1: those old illustrations made it look like an electron was 447 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:48,280 Speaker 1: sort of like a planet orbiting around a sun like nucleus. So, 448 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,399 Speaker 1: in other words, according to those illustrations, it would appear 449 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:54,520 Speaker 1: that an electron has a specific position around the nucleus 450 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:57,760 Speaker 1: that you could measure and detect and predict. But as 451 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:01,600 Speaker 1: scientists would later learn, we could really only determined partial 452 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:06,359 Speaker 1: information about a sub atomic particles velocity and location. The 453 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,119 Speaker 1: more we knew about one of those two things, the 454 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:11,200 Speaker 1: less we would know about the other. So the more 455 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:13,439 Speaker 1: you know about a particle's velocity, the less you know 456 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:15,479 Speaker 1: about its position. The more you know about its position, 457 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:18,880 Speaker 1: the less you know about velocity. So really we don't 458 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:23,880 Speaker 1: know whether an electron quote unquote is in a specific place, 459 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:27,320 Speaker 1: but we we know where it can be, the various 460 00:27:27,359 --> 00:27:31,080 Speaker 1: positions where the electron could possibly be found, so you 461 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:32,760 Speaker 1: can think of it as kind of a zone of 462 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:37,040 Speaker 1: probability or a field of probability. There's a chance the 463 00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:41,280 Speaker 1: electron will be at any of those points within that field. 464 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:43,959 Speaker 1: It has to be within that field unless you've poured 465 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:47,200 Speaker 1: more energy into the atom and thus pushed the electron out. 466 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:49,359 Speaker 1: But it has to be somewhere in that field. You 467 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:52,040 Speaker 1: just don't know where it is. So it's kind of 468 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:58,360 Speaker 1: this amorphous fog that the electron could inhabit. Now, if 469 00:27:58,359 --> 00:28:02,560 Speaker 1: you have a situation in which this field, this imaginary field, 470 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:05,760 Speaker 1: because we don't actually have a fog here, but if 471 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:09,480 Speaker 1: this field spans a barrier that normally you would have 472 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:13,360 Speaker 1: to use energy to get across, it means that the 473 00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:16,479 Speaker 1: there's actually a possibility that the electron could appear on 474 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:19,520 Speaker 1: the other side of that barrier. So imagine you have 475 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,600 Speaker 1: a hallway and there's a door closed at the end 476 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:27,480 Speaker 1: of the hallway, and you have this electron field, and 477 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:31,119 Speaker 1: the electron field actually overlaps the door to the point 478 00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:34,159 Speaker 1: where part of the field extends to the other side 479 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:37,320 Speaker 1: of the closed door. Now, you would expect the electron 480 00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:40,600 Speaker 1: to be in the hallway. You didn't open the door. 481 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:43,040 Speaker 1: You saw the electron go into the hallway. You figure 482 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:45,920 Speaker 1: that's where it's got to be. But because that field 483 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:49,600 Speaker 1: overlaps the door, there is the possibility that the electron 484 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,200 Speaker 1: could be on the other side. And because there's a possibility, 485 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:55,360 Speaker 1: it means that sometimes there will be an electron on 486 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:57,400 Speaker 1: the other side of that door, and it's as if 487 00:28:57,440 --> 00:29:01,120 Speaker 1: the electron has tunneled through or climbed over the door. 488 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:03,960 Speaker 1: But at no time did it ever have to expend 489 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:07,360 