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 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with 4 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:19,640 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works in iHeart Radio and I Love All 5 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 1: Things Tech. And In mid August two thousand nineteen, by 6 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:30,320 Speaker 1: financial analyst named Harry Marcopolis released a one hundred seventy 7 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 1: five page report alleging that g E that is General Electric, 8 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: the venerable company that is more than a century old, 9 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: was secretly on the verge of insolvency. He claimed the 10 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 1: company was using accounting tricks to hide an enormous threat 11 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: to its very existence, something akin to the Shenanigans in 12 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: Ron polled years ago. And giving Marcopolis some credibility was 13 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: his own history. He had raised warning flags about Bernie 14 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 1: made Off before the world found out about made Off's 15 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: Ponzi scheme. And to learn more about Ponzi schemes, you 16 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: should look up the classic Stuff you should Know episode 17 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,399 Speaker 1: All about It. It's great, particularly with the way Chuck 18 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: adopted It's a Ponzi scheme into that and subsequent episodes. 19 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: Now as I record these episodes, the report and the 20 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: responses to it are still part of the news cycle. 21 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 1: GE and some third party analysts have disputed Marcopolis's findings, 22 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: claiming that Marcopolis himself actually stands to earn a lot 23 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:38,200 Speaker 1: of money by taking down GE. And Marcopolis has said 24 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:40,679 Speaker 1: he was hired by a Hedge fund to look into 25 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: GES practices, but he refuses to name the fund as 26 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: of the recording of this podcast. Meanwhile, some other third 27 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: parties seem to agree with at least some of Marcopolis's findings, 28 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: and GE has been under increased scrutiny for its accounting 29 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: practices over the last few years. So there are a 30 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:02,600 Speaker 1: lot of answered questions around this, and it's by no 31 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 1: means a settled matter. I don't know if Marcopolis's allegations 32 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: reflect reality, and in fact, if I'm being totally honest, 33 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: I don't even understand all of those allegations. And in 34 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 1: the interest of full disclosure, I have not read the 35 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: full one page report, but I did think it would 36 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: be good to do a full rundown on the history 37 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: of General Electric. It is an incredibly influential company, and 38 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:35,119 Speaker 1: it spans many industries it has had and and it's 39 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:37,919 Speaker 1: heart to stress how big an impact it has had 40 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:41,520 Speaker 1: on the history of the United States in particular and 41 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:46,079 Speaker 1: tech in general. Now I should also add that back 42 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: in two thousand twelve, Chris Palette and I recorded three 43 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,679 Speaker 1: episodes about the history of GE. But Tech Stuff was 44 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 1: a different kind of show back in those days, so 45 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: I thought it might be good to take a deeper 46 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: dive into the history and see how GE shaped technology. 47 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,640 Speaker 1: And beyond that being said, if I were to do 48 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:08,959 Speaker 1: a comprehensive history on the company and all its subsidiaries, 49 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,640 Speaker 1: this series would last a dozen episodes or more. So 50 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:16,640 Speaker 1: to avoid making this episode and this podcast turned into 51 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: Ge Stuff, I'm going to try and focus on what 52 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:22,080 Speaker 1: I think are some of the most important historical moments 53 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: of GE. And a lot of that is in those 54 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: early years. So let's go back to where it all began. 55 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: And like many corporate histories, this involves going back to 56 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 1: older companies that would form the foundation for the one 57 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: we actually want to talk about. So strap in guys 58 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: and women and all others. I don't mean to lump 59 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 1: everybody in under the term guys. Anyway, we all know 60 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 1: about Thomas Edison, right He was an inventor. He was 61 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 1: an entrepreneur. He was a master at self promotion and more. 62 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:58,840 Speaker 1: And some folks might throw in some less complementary labels 63 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 1: in there, perhaps suggesting he was also a thief, or 64 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: if that's going too far, someone willing to take credit 65 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 1: for the work of people who are working beneath him. 66 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: But whatever your opinion of the fellow, Edison got stuff done. 67 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: In the eighteen seventies, Edison was working on the light bulb, 68 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 1: and no, he didn't invent the light bulb, but that's 69 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: a story for another podcast. In fact, my former co 70 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 1: host Chris Poulett and I actually did cover that story 71 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 1: in an episode titled tech Stuff Gets a Bright Idea, 72 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: which published on October twenty nine, two thousand twelve. But 73 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,839 Speaker 1: Edison did make improvements on the lightbulb, working with his 74 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: engineers to discover a material to serve as a suitable 75 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:44,359 Speaker 1: filament to incandess brightly enough and long enough to be 76 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: a practical use. In eighteen seventy eight, Edison founded a 77 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 1: company to concentrate on that goal. It was the Edison 78 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:56,600 Speaker 1: Electric Light Company. He had some big names in US history, 79 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 1: particularly US financial history, as his vester's folks like the Vanderbilts, 80 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 1: and JP Morgan. Now Morgan is going to become very 81 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 1: important to this story. Now. At the time, he had 82 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:13,359 Speaker 1: yet to find a suitable approach. The lightbulbs he made 83 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:17,280 Speaker 1: would burn out in just a few hours. The following year, 84 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy nine, his company produced a light bulb 85 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: able to last for forty hours. Not superb by any means, 86 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:28,159 Speaker 1: but a real sign of progress, and Edison boldly stated 87 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 1: that his company would make electricity affordable enough so that 88 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: only the wealthy would ever burn candles. That same year, again, 89 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy nine, for those who have forgotten, a couple 90 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 1: of teachers created their own company. Edwin James Houston was 91 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: a physics teacher, and Alihu Thompson taught chemistry and mechanics 92 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 1: at the Central High School for Boys in Philadelphia. They 93 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 1: created a company called the American Electric Company in New Britain, Connecticut, 94 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: with the help of some local and susters. In three 95 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:06,839 Speaker 1: a different group of investors, this time from Massachusetts, bought 96 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: out the company from the original group of investors and 97 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: the company got a new name, the Thompson Houston Electric Company. 