Speaker 1: energy to do that. It just appeared on the other side. 490 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:10,280 Speaker 1: This is tunneling, and it doesn't make a whole lot 491 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:12,479 Speaker 1: of sense to us because that's not how we observe 492 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:15,440 Speaker 1: things in our normal world. You don't go down the 493 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:17,920 Speaker 1: hallway and suddenly little Jimmy is just on the other 494 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:19,640 Speaker 1: side of the door because there was a chance little 495 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:22,320 Speaker 1: Jimmy was gonna be there. That doesn't happen in our 496 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:25,600 Speaker 1: real world, but in quantum physics it's tots a thing. 497 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:29,120 Speaker 1: It's also one of the reasons why developing microchips with 498 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:33,920 Speaker 1: smaller and smaller components becomes a really huge challenge because 499 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:37,120 Speaker 1: electron tunneling is a problem. If you're determined to channel 500 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:41,400 Speaker 1: electrons down specific pathways, as is the case with a circuit, 501 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:45,280 Speaker 1: then you run into an issue. If an electron can 502 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:49,160 Speaker 1: encounter a gate, the gate is closed, but because of 503 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:52,320 Speaker 1: electron tunneling, there's the possibility of the electron appearing on 504 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:54,360 Speaker 1: the other side of the gate. It means that you 505 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:57,560 Speaker 1: can create errors this way. Anyway, let's get back to 506 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:02,720 Speaker 1: g E S timeline. In ninet g ES Medical Systems 507 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:06,280 Speaker 1: Division developed an improved method for taking X ray cross 508 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:09,720 Speaker 1: section pictures which reduced the scanning time down to less 509 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:13,440 Speaker 1: than five seconds, which was an enormous improvement, a huge 510 00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:16,160 Speaker 1: leap forward. Ad meant that patients wouldn't have to sit 511 00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:19,360 Speaker 1: still for as long to get a cross section X 512 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:22,120 Speaker 1: ray done. Now, I'm reminded of a time when I 513 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:24,320 Speaker 1: had to get an X ray done and I was 514 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:28,280 Speaker 1: having a kidney stone and that was painful. It was 515 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:31,600 Speaker 1: so painful that just trying to stay still was a 516 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:34,680 Speaker 1: huge challenge for me. And it was technology like this, 517 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:37,720 Speaker 1: this breakthrough I was just talking about that made those 518 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:40,760 Speaker 1: sort of X ray scans much faster, much more efficient 519 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:44,280 Speaker 1: and reduced blurring, so that if the patient were moving 520 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:47,880 Speaker 1: because the scanning took so so little time, there was 521 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:49,400 Speaker 1: a better chance that you're going to get a nice 522 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:52,200 Speaker 1: clear picture. Otherwise, obviously, if the patient moves while the 523 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:55,280 Speaker 1: picture is being taken, you're gonna get blur. So I'm 524 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:59,240 Speaker 1: very thankful that GE was able to make X rays 525 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:03,840 Speaker 1: much more efficient and take less time. GE celebrated one 526 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:07,200 Speaker 1: years of innovation in nineteen seventy eight, which might be 527 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:09,840 Speaker 1: a little confusing at first because General Electric as a 528 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:14,880 Speaker 1: company was founded in eighteen nine two, not eighteen seventy eight. However, 529 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:19,520 Speaker 1: g also traces its historical roots back to an earlier company. 530 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:21,600 Speaker 1: If you listen to the first episode, you know about 531 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:25,080 Speaker 1: that Edison Electric Light company, that one began in eighteen 532 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:28,280 Speaker 1: seventy eight. According to a timeline on the GE website, 533 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:32,640 Speaker 1: specifically a timeline that's on gees website in India, the 534 00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:36,320 Speaker 1: company states that nineteen became the first company to have 535 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:41,760 Speaker 1: received fifty thousand patents. Wow. While the company continued to 536 00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:44,880 Speaker 1: diversify and work in various industries, a big change was 537 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:47,840 Speaker 1: around the corner, and that change happened in nineteen eighty one, 538 00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:51,720 Speaker 1: when Jack Welch, that chemical engineer I mentioned earlier, would 539 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:55,200 Speaker 1: become the company's youngest chairman and CEO. He replaced the 540 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:58,600 Speaker 1: outgoing CEO, which was a guy named Reginald H. Jones. 541 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:02,080 Speaker 1: Welch's ten year is an incredibly important one in the 542 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:04,240 Speaker 1: history of GE, so I figured it'd be good to 543 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:07,200 Speaker 1: get a little background on the man first. He was 544 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:10,960 Speaker 1: born in Peabody, Massachusetts, in nineteen thirty five. His father 545 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:15,680 Speaker 1: was a railroad conductor. Jack Welch would grow up in Salem, Massachusetts, 546 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 1: and as a kid he loved playing sports. He really 547 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:22,760 Speaker 1: loved winning, and he despised losing. That would be a 548 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:24,880 Speaker 1: fundamental part of his character that would carry over to 549 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:27,920 Speaker 1: his work at GE. He received a bachelor's degree in 550 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:31,360 Speaker 1: chemistry from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and he 551 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:34,760 Speaker 1: received his masters and his pH d at the University 552 00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:38,000 Speaker 1: of Illinois Champagne. Upon graduating and got a job at 553 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:40,920 Speaker 1: GE and he worked in their plastics division, and he 554 00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:43,440 Speaker 1: had nearly quit his job after just a short while. 555 00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:46,960 Speaker 1: He felt that gees organization was too cumbersome that was 556 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:50,320 Speaker 1: filled with middle management positions, it was bloated, and he 557 00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:53,480 Speaker 1: felt his own work wasn't being valued properly, but an 558 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:57,960 Speaker 1: executive named Ruben Gutoff convinced Welch to stay with the company. 559 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:00,280 Speaker 1: So he did, and he would end up lee eating 560 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:03,480 Speaker 1: the plastic division after working there for a while, then 561 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:06,360 Speaker 1: he moved on to other executive roles. He oversaw the 562 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:10,960 Speaker 1: Chemical and Metallurgical division, then he headed up GE strategic planning. 563 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:14,320 Speaker 1: Then he became a sector executive for the consumer products division. 564 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:17,920 Speaker 1: And despite all of that, he wasn't first and foremost 565 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:20,400 Speaker 1: in the minds of the board of directors who are 566 00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:25,200 Speaker 1: looking to fill that position of CEO. When we come back, 567 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:27,160 Speaker 1: I'll talk a little bit more about how he got 568 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,280 Speaker 1: his position and what he did with it, but first 569 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:40,080 Speaker 1: let's take another quick break. Welch was just one of 570 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:43,760 Speaker 1: seven people under consideration for the role of g E 571 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:47,720 Speaker 1: CEO in nine He didn't even have a formalized plan 572 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:50,040 