98 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: Thompson would head up the research and development department, which 99 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,800 Speaker 1: was called the model room. A fellow named Charles A. Coffin, 100 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 1: the head of the investors, would lead the company and 101 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 1: act as a sort of president and chief financial officer, 102 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:33,800 Speaker 1: while Elwyn W. Rice led the manufacturing part of the business. 103 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 1: Both of those names will be important for ge and 104 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: Charles Coffin wasn't a physicist by nature. No, he was 105 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:44,359 Speaker 1: a man with a lot of soul. And by that 106 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 1: I meant he was a shoe manufacturer. As a dad 107 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:52,039 Speaker 1: joke for you. So where many of his fellow investors, 108 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:56,040 Speaker 1: They were all from the shoe manufacturing industry, and they 109 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,600 Speaker 1: were all located in Lynn, Massachusetts, and they pulled their 110 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 1: money to purchase this burgeoning, this this blossoming electric utility company, 111 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 1: the Thompson Houston Electric Company, would relocate its headquarters to Lynn, Massachusetts. 112 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: And we'll get back to that company in just a second. 113 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:17,040 Speaker 1: Edison was not just working on lamps in the eighteen 114 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: seventies and eighteen eighties. He was also creating some of 115 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: the first generators. These are devices that would convert mechanical 116 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: energy into electrical energy. On December seventeenth, eighteen eighty, he 117 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: founded the Edison Electric Illuminating Company. In eighteen eighty two, 118 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 1: he was responsible for building and operating the first steam 119 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: generated power station in London to power street lamps and 120 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 1: a few private homes that were not far from the 121 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 1: power plant. In New York, he was responsible for creating 122 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: an electric power distribution system called Pearl Street Station, which 123 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 1: supplied electricity to fifty nine whole customers in Lower Manhattan. 124 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: Now at the time, not everyone was old on the 125 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: idea of this new fangled electricity replacing candles and gas lamps, 126 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:10,240 Speaker 1: so as an incentive, Edison's company offered the first three 127 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 1: months of service at no charge. He also began to 128 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:18,640 Speaker 1: acquire smaller businesses that were likewise getting into the electrical 129 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:23,400 Speaker 1: power generator game, and by eighteen ninety this motley group 130 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: of companies merged to form Voltron, and by Voltron, I 131 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 1: mean they became the Edison General Electric Company. It was 132 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:37,319 Speaker 1: this company that in eight installed electrical wires and switching 133 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:40,520 Speaker 1: equipment in the United States White House, and that made 134 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 1: Benjamin Harrison, the twenty third President of the United States, 135 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:48,319 Speaker 1: the first US president to have electricity in the White House. 136 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 1: Back to the Thompson Houston Electric Company. Like Edison, Charles 137 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:56,240 Speaker 1: Coffin was determined to be a big player in the 138 00:08:56,280 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: electricity generating business. He had led Thompson Houston to go international, 139 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:04,840 Speaker 1: and he bought out a British company called the Brush Company, 140 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:09,599 Speaker 1: which did not sell brushes. No, it was actually founded 141 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:12,640 Speaker 1: by a guy named Charles Brush, and it was a 142 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: company that had patents for stuff like dynamos and had 143 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 1: been in litigation with Thompson Houston Electric Company over some technologies. 144 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 1: But we all know the old saying, right, if you 145 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 1: can't beat them, by them, and that's what Thompson Houston 146 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: Electric Company did. So both Edison General Electric Company and 147 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:36,520 Speaker 1: the Thompson Houston Electric Company were buying up competitors and 148 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:42,080 Speaker 1: more importantly, patent holders, so they each had dozens of 149 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:45,200 Speaker 1: patents to their name, and they were quickly becoming the 150 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: dominant players in electricity generation and distribution in the Northeast 151 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:52,840 Speaker 1: United States. And there was just enough overlap to make 152 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: business tricky for both companies. Without stepping on the toes 153 00:09:56,720 --> 00:09:59,439 Speaker 1: of the other, they could have become great rivals, and 154 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:03,200 Speaker 1: in fact they kind of were. Henry Villard, who was 155 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:07,760 Speaker 1: the president of Edison General Electric Thomas Edison, wasn't involved 156 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:10,640 Speaker 1: in the day to day operations of the company. Villard 157 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:14,320 Speaker 1: had an idea. Both Edison and Thompson Houston were in 158 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:17,520 Speaker 1: a bit of a cash crunch as the market was 159 00:10:17,559 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: in a bit of a slump. In addition, because both 160 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 1: companies owned dozens of patents, that made it hard to 161 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:27,319 Speaker 1: be the sole provider of any kind of electrical infrastructure. 162 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:32,079 Speaker 1: Business was too expensive. It was not just expensive to 163 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:34,440 Speaker 1: lay out the infrastructure, but you had all these legal 164 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:37,679 Speaker 1: battles that would come up because one company would allege 165 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 1: that the other company was infringing on one or more patents. 166 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:44,920 Speaker 1: There were several lawsuits pending around patents, and there would 167 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 1: likely be even more in the future. Villard wanted to 168 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:50,959 Speaker 1: solve all these problems by having the two companies merge. 169 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 1: Edison reportedly hated this idea and advised against it. Villard 170 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,800 Speaker 1: felt that the Edison company was in a dominent position 171 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: and could effectively define the terms of the merger, and 172 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:07,320 Speaker 1: so he tried to move on ahead. Then we get 173 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 1: back to JP Morgan, the financier, that he had arrived 174 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:15,440 Speaker 1: at a similar conclusion regarding the merger, but he felt 175 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:19,200 Speaker 1: that the Thompson Houston company was actually the one that 176 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: was in a stronger position, and because Morgan was Mr 177 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 1: money Bags. He went behind Villard's back and began wheeling 178 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:30,480 Speaker 1: and dealing to make the merger happen, but on very 179 00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:35,160 Speaker 1: different terms than what Villard was thinking. Morgan's spearheaded the 180 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:38,000 Speaker 1: effort to merge these two companies together to form a 181 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 1: new entity, one that would become known as the General 182 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 1: Electric Company and later g E. The headquarters for the 183 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:50,040 Speaker 1: company would be in Schenectady, New York, and Morrigan effectively 184 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 1: removed Thomas Edison and Henry Villard from any sort of 185 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 1: leadership role. Edison didn't even know about the merger until 186 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 1: the day before it at actually happened. Yikes, With their 187 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: powers and patents combined, the two former competitors could rapidly 188 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:12,520 Speaker 1: expand throughout the Northeast and beyond and moreover, the merger 189 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:16,160 Speaker 1: meant that the electric utilities industry in the United States 190 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 1: was now split between just two companies because General Electric 191 00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:25,200 Speaker 1: Companies had been swooped up, you know, all Thomas Houston 192 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 1: and Edison Electric had brought up all these smaller utilities, 193 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:33,319 Speaker 1: as had Westinghouse, the other big competitor in the US. 194 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:36,880 Speaker 1: So now the electric utilities industry in the United States 195 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:40,200 Speaker 1: was a do Woppoli. It was either General Electric or 196 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,559 Speaker 1: it was Westinghouse and General Electric and Westinghouse had been 197 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:49,040 Speaker 1: part of a patent pool agreement in eight so this 198 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:51,800 Speaker 1: was a big deal. It would also mean the end 199 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,360 Speaker 1: of the war of the currents between direct current and 200 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:57,920 Speaker 1: alternating current. I have a little bit more to say 201 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:00,760 Speaker 1: about that in a minute now. I'm a two minds 202 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:06,840 Speaker 1: about this merger that JP Morgan initiated. Generally speaking, I'm 203 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:11,000 Speaker 1: in favor of competition in markets because that's usually what 204 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 1: ends up being best for the consumer. It's way better 205 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:17,800 Speaker 1: if you have options and choices because companies will do 206 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:21,680 Speaker 1: different things in order to get customers, which usually means 207 00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:24,720 Speaker 1: cutting a better deal. But we're also talking about era 208 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:28,040 Speaker 1: in which most people didn't even have access to electricity. 209 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:31,920 Speaker 1: The infrastructure itself had not been laid out, so there 210 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:34,800 Speaker 1: was a real need to do that, and with competition 211 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 1: in the way, it made laying out the basic infrastructure 212 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 1: to get electricity to people harder to do. The same 213 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:45,960 Speaker 1: thing would be true of the telecommunications industry getting telephone 214 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: lines out to people. It was tough to do that 215 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: while also competing with other companies, and it could mean 216 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:58,920 Speaker 1: that you could have different standards, corporate defined standards that 217 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:02,920 Speaker 1: are incompatible with one another, laying out different regions. It 218 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:07,080 Speaker 1: was just a big mess. So you could argue that 219 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:11,200 Speaker 1: the monopoly like approach was actually beneficial at least to 220 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 1: establish the infrastructure. It just wasn't a good thing to 221 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 1: have as an ongoing thing. The newly formed company started 222 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:25,360 Speaker 1: in eighteen nine two and Charles Coffin would serve as 223 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,680 Speaker 1: the first president. So though you could trace the history 224 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:32,720 Speaker 1: as far back as eighteen seventy eight, I think is 225 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:38,080 Speaker 1: a reasonable reckoning day for g s natal day. Now 226 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:40,680 Speaker 1: we're gonna take a quick break, but when we come back, 227 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:42,920 Speaker 1: we'll talk a little bit more about what GE was 228 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:54,480 Speaker 1: doing during its first few years of existence. In eighteen 229 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 1: nine three, Edison's company developed an electric locomotive that could 230 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 1: use electric city to reach speeds of around thirty miles 231 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:06,640 Speaker 1: per hour, which the company showed off at the Chicago Exposition. 232 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: This was another opportunity to demonstrate how electricity could be 233 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:14,160 Speaker 1: used to a curious audience, and it helped promote the industry. 234 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:17,200 Speaker 1: You gotta remember again, in eighteen nine three, electricity is 235 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:19,840 Speaker 1: a brand new concept and to show that it had 236 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:23,280 Speaker 1: the power to do something that typically would be done 237 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:26,400 Speaker 1: with a steam engine was a very compelling use case. 238 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:31,320 Speaker 1: In eighteen, Thomas Edison chose to sell his shares in 239 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:34,760 Speaker 1: General Electric. He would continue to serve as a consultant 240 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:38,040 Speaker 1: for the company, but the Wizard of Menlo Park would 241 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 1: no longer be seen as the driving force or voice 242 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 1: for General Electric, and to be fair, ever since the 243 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:47,880 Speaker 1: formation of the company, he had little say in its direction. 244 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:52,080 Speaker 1: While the name and headquarters favored Edison's old company, the 245 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:55,440 Speaker 1: management for General Electric largely came from the Thompson Houston 246 00:15:55,560 --> 00:16:00,640 Speaker 1: Electric Company. So Edison out and at just four years old, 247 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:05,560 Speaker 1: General Electric would become part of financial history. See in 248 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:10,360 Speaker 1: eight six there was this guy named Charles Dow and 249 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:15,040 Speaker 1: he took stocks of twelve large industrial companies to create 250 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:18,400 Speaker 1: a stocks average, and it was a sort of indicator 251 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:22,160 Speaker 1: as to how things were going in the industrial market overall. 