Speaker 1: for where he wanted the company to go, but he 573 00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:52,840 Speaker 1: did have the determination to lead GE to being the 574 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:56,320 Speaker 1: number one company in every industry in which g E 575 00:33:56,520 --> 00:33:59,320 Speaker 1: had a presence. This was enough to commence the board 576 00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:03,480 Speaker 1: to name him CEO, and his first moves were really 577 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:06,440 Speaker 1: to streamline g E. While he had risen through the 578 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:09,640 Speaker 1: ranks in his decades at General Electric, he still felt 579 00:34:09,719 --> 00:34:13,800 Speaker 1: that the company was bloated. That opinion had not changed, 580 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:16,880 Speaker 1: even though he had gone from being an engineer to 581 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:20,440 Speaker 1: an executive. At the time he assumed the position of CEO, 582 00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:24,520 Speaker 1: g E was a mega giant, consisting of three hundred 583 00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:28,880 Speaker 1: different businesses, and Welch saw that as a problem, because 584 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,920 Speaker 1: how could you focus and be the absolute best when 585 00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:36,040 Speaker 1: your presence is spread so thin across so many businesses. 586 00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:39,400 Speaker 1: And so Welch began to consolidate departments. He began to 587 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:42,360 Speaker 1: sell off divisions. He was trimming the fat. Part of 588 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:46,000 Speaker 1: that meant laying off employees, and Welch did that too. 589 00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:49,440 Speaker 1: He did that a lot. By the mid nineteen eighties, 590 00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:52,920 Speaker 1: just a few years after he had become CEO, GE 591 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:58,200 Speaker 1: had laid off around one hundred twenty thousand employees. This 592 00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:01,319 Speaker 1: is hard for me to even imagine. The town I 593 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:04,720 Speaker 1: grew up in has a population of around forty thousand 594 00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:08,120 Speaker 1: people today. G E laid off three times as many 595 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:12,160 Speaker 1: people as were in my hometown. That's tough for me 596 00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:16,799 Speaker 1: to even imagine. The layoffs earned Welch a nickname neutron 597 00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:20,000 Speaker 1: Jack because he was like a neutron bomb going off 598 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,920 Speaker 1: in the company, he would eliminate employees while leaving the 599 00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:26,839 Speaker 1: corporate assets intact. A neutron bomb is thought of as 600 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:28,960 Speaker 1: the same thing. It's a sort of bomb that can 601 00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:34,960 Speaker 1: kill living stuff and leave physical infrastructure untouched. Welch hated 602 00:35:35,239 --> 00:35:41,080 Speaker 1: this nickname. It was a pretty cutthroat and brutal strategy, 603 00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:44,400 Speaker 1: but Welch was pretty much demanding that approach. He wanted 604 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:47,480 Speaker 1: to get out of any business where GE did not 605 00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:51,040 Speaker 1: occupy the number one or number two spot in the industry. 606 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:53,600 Speaker 1: If G were further behind them that he would rather 607 00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:57,279 Speaker 1: ditch that part of the business than to continue to 608 00:35:57,480 --> 00:36:00,439 Speaker 1: just sort of muddle along. It made little sense, he said, 609 00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:03,160 Speaker 1: to be in businesses where other companies could go to 610 00:36:03,239 --> 00:36:06,319 Speaker 1: market selling stuff cheaper than what it cost GE to 611 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:09,719 Speaker 1: manufacture those same things in the first place. So he 612 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:12,520 Speaker 1: gave an example of this. He's talked about television sets 613 00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:15,600 Speaker 1: and Schenecta in New York. They were still making television 614 00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:19,239 Speaker 1: sets when Jack Welch took over GE, but Welch said 615 00:36:19,239 --> 00:36:23,400 Speaker 1: that Japanese