252 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: You would watch the averaged performance of these twelve companies 253 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:28,720 Speaker 1: and that would kind of tell you how things were going. 254 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:33,080 Speaker 1: As a broad rule of thumb, one of those twelve 255 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:37,880 Speaker 1: original companies was you guessed it, General Electric. All of 256 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: the original dozen companies, GE would be the only one 257 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,760 Speaker 1: to survive and remain on the dal Jones Industrial Average 258 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:49,920 Speaker 1: for more than a century, though spoiler alert, GE was 259 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:53,440 Speaker 1: removed from the dal Jones Industrial Average in two thousand 260 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:56,760 Speaker 1: and eighteen, but I'll talk more about that in a 261 00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 1: later episode. Also in eighteen, s Eli Hu Thompson, one 262 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:04,680 Speaker 1: of the founders of the Thompson Houston Electric Company and 263 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:09,000 Speaker 1: a consultant at GE, created an improved X ray tube. 264 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:12,600 Speaker 1: So let's talk about X rays for a second. X 265 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:16,199 Speaker 1: rays are a type of electromagnetic radiation, and they have 266 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:20,399 Speaker 1: a very short wavelength, much shorter than visible light. So 267 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:22,959 Speaker 1: if you were to look at a spectrum of electromagnetic 268 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:27,600 Speaker 1: radiation from longer wavelengths to shorter at the longest end 269 00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:32,000 Speaker 1: would be radio waves. Those stretch very long, in some 270 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:35,960 Speaker 1: cases more than a kilometer. Then if you move down 271 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:40,320 Speaker 1: the spectrum you come to microwaves. Below that are infrared waves. 272 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:43,840 Speaker 1: Then you have visible light, then you have ultra violet light, 273 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:46,399 Speaker 1: then you have X rays. If you were to go 274 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,400 Speaker 1: even smaller on the wavelength scale, you would then reach 275 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:53,359 Speaker 1: gamma rays. X rays form when a charged particle like 276 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:57,760 Speaker 1: an electron, experiences acceleration or deceleration, and you want to 277 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:00,479 Speaker 1: have it be in a very controlled way to generate 278 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:05,480 Speaker 1: specific X rays of a particular wavelength. Vilhelm Conrad Runchen 279 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:10,159 Speaker 1: and I always mess up that name. I apologize, but anyway, 280 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:12,679 Speaker 1: this is the fellow who first discovered X rays in 281 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:17,720 Speaker 1: eight He was working with cathode ray tubes in a lab. 282 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 1: These are crt s, is the sort of stuff you 283 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:23,600 Speaker 1: would find in old television sets. And he had concluded 284 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:26,400 Speaker 1: that there was a type of ray that was invisible 285 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:29,399 Speaker 1: to the eye, and it could pass through lots of 286 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:32,720 Speaker 1: solid stuff, like heavy black paper. In fact, he figured 287 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:35,159 Speaker 1: it could pass through lots of different stuff, and it 288 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:39,280 Speaker 1: could cast shadows of solid objects. It could pass through 289 00:18:39,359 --> 00:18:43,600 Speaker 1: flesh but not bone. And one of the earliest experiments 290 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: he conducted with this discovery was to use film to 291 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:50,359 Speaker 1: capture an X ray image of his wife's hand so 292 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:54,280 Speaker 1: that she could see the skeletal structure of her hand. 293 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:59,360 Speaker 1: So an X ray tube converts energy. Specifically, it converts 294 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:03,080 Speaker 1: electrical energy into two other types of energy. One of 295 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:07,480 Speaker 1: those is heat and the other is X radiation. Ideally, 296 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,800 Speaker 1: you want to produce specific X radiation and you want 297 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:15,880 Speaker 1: to minimize heat production because really heat represents waste, it's 298 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:18,359 Speaker 1: lost energy. In this case, so are the way we 299 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:22,000 Speaker 1: think of heat being waste energy for a car engine. 300 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:25,399 Speaker 1: As another example, so, an X ray tube is a 301 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:29,959 Speaker 1: particular type of cathode ray tube. That means inside the tube, 302 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:32,879 Speaker 1: which looks a little bit like a lightbulb, you have 303 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:36,000 Speaker 1: an element called a cathode and you have another called 304 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:40,880 Speaker 1: an anode. Electrical current flows through the tube and electrons 305 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:45,199 Speaker 1: flow from cathode to anode. The cathode connects to the 306 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:48,080 Speaker 1: negative side of the circuit, the anode connects to the 307 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:50,240 Speaker 1: positive side. So in other words, you can think of 308 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:54,080 Speaker 1: the cathode as the component that sheds or contributes electrons. 309 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:58,640 Speaker 1: The anode is the component that accepts electrons. As part 310 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:02,440 Speaker 1: of this process, a electrons lose energy as they moved 311 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,520 Speaker 1: through the circuit, and this generates X radiation. The material 312 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: in the anode and the energy of the electrons determines 313 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:12,600 Speaker 1: how much of the energy gets converted into heat rather 314 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:17,679 Speaker 1: than X radiation. Modern X ray tubes frequently have tungsten anodes. 315 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:20,920 Speaker 1: And there's a lot more we could explore with X rays, 316 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,680 Speaker 1: but honestly, I think that would require its own episode, 317 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:26,520 Speaker 1: so we'll just leave it here. Just know that the 318 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,120 Speaker 1: X ray tubes are pretty similar to the tubes you'd 319 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:33,640 Speaker 1: find in old CRT televisions or monitors, though not modern 320 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:37,200 Speaker 1: TVs or displays because they they don't use cathode ray 321 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:40,520 Speaker 1: tubes anymore. The important thing for our episode here is 322 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:44,040 Speaker 1: that GE became a leader in that space, with Thompson 323 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:47,640 Speaker 1: creating the improved X ray tube just one year after 324 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:52,439 Speaker 1: X rays had even been discovered. In nineteen hundred, Thomas Edison, 325 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:56,600 Speaker 1: still working as a consultant for General Electric, partnered with 326 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:01,439 Speaker 1: Willis R. Whitney and Charles Steinmitz to create the first 327 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:06,199 Speaker 1: industrial research laboratory in the United States. The purpose of 328 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:10,879 Speaker 1: the facility was to act as an experimental division for GE, 329 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:15,960 Speaker 1: where engineers and scientists would work on innovating new technologies 330 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:20,640 Speaker 1: and new applications of existing tech, and even making scientific breakthroughs. 331 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:24,600 Speaker 1: It was in this facility where GE researchers could conduct 332 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:29,480 Speaker 1: original research projects. The functions of this facility closely resembled 333 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:33,119 Speaker 1: a model practiced in German universities. Much of the early 334 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:36,360 Speaker 1: work in the research lab focused on improving the existing 335 00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:39,199 Speaker 1: technologies that GE was producing at the time. It was 336 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:42,479 Speaker 1: only after a few years that the engineers were starting 337 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:47,680 Speaker 1: to look at totally new types of technology, scientific principles 338 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:50,480 Speaker 1: and applications. Also, this is where we get a little 339 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,639 Speaker 1: Monty Python and the Holy Grail with the lab. The 340 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:57,879 Speaker 1: original lab was not particularly grandiose. It was a barn 341 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:00,359 Speaker 1: located behind the house of one of the rese searchers 342 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:04,440 Speaker 1: for GE. But, and this will probably come as a 343 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:08,400 Speaker 1: surprise to absolutely nobody, because they were working with electricity 344 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:12,919 Speaker 1: and heating elements, that particular lab ended up catching fire 345 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:17,480 Speaker 1: and it burned down. After that, GE re established the 346 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:20,280 Speaker 1: lab in Schenectady, New York. The head of the research 347 00:22:20,359 --> 00:22:23,200 Speaker 1: division was a professor from m I. T. And I'm 348 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 1: sure there were many more fires over the following years, 349 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:29,000 Speaker 1: but as far as I know, none of them burned 350 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:32,439 Speaker 1: the whole lab down to the ground again. One early 351 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:35,080 Speaker 1: invention to come out of the lab was the electric 352 00:22:35,119 --> 00:22:38,800 Speaker 1: fan in two. Now, there is a small issue with this, 353 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:43,920 Speaker 1: and that other inventors had already created electric fans years earlier. 354 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:49,960 Speaker 1: An inventor with the fabulous name Skylar Scott's Wheeler built 355 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:54,560 Speaker 1: one in eighteen eighty two, twenty years before GE would 356 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:58,480 Speaker 1: file patents for its electric fan design. Another guy named 357 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:02,120 Speaker 1: Philip Deal took the electric fan and flipped it a bit, 358 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:05,520 Speaker 1: creating the first ceiling fan. He essentially took a fan blade, 359 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:08,920 Speaker 1: attached it to a sewing machine motor, and then bolted 360 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:12,679 Speaker 1: that motor to the ceiling in seven Now, I'm not 361 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:16,560 Speaker 1: sure what innovations General Electric contributed to the electric fan, 362 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:19,040 Speaker 1: but I will tell you I looked at lots of 363 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,600 Speaker 1: different sources when I was creating these these episodes, and 364 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:26,520 Speaker 1: many of them talk about two G. E invents the 365 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 1: electric fan, which clearly is not the case. Uh No, 366 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:32,520 Speaker 1: they might have come out with an electric fan, and 367 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:36,760 Speaker 1: they probably did create some interesting innovations with the fan, 368 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:39,439 Speaker 1: but they didn't truly invent it had been around for 369 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:43,639 Speaker 1: two decades already. In nineteen o three, GE acquired the 370 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 1: Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company, which manufactured transformers. In fact, William Stanley, 371 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:53,360 Speaker 1: the founder of the company, was the developer of the transformer. 372 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:58,640 Speaker 1: And a transformer in this case isn't a robot in disguise. Rather, 373 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 1: it's an electrical device that inverts alternating current electricity from 374 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:06,159 Speaker 1: one voltage to another, and depending upon its design, a 375 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:10,439 Speaker 1: transformer can step up or step down the voltage and 376 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 1: it only works on alternating current, so let's talk a 377 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:17,800 Speaker 1: bit about this and why it's important. Alright, at the 378 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:21,920 Speaker 1: dawn of the age of electricity, you had the current wars, 379 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,880 Speaker 1: the brew haha over whether regions should invest in direct 380 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:31,000 Speaker 1: current or alternating current for the purposes of distributing electricity. 381 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: Edison was in favor of direct current. Direct current is 382 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:36,800 Speaker 1: the same sort of current you'd get with a battery. 383 00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 1: The electricity flows one way only through the circuit. It's 384 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:45,280 Speaker 1: a one direction type of thing. It's simple. But at 385 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:51,080 Speaker 1: the time, transmitting direct current over longer distances was impractical. 386 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:53,879 Speaker 1: So it worked fine if you were in a dense 387 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,920 Speaker 1: urban environment and you could build power generation plants at 388 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:01,320 Speaker 1: regular spots around the region, but it wouldn't didn't work 389 00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:04,960 Speaker 1: so great if you're talking about stretching across rural areas. 390 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:11,040 Speaker 1: That the transmitting direct current at lower voltages was inefficient. 391 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 1: You lost too much electricity along the way, and it 392 00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:17,720 Speaker 1: higher curtains. That was considered higher voltages, I should say 393 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:22,840 Speaker 1: it was considered very dangerous. Now inter alternating current with 394 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:26,960 Speaker 1: alternating current, the flow of electricity reverses many times a second, 395 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:30,000 Speaker 1: going one way down the path and then reversing to 396 00:25:30,119 --> 00:25:33,120 Speaker 1: go the other way, and One benefit of this approach 397 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:36,560 Speaker 1: is that you can create transformers to step up the 398 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:41,199 Speaker 1: voltages for purposes of transmitting electricity over long distances, and 399 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,040 Speaker 1: then have another transformer on the other end to step 400 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:46,320 Speaker 1: the voltage back down so it can be used in 401 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:50,080 Speaker 1: households safely. And it all has to do with electromagnetism. 