companies were selling TV sets for less money 616 00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:26,279 Speaker 1: to the final customer than it would cost GE to 617 00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:31,160 Speaker 1: manufacture a set. So Japanese television set might sell for 618 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:33,600 Speaker 1: a hundred dollars and it might cost a hundred ten 619 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:36,279 Speaker 1: dollars for g E to even make a TV set. 620 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:40,120 Speaker 1: There was no way to compete in that space and 621 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:42,760 Speaker 1: at all make a profit, so it made no sense 622 00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:46,120 Speaker 1: to keep the business. He preferred focusing the company's efforts 623 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:49,120 Speaker 1: on industries where they could outperform their competitors, rather than 624 00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:51,200 Speaker 1: remain in a business just to have a foot in 625 00:36:51,239 --> 00:36:55,400 Speaker 1: the door. Through a limiting divisions, selling off businesses, and 626 00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:59,640 Speaker 1: through laying off thousands of employees, the company ended up 627 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:02,560 Speaker 1: saving a lot of money, to the tune of billions 628 00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:05,880 Speaker 1: of dollars, and Welch wasn't just going to sit on 629 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:09,359 Speaker 1: those savings. He looked to reinvest in the company, and 630 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:12,200 Speaker 1: as part of that, he was looking for a possible acquisition, 631 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:16,320 Speaker 1: and he decided upon an old, familiar name. That name 632 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:18,719 Speaker 1: was r c A. Now, if you listen to the 633 00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:22,279 Speaker 1: earlier GE episodes, or if you listen to my r 634 00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:25,799 Speaker 1: c A episodes, you'll remember that General Electric was one 635 00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:28,600 Speaker 1: of the founding companies that created our CIA in the 636 00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:33,040 Speaker 1: first place. GE was also the majority shareholder until it 637 00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:36,160 Speaker 1: was compelled to sell off those shares of our CIA, 638 00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:39,120 Speaker 1: along with the other founders. This was because the United 639 00:37:39,160 --> 00:37:42,680 Speaker 1: States government at the time had antitrust concerns about the 640 00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:45,800 Speaker 1: radio industry. Well. The merger of g E and r 641 00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:48,759 Speaker 1: c A was a six point three billion dollar deal, 642 00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:51,920 Speaker 1: which was the largest in history at that point, and 643 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:54,000 Speaker 1: Welch took the same approach to our c A as 644 00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:57,520 Speaker 1: he had to GE. Namely, he began hacking away at 645 00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:01,440 Speaker 1: businesses he viewed as being distractions. So within three years 646 00:38:01,640 --> 00:38:04,399 Speaker 1: of this deal, Welch had reduced the number of our 647 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:08,200 Speaker 1: CIA employees to half of what they once were. He 648 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:11,480 Speaker 1: oversaw r c A selling off almost all of its businesses. 649 00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:15,759 Speaker 1: Really only two remained. One was the defense business that 650 00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:18,040 Speaker 1: our ci A would do for the U. S Military 651 00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:22,840 Speaker 1: and also for NASA. The other was the NBC television network, 652 00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:26,800 Speaker 1: So this was the time when GE would own NBC. 653 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:29,160 Speaker 1: This was a subject that become a frequent plot point 654 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:32,239 Speaker 1: on the TV series thirty Rock. It's also when our 655 00:38:32,280 --> 00:38:36,560 Speaker 1: c A effectively just became a name. It was no 656 00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:38,839 Speaker 1: longer the company at once was, so if you listen 657 00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:41,440 Speaker 1: to the r c A episodes, this is pretty much 658 00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:43,800 Speaker 1: at the point where the r c A story ended 659 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:47,920 Speaker 1: working for Welch was really tough. If you were really 660 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,120 Speaker 1: good at your job and your job was in a 661 00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:53,280 Speaker 1: division that Welch viewed as being central to GS mission, 662 00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:57,399 Speaker 1: you had decent job security. Welch had employees go through 663 00:38:57,440 --> 00:39:00,840 Speaker 1: regular performance reviews, and the emloyees who were in the 664 00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:04,040 Speaker 1: top twenty would get bonuses. Those who were in the 665 00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:08,440 Speaker 1: bottom ten percent were likely to get fired, and holy 666 00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:12,400 Speaker 1: cats did. His strategy pushed GE to new heights. The 667 00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:16,200 Speaker 1: company became known as the House that Jack built. The 668 00:39:16,239 --> 00:39:21,400 Speaker 1: stock price for g E rose four thousand per cent. Meanwhile, 669 00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:25,000 Speaker 1: the company was still churning out innovations such as groundbreaking 670 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:28,880 Speaker 1: work and fiber optics and magnetic residance imaging systems. The 671 00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:32,279 Speaker 1: company also launched the Consumer News and Business Channel or 672 00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:37,560 Speaker 1: c NBC in nine so it wasn't just a powerful 673 00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:40,680 Speaker 1: company in industry, it was now also becoming a powerful 674 00:39:40,719 --> 00:39:45,080 Speaker 1: media company. One other area Welch pushed g E into 675 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:50,000 Speaker 1: was financial services. With GE Capital, Welch led acquisition efforts 676 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:52,840 Speaker 1: to buy foreign banks, and GE also would become a 677 00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:59,319 Speaker 1: major insurance provider. These services were at the time remarkably profitable. 678 00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:02,720 Speaker 1: In fact, that an understatement when Welch took over GE, 679 00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:07,200 Speaker 1: the company's value was fourteen billion dollars. By the time 680 00:40:07,239 --> 00:40:10,280 Speaker 1: Welch would retire in two thousand one, the company's value 681 00:40:10,360 --> 00:40:14,360 Speaker 1: was an excess of four hundred ten billion dollars, and 682 00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:16,440 Speaker 1: a large part of that was due to the profitability 683 00:40:16,560 --> 00:40:21,120 Speaker 1: of the financial services during that time. Also, we have 684 00:40:21,200 --> 00:40:24,200 Speaker 1: to say that when this happened, it was a brilliant 685 00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:27,839 Speaker 1: move from a business perspective. It pushed GE to new heights, 686 00:40:27,880 --> 00:40:30,839 Speaker 1: and it made Welch a very wealthy man. It would 687 00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:33,760 Speaker 1: also end up being the major pain point for GE 688 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:36,279 Speaker 1: several years later that I'm going to get to that 689 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:39,000 Speaker 1: in our next episode as it begins to play into 690 00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:42,759 Speaker 1: the more recent allegations about g E and its accounting practices. 691 00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:45,560 Speaker 1: But before we get to those dark tidings, let's finish 692 00:40:45,640 --> 00:40:47,720 Speaker 1: up with some of the techie things that the company 693 00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:52,120 Speaker 1: was doing under Welch's command. In GE, through its r 694 00:40:52,160 --> 00:40:56,279 Speaker 1: c A Space division, delivered the Mars Observer to NASA. 695 00:40:56,680 --> 00:40:59,560 Speaker 1: It had been seventeen years since NASA had sent a 696 00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:02,759 Speaker 1: space craft to study Mars, so the intent was to 697 00:41:02,840 --> 00:41:05,960 Speaker 1: launch the Mars Observer and insert it into an orbit 698 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:09,520 Speaker 1: around the Red planet. The Mars Observer had instruments meant 699 00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:13,000 Speaker 1: to study the climate, geophysics, and the geology of Mars. 700 00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:17,960 Speaker 1: The launch went off beautifully. On September n the orbiter 701 00:41:18,080 --> 00:41:21,360 Speaker 1: began its long journey to Mars that would take nearly 702 00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:26,040 Speaker 1: a full year, and on August twenty one nine, just 703 00:41:26,120 --> 00:41:28,400 Speaker 1: a couple of days before the orbiter was