402 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:54,679 Speaker 1: Electricity flowing through a coil of wire creates a magnetic field, 403 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:58,479 Speaker 1: and if it's alternating current going through that coil, so 404 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:01,560 Speaker 1: it's you can think of it as going down the 405 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:04,199 Speaker 1: coil of wire and then reversing and going up the 406 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:07,639 Speaker 1: coil of wire and doing that many many many times 407 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:12,040 Speaker 1: per second. Well, then it creates a fluctuating magnetic field. Now, 408 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:14,320 Speaker 1: if you were to bring a second coil of wire 409 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:18,639 Speaker 1: within that fluctuating magnetic field from the first coil of wire, 410 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:23,280 Speaker 1: something interesting happens. All Right, We've got coils A and B. 411 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:27,639 Speaker 1: Each coil is wrapped around its own ferro magnetic core 412 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:32,240 Speaker 1: of iron or steel, something that can be magnetized. We 413 00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:36,600 Speaker 1: run an alternating current of electricity through Coil A. Then 414 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:39,359 Speaker 1: we bring coil B with no current running through it, 415 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:43,160 Speaker 1: close enough so that it is within the fluctuating magnetic 416 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:47,480 Speaker 1: field that is generated as a consequence of coil a's 417 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:52,320 Speaker 1: electric current. That fluctuating magnetic field then induces a second 418 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:56,320 Speaker 1: electric current to flow through coil B. So now coil 419 00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:59,360 Speaker 1: B is carrying a current because of being in that 420 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:04,119 Speaker 1: fluctuating magnetic field from coil A. Even more interesting is 421 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:07,800 Speaker 1: that if coil B has more coils or turns as 422 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:11,080 Speaker 1: we call it, than coil A does, the current running 423 00:27:11,119 --> 00:27:14,800 Speaker 1: through coil B will have a higher voltage. The relationship 424 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:19,040 Speaker 1: between the number of turns is called the transformer turns ratio. 425 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:22,440 Speaker 1: So a power plant could run current through a line 426 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,840 Speaker 1: to a transformer and, through the use of two sets 427 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:29,840 Speaker 1: of coils, step up the voltage significantly for a long 428 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:34,879 Speaker 1: distance transmission, where higher voltage is more efficient. I wonder 429 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:38,840 Speaker 1: if Thomas Edison was peeved the General Electric was purchasing 430 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:43,119 Speaker 1: companies that were building tech for alternating current applications. Actually, 431 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:46,400 Speaker 1: I don't have to wonder he was. He was pretty 432 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:49,800 Speaker 1: pretty upset about He did not like the idea of 433 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:55,000 Speaker 1: losing the War of the currents. Even well after that 434 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:59,639 Speaker 1: war was settled. In nineteen o five, GE formed the 435 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:04,639 Speaker 1: Electric Bond and Share Company also known as ABASCO E 436 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:08,639 Speaker 1: B a s c O. This was a holding company. 437 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:12,840 Speaker 1: Holding company as a company that exists largely to hold 438 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:17,040 Speaker 1: onto the stock of other companies. Usually a holding company 439 00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:22,000 Speaker 1: doesn't actually, you know, do anything. Its purpose is truly 440 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:27,280 Speaker 1: just financial in nature. Ge used the employee retirement Investment 441 00:28:27,359 --> 00:28:32,640 Speaker 1: fund for its employees to purchase securities from smaller electric 442 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:36,840 Speaker 1: utility companies. This was largely in an effort to monopolize 443 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:40,720 Speaker 1: the electric utility industry. This was something that financier JP 444 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:45,280 Speaker 1: Morgan was very keen on doing. A few other utilities 445 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:49,959 Speaker 1: holding companies would be would would pop up and scoop 446 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:53,160 Speaker 1: up other regional companies, and so you started to see 447 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:57,280 Speaker 1: even less competition in the region, and this would spell trouble. 448 00:28:57,920 --> 00:28:59,920 Speaker 1: I'll explain more in a second, but first let's take 449 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:11,080 Speaker 1: another quick break. Now I'm going to stick with this 450 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:15,239 Speaker 1: story about the holding company for a moment, and then 451 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:18,560 Speaker 1: we'll give back to the timeline. We're gonna go down 452 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:22,360 Speaker 1: this particular path just to get a complete picture of 453 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:28,200 Speaker 1: this story. So Abasco ends up controlling tons of companies 454 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:32,800 Speaker 1: and would even form subsidiaries of its own holding company 455 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:36,000 Speaker 1: to oversee groups of these because there were just so many. 456 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:39,360 Speaker 1: So you might have a subsidiary of Abasco that itself 457 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:42,640 Speaker 1: was a holding company for like ten other companies. So 458 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:45,920 Speaker 1: eventually the United States government pays attention and comes to 459 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:49,560 Speaker 1: oppose the monopolization of utilities and says, you know, it 460 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 1: was okay when we were laying out the infrastructure to 461 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:56,680 Speaker 1: make sure people got access to electricity, but now we're 462 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:00,000 Speaker 1: not so comfortable with one company having this much control 463 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:05,200 Speaker 1: roll over electricity distribution. This reached a crescendo in ninety 464 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 1: five when Congress passed the Public Utility Company Holding Act. 465 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:12,960 Speaker 1: That act gave the securities an Exchange Commission, or sec 466 00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:16,920 Speaker 1: the authority to break up holding companies so that the 467 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:21,120 Speaker 1: individual states in the United States could oversee operations within 468 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:26,080 Speaker 1: their borders. Abasco fought tooth and nail to keep its holdings, 469 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:30,520 Speaker 1: but ultimately lost that battle, and afterwards the entity that 470 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:35,240 Speaker 1: was Abasco would reorganize and become an investment company. Now 471 00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:38,440 Speaker 1: I include the story here because it's just one of 472 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:42,520 Speaker 1: many examples of how General Electric drew focus and criticism 473 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:46,120 Speaker 1: for its operations, and it shows how powerful and influential 474 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:49,040 Speaker 1: the company has been over the years. All right, now 475 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:52,200 Speaker 1: we're gonna jump back to the timeline that we were 476 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:56,400 Speaker 1: covering before. So around the same time that Abasca was forming, 477 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:01,360 Speaker 1: a GE engineer named Ernst Alexanderson developed a type of 478 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:06,880 Speaker 1: high frequency alternator and we now call the Alexanderson alternator, 479 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,960 Speaker 1: and it was for the purposes of creating a radio transmitter. 480 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,040 Speaker 1: He was doing this upon request from another guy, an 481 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,920 Speaker 1: inventor named Reginald Fessenden, who had been trying to solve 482 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:22,280 Speaker 1: the problem of sending sound over radio waves, essentially radio broadcasting. 