meant to 704 00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:33,080 Speaker 1: officially enter Mars's orbit, all communication was lost between the 705 00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:37,040 Speaker 1: spacecraft and Earth. NASA was unable to re establish contact, 706 00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:41,000 Speaker 1: so the mission was ultimately a failure, though NASA was 707 00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:43,560 Speaker 1: at least able to learn some things through the process 708 00:41:43,600 --> 00:41:45,680 Speaker 1: of sending the orbiter to Mars in the first place, 709 00:41:45,880 --> 00:41:50,440 Speaker 1: but none of the primary mission objectives were achieved. In nineteen, 710 00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:55,160 Speaker 1: in another move to dominate media, NBC and Microsoft partner 711 00:41:55,280 --> 00:41:59,120 Speaker 1: together to launch the twenty four hour news channel ms NBC. 712 00:42:00,040 --> 00:42:04,240 Speaker 1: In g E began to adhere to a quality control 713 00:42:04,320 --> 00:42:07,840 Speaker 1: strategy called six Sigma, which calls for fewer than three 714 00:42:07,920 --> 00:42:12,040 Speaker 1: defects per million opportunities now. To achieve that goal, g 715 00:42:12,239 --> 00:42:15,600 Speaker 1: E would spend millions of dollars on training and new 716 00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:19,360 Speaker 1: production processes, so it was a very expensive and time 717 00:42:19,400 --> 00:42:22,800 Speaker 1: consuming effort, but Welch's view was that it would ultimately 718 00:42:22,880 --> 00:42:27,760 Speaker 1: benefit the company and result in massive savings. Fewer defects 719 00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:30,880 Speaker 1: would mean less waste. The first product from GE to 720 00:42:30,920 --> 00:42:34,080 Speaker 1: go through this process was a medical scanner called the 721 00:42:34,239 --> 00:42:40,000 Speaker 1: light Speed q X slash i CT system. In GE 722 00:42:40,120 --> 00:42:43,200 Speaker 1: secured a contract with Boeing to build massive, powerful jet 723 00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:46,560 Speaker 1: engines for Boeing seven seventy seven line of jets. The 724 00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:49,600 Speaker 1: company produced the g E nine D family. Now this 725 00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:52,120 Speaker 1: is not the only type of engine used on a 726 00:42:52,160 --> 00:42:55,600 Speaker 1: seven seventy seven. There's a whole bunch of different variations 727 00:42:55,600 --> 00:42:58,560 Speaker 1: of the seven seventy seven, and some of them use 728 00:42:58,640 --> 00:43:01,040 Speaker 1: engines from other companies, So it all depends upon the 729 00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:03,600 Speaker 1: version of the seven seventy seven you're looking at, but 730 00:43:03,719 --> 00:43:06,920 Speaker 1: it is the largest and most powerful jet engine produced 731 00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:11,759 Speaker 1: to date. In g E opened a new research lab. 732 00:43:11,840 --> 00:43:16,040 Speaker 1: This one is called GE Global Research. It's located in Bangalore, India, 733 00:43:16,160 --> 00:43:18,000 Speaker 1: and this marked an effort for g E to not 734 00:43:18,080 --> 00:43:21,600 Speaker 1: just expand its overseas markets, which it ha been doing 735 00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:24,880 Speaker 1: for the previous decades, but also to attract new talent 736 00:43:24,920 --> 00:43:27,640 Speaker 1: in the field of technology, talent that wasn't just located 737 00:43:28,040 --> 00:43:31,360 Speaker 1: in Europe or the United States. In two thousand, the 738 00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:35,200 Speaker 1: company unveiled the tm DRED, which is a power plant 739 00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:38,640 Speaker 1: on wheels. It's a gas turbine generator that can supply 740 00:43:38,760 --> 00:43:42,239 Speaker 1: twenty two point eight megawatts of electricity. Takes a couple 741 00:43:42,280 --> 00:43:44,440 Speaker 1: of days to set up once it's on location, and 742 00:43:44,440 --> 00:43:46,960 Speaker 1: it's used for lots of different purposes, including as a 743 00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:49,560 Speaker 1: way to supply electricity to areas that have been affected 744 00:43:49,560 --> 00:43:53,239 Speaker 1: by natural disasters. Gas turbines, by the way, work in 745 00:43:53,280 --> 00:43:55,759 Speaker 1: a very similar way to jet engines. You've got a 746 00:43:55,760 --> 00:43:59,960 Speaker 1: compressor that draws air into the engine. The air gets compressed, 747 00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:02,400 Speaker 1: and that's what a compressor does, and then it enters 748 00:44:02,480 --> 00:44:05,799 Speaker 1: into the combustion chamber where it combines with fuel from 749 00:44:05,800 --> 00:44:09,680 Speaker 1: fuel injectors. This mixture gets ignited and then it burns 750 00:44:09,719 --> 00:44:12,359 Speaker 1: at a very high temperature. It generates high temperature, high 751 00:44:12,400 --> 00:44:15,360 Speaker 1: pressure gas. The gas moves out of the combustion chamber 752 00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:18,719 Speaker 1: into a turbine section. That's where the gas can expand 753 00:44:18,880 --> 00:44:21,319 Speaker 1: and escape, and as it does so, the force of 754 00:44:21,360 --> 00:44:25,359 Speaker 1: that escaping expanding gas turns a turbine. The turbine does 755 00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:28,560 Speaker 1: two things. One, it drives the compressor, so it pulls 756 00:44:28,560 --> 00:44:31,000 Speaker 1: in more air and thus keeps the process going as 757 00:44:31,040 --> 00:44:33,120 Speaker 1: long as you have fuel to burn, and it also 758 00:44:33,239 --> 00:44:37,279 Speaker 1: spends a generator to create electricity. Jack Welch planned to 759 00:44:37,320 --> 00:44:40,440 Speaker 1: retire from GE and two thousand but one thing kept 760 00:44:40,520 --> 00:44:43,839 Speaker 1: him around a little bit longer. That thing was a 761 00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:47,480 Speaker 1: prize Welch really wanted for GE. There's a company called 762 00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:52,920 Speaker 1: Honeywell International. Now. Honeywell makes advanced electronics for the aviation industry, 763 00:44:52,960 --> 00:44:56,600 Speaker 1: among other things, and Welch led a forty billion dollar 764 00:44:56,719 --> 00:45:00,800 Speaker 1: plus acquisition effort to get this company. He that Honeywell 765 00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:05,160 Speaker 1: had another suitor, that of United Technologies Corporation, and he 766 00:45:05,320 --> 00:45:07,719 Speaker 1: added a promise to Honeywell that he would stay on 767 00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:10,840 Speaker 1: with GE until this acquisition was complete. He would delay 768 00:45:10,960 --> 00:45:15,080 Speaker 1: his retirement until two thousand one. So they decided they 769 00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:18,839 Speaker 1: would pursue this acquisition deal and things were going pretty well. 770 00:45:18,880 --> 00:45:21,560 Speaker 1: The United States seemed fully on board, but then you 771 00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:23,879 Speaker 1: get to the summer of two thousand one, and that's 772 00:45:23,880 --> 00:45:28,000 Speaker 1: when European regulators expressed concern that this merger would stifle 773 00:45:28,040 --> 00:45:31,839 Speaker 1: competition in the industry. Welch reportedly reached out to US 774 00:45:31,920 --> 00:45:34,360 Speaker 1: government officials to see if anything could be done to 775 00:45:34,440 --> 00:45:37,480 Speaker 1: smooth things out and get the deal approved. This had 776 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:42,120 Speaker 1: the effect of royally taking off those regulators, and ultimately 777 00:45:42,440 --> 00:45:46,200 Speaker 1: the European Union denied authorization for this merger and the 778 00:45:46,280 --> 00:45:50,879 Speaker 1: deal fell apart. Welch, who hated losing, lost this one. 779 00:45:51,400 --> 00:45:55,160 Speaker 1: The CEO of Honeywell, Michael Bunt Sire, was shown the 780 00:45:55,280 --> 00:45:58,280 Speaker 1: door not long after the deal was scrapped, and Welch 781 00:45:58,320 --> 00:46:01,920 Speaker 1: would continue on towards his retire Ermont Jack Welch stepped 782 00:46:01,920 --> 00:46:05,359 Speaker 1: down as CEO of g E on September seven, two 783 00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:09,880 Speaker 1: thousand one. His replacement would be Jeffrey R. Emilt, and 784 00:46:10,040 --> 00:46:13,560 Speaker 1: just four days after Emilt would take the helm of 785 00:46:13,680 --> 00:46:17,440 Speaker 1: ge the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 786 00:46:17,520 --> 00:46:22,080 Speaker 1: eleven would change the company's course. We'll talk about how 787 00:46:22,120 --> 00:46:25,600 Speaker 1: that happened in our next episode. In the meantime, if 788 00:46:25,640 --> 00:46:28,280 Speaker 1: you have a suggestion for a future episode of tech Stuff, 789 00:46:28,280 --> 00:46:31,959 Speaker 1: whether it's a company, a technology, just a concept in tech, 790 00:46:32,080 --> 00:46:34,200 Speaker 1: anything like that, let me know. You can send me 791 00:46:34,200 --> 00:46:37,920 Speaker 1: an email the addresses tech Stuff at how stuff works 792 00:46:38,080 --> 00:46:41,160 Speaker 1: dot com or pop on over to tech Stuff podcast 793 00:46:41,280 --> 00:46:43,480 Speaker 1: dot com. That's where're gonna find the archive of all 794 00:46:43,520 --> 00:46:48,120 Speaker 1: of our past episodes, all one thousand, one sixty plus 795 00:46:48,120 --> 00:46:50,680 Speaker 1: of them, and you'll also find links to where we 796 00:46:50,719 --> 00:46:52,880 Speaker 1: are on social media, as well as a link to 797 00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:56,000 Speaker 1: our online store, where every purchase you make goes to 798 00:46:56,040 --> 00:46:58,680 Speaker 1: help the show. We greatly appreciate it, and I'll talk 799 00:46:58,719 --> 00:47:05,880 Speaker 1: to you again really soon. Y Text Stuff is a 800 00:47:05,880 --> 00:47:08,560 Speaker 1: production of I heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more 801 00:47:08,680 --> 00:47:12,080 Speaker 1: podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, 802 00:47:12,200 --> 00:47:15,360 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.