483 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:25,120 Speaker 1: Fessenden had figured out that he needed a much higher 484 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:29,360 Speaker 1: frequency alternator than what was currently available to achieve his goal, 485 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:33,640 Speaker 1: so he sent out the request to GE and Alexanderson 486 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:36,800 Speaker 1: started to work on the project. An alternator, by the way, 487 00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:41,080 Speaker 1: is a device that creates an alternating current. The Alexanderson 488 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:45,080 Speaker 1: alternator could create a continuous radio wave, and that's a 489 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:49,280 Speaker 1: radio wave with a constant amplitude and frequency. I won't 490 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:51,719 Speaker 1: go into it further here, as I've done plenty of 491 00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 1: episodes about radio waves and technology, but it would be 492 00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:57,560 Speaker 1: an early example of how general electric would become an 493 00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:01,160 Speaker 1: important part of the history of radio. So far, I've 494 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:05,080 Speaker 1: been talking about electric utilities and radio waves. But around 495 00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:07,959 Speaker 1: the same time, so nineteen o five or so, General 496 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:12,000 Speaker 1: Electric would also dip its enormous corporate toe into the 497 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:16,520 Speaker 1: tempting waters of consumer appliances. The first one I could 498 00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:20,400 Speaker 1: find on General Electric's own website was the Model D 499 00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:25,400 Speaker 1: twelve and electric toaster. Other sources cite a nineteen o 500 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:29,840 Speaker 1: six electric range as the first consumer product. The toaster, 501 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:33,280 Speaker 1: by the way, looks terrifying to me because it doesn't 502 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:38,440 Speaker 1: have any solid surfaces. It's essentially a couple of racks, 503 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:43,479 Speaker 1: open air racks that holds slices of bread and they 504 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:47,720 Speaker 1: are placed on either side of a series of unprotected 505 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:51,280 Speaker 1: heating coils. So I would imagine this thing was quite 506 00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:54,080 Speaker 1: the fire hazard in its day. Oh and in case 507 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:57,680 Speaker 1: you wonder, like how does this stuff work, that's easy. 508 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:03,120 Speaker 1: Conductive materials, that is, materials that can conduct electrons are 509 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:06,360 Speaker 1: usually not perfect conductors most of the time. Now, if 510 00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:10,720 Speaker 1: you can cool one down to near absolute zero, you 511 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:14,200 Speaker 1: can get a super conductor that doesn't lose any conductivity. 512 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:18,120 Speaker 1: Uh and if you use larger gauges of conductive material, 513 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:22,080 Speaker 1: you reduce resistance. But because of a variety of factors, 514 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:26,959 Speaker 1: most conductors have a certain amount of resistance to electric current. 515 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:32,360 Speaker 1: Based on all these different variables, that resistance manifests as heat. Now, 516 00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:37,640 Speaker 1: normally we don't want heat in our conductive materials. Electronics 517 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:41,320 Speaker 1: don't respond too well with getting hot. But with stuff 518 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:44,840 Speaker 1: like electric ranges and toasters, the whole point is to 519 00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:48,320 Speaker 1: generate heat. We use materials that have a resistance so 520 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:51,520 Speaker 1: that enough electrical energy will convert to heat in order 521 00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:54,360 Speaker 1: to cook or toast whatever it is we're exposing to 522 00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:57,440 Speaker 1: those elements. On the other end of the scale from 523 00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:01,520 Speaker 1: a countertop toaster is the deliver verge made to the 524 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:09,000 Speaker 1: New York Central Railroad in the company supplied thirty electric locomotives, 525 00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:14,040 Speaker 1: each weighing in at ninety four tons. The locomotives had 526 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:18,680 Speaker 1: two thousand, eight hundred horsepower each. This isn't just an 527 00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:23,440 Speaker 1: interesting tidbit in Gees history. The electric locomotive and rails 528 00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:27,799 Speaker 1: in New York would shape the development of Manhattan itself, 529 00:34:28,200 --> 00:34:31,759 Speaker 1: as did the electrical infrastructure. So one could argue that 530 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:36,200 Speaker 1: modern Manhattan wouldn't look anything like it does today without 531 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:40,600 Speaker 1: general electrics business in the area. That general electrics involvement 532 00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:45,440 Speaker 1: itself was what helped shape the modern appearance of Manhattan, 533 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,680 Speaker 1: and because I'll probably forget about it before I get 534 00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:52,600 Speaker 1: to the recent past. In a later episode, not very 535 00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:56,600 Speaker 1: long ago from the recording, General Electrics spun off its 536 00:34:56,680 --> 00:35:00,520 Speaker 1: locomotive business in a merger with another locomotive company called 537 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:04,800 Speaker 1: wab Tech w A B T e C. The eleven 538 00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:09,040 Speaker 1: billion dollar deal saw GE and its shareholders take fifty 539 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:13,239 Speaker 1: point one percent stake in the ownership of this new company, 540 00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:17,040 Speaker 1: with wab Text shareholders getting the other forty nine point nine. 541 00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:20,399 Speaker 1: This was part of the larger effort to shed some 542 00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:23,680 Speaker 1: of g S businesses. As I think it's already apparent 543 00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:27,239 Speaker 1: that the company had grown extremely large, with lots of 544 00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:31,520 Speaker 1: different departments involved in various industries. That was true even 545 00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:34,359 Speaker 1: in the early nineteen hundreds, but it gets way more 546 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:38,720 Speaker 1: apparent as this series will go on. In nineteen o nine, 547 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:43,400 Speaker 1: engineers at General Electric, led by a guy named William Coolidge, 548 00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:48,840 Speaker 1: developed the ductal tungsten filament for incandescent light bulbs. Tungsten 549 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:52,319 Speaker 1: holds together well at high temperatures, and it gives off 550 00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:55,759 Speaker 1: a warm light when it incandescees, but it's also a 551 00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:59,440 Speaker 1: pretty tough metal to work with. Coolidge created a process 552 00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:02,359 Speaker 1: that made the metal easier and more appliable to work with, 553 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:05,239 Speaker 1: and it was off to the races. It made the 554 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:08,640 Speaker 1: Edison design much more efficient and practical, and it quickly 555 00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:12,040 Speaker 1: became the standard material for light bulbs. It's essentially the 556 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:15,680 Speaker 1: same stuff you'd find in the filament in an incandescent 557 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:20,120 Speaker 1: light bulb today. In nineteen eleven, we have another acquisition 558 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:24,320 Speaker 1: sort of. General Electric absorbed a company called the National 559 00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:29,960 Speaker 1: Electric Lamp Association or NILA in e l A, and 560 00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:33,560 Speaker 1: that organization traced its own history back to nineteen o one. 561 00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:37,279 Speaker 1: G had already been part of NILA's history, having become 562 00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:40,120 Speaker 1: a shareholder in the company back in nineteen o two, 563 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:42,759 Speaker 1: just one year after it was founded, and providing the 564 00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:47,319 Speaker 1: old Brush Electric Company facilities to serve as NILA's headquarters. 565 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:51,680 Speaker 1: Over time, General Electrics stake in the company grew, and 566 00:36:51,719 --> 00:36:56,120 Speaker 1: federal courts took notice, and there were talks of antitrust concerns, 567 00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:59,879 Speaker 1: and GE was essentially told it had to dissolve NILA, 568 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:05,080 Speaker 1: so General Electric absorbed NILA into its own overall business. 569 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:10,160 Speaker 1: NILA had recently finished building an industrial complex in Cleveland, Ohio, 570 00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:14,080 Speaker 1: and NILA Park would become the first industrial park in 571 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:17,760 Speaker 1: the United States. And here's where I admit I finally 572 00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:21,160 Speaker 1: looked up the definition for an industrial park because I've 573 00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:24,080 Speaker 1: heard the term hundreds of times but never really thought 574 00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:27,400 Speaker 1: to see exactly what the definition was. So imagine my 575 00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:30,799 Speaker 1: surprise to find out it means pretty much what it 576 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:33,719 Speaker 1: sounds like. An industrial park is an area that is 577 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:37,080 Speaker 1: zoned for industrial development, kind of like how a business 578 00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:40,440 Speaker 1: park or an office park is an area zoned for offices. 579 00:37:41,239 --> 00:37:45,040 Speaker 1: Sometimes the obvious answer is in fact the correct one. 580 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:51,879 Speaker 1: In nineteen twelve, ge researchers developed improved vacuum tubes which 581 00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:55,720 Speaker 1: would help usher in the early era of electronics. Before 582 00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:59,680 Speaker 1: the development of the transistor, the vacuum tube was crucial 583 00:38:00,040 --> 00:38:03,160 Speaker 1: for electronics. A vacuum tube is also known as a 584 00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:07,319 Speaker 1: thermionic valve. Thermionic gives you a hint of One of 585 00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:10,200 Speaker 1: the important concepts in this device has to do with heat, 586 00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:13,840 Speaker 1: and vacuum tubes are in many ways similar to cathode 587 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:17,560 Speaker 1: ray tubes or light bulbs. Like a cathode ray tube, 588 00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:21,400 Speaker 1: a vacuum tube has a cathode and an anode separated 589 00:38:21,400 --> 00:38:24,000 Speaker 1: from each other inside a glass tube, and as the 590 00:38:24,080 --> 00:38:27,680 Speaker 1: name vacuum tube tells, us. The inside of the tube 591 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:30,920 Speaker 1: has no air in it. It is a vacuum. Heating 592 00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:34,880 Speaker 1: the cathode causes it to shed electrons in a process 593 00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:39,640 Speaker 1: called thermionic emission. Applying a positive voltage to the anode 594 00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:44,400 Speaker 1: plate attracts those electrons across the gap in the vacuum, 595 00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:49,160 Speaker 1: creating a current flow. A vacuum tube with just two electrodes, 596 00:38:49,280 --> 00:38:53,160 Speaker 1: the cathode and the anode, is called a diode. This 597 00:38:53,239 --> 00:38:55,920 Speaker 1: is a type of tube that allows electricity to only 598 00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:58,959 Speaker 1: flow in a single direction, so it's like a one 599 00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:02,600 Speaker 1: way street electrical current. That we also have to remember 600 00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:06,440 Speaker 1: that we described current as the direction of positive to negative, 601 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:11,400 Speaker 1: so this is confusing. Electrons are traveling from negative to positive, 602 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:15,000 Speaker 1: but we call the currents direction the opposite. So current 603 00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:18,960 Speaker 1: flows from anode to cathode, even though electrons are flowing 604 00:39:19,200 --> 00:39:22,279 Speaker 1: from cathode to anode. And I know it's confusing, and 605 00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:27,080 Speaker 1: I blame Benjamin Franklin, But that's another story. One important 606 00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:31,720 Speaker 1: task these diodes did was convert alternating current to direct current. 607 00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:36,560 Speaker 1: This was important since electricity transmission was through alternating current, 608 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:40,200 Speaker 1: but most devices you would plug into outlets relied on 609 00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:43,120 Speaker 1: direct currents, so you had to be able to convert them. 610 00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:47,200 Speaker 1: But vacuum tubes didn't just stop there. Back in seven 611 00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:51,319 Speaker 1: lead to Forest, an American inventor created the first triode 612 00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:55,359 Speaker 1: vacuum tube. So this was a vacuum tube with three electrodes. 613 00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:58,759 Speaker 1: You had the anode, you had the cathode, and the 614 00:39:58,840 --> 00:40:02,359 Speaker 1: third electrode was a control grid. Think of it as 615 00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:06,799 Speaker 1: a sort of filter or mesh between the cathode and 616 00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:11,160 Speaker 1: the anode. So the cathode is shedding electrons, the anode 617 00:40:11,239 --> 00:40:15,040 Speaker 1: is accepting electrons, and the control grid is between the two. 618 00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:18,840 Speaker 1: Connectors to the control grid allow for a change and 619 00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:22,640 Speaker 1: voltage to be applied to the grid itself. So adjusting 620 00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:25,319 Speaker 1: the voltage to the control grid acts as a kind 621 00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:29,640 Speaker 1: of valve, adjusting exactly how many electrons can flow from 622 00:40:29,680 --> 00:40:32,359 Speaker 1: the cathode to the anode. So if you applied a 623 00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:35,879 Speaker 1: negative voltage to the control grid, the control grid will 624 00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:41,920 Speaker 1: repel electrons, right because like charge will repel like charge. 625 00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:45,880 Speaker 1: Negative repels negative, and that would mean that you would 626 00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:49,479 Speaker 1: slow down the stream going from cathode to an notte. 627 00:40:49,680 --> 00:40:52,880 Speaker 1: So it's almost like turning a tap of water and 628 00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:55,680 Speaker 1: turning it so that the water is barely trickling out. 629 00:40:56,200 --> 00:40:59,360 Speaker 1: If you apply a strong enough negative charge to the 630 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:02,400 Speaker 1: control grid, it you turn off the flow entirely. But 631 00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:06,319 Speaker 1: if you apply a positive voltage, that increases the number 632 00:41:06,360 --> 00:41:09,759 Speaker 1: of electrons that flow through to the anode. And in fact, 633 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,480 Speaker 1: such a vacuum tube can be used to amplify an 634 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:15,440 Speaker 1: electrical signal. So let me explain how that works really quickly. 635 00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:19,480 Speaker 1: See a small signal coming into the control grid, perhaps 636 00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:22,680 Speaker 1: one created by say a radio wave, can be converted 637 00:41:22,719 --> 00:41:26,840 Speaker 1: into a much larger signal with the exact same wave form. 638 00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:30,160 Speaker 1: Another example is using a microphone. If you're using a microphone, 639 00:41:30,239 --> 00:41:33,840 Speaker 1: you're speaking into the microphone. The vibrations caused by the 640 00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:37,600 Speaker 1: sounds you are making cause a diaphragm to move inside 641 00:41:37,640 --> 00:41:42,160 Speaker 1: the microphone. That in turn causes a tiny electro magnet 642 00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:46,279 Speaker 1: to generate a weak electrical signal, and the signal is 643 00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:49,080 Speaker 1: far too weak to power a speaker. But let's say 644 00:41:49,080 --> 00:41:52,759 Speaker 1: you send this electrical signal so that feeds into the 645 00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:57,040 Speaker 1: control grid of a triode vacuum tube. It will control 646 00:41:57,080 --> 00:42:00,319 Speaker 1: the flow of electrons through that tube, and you could 647 00:42:00,320 --> 00:42:03,719 Speaker 1: have a much more powerful electrical signal coming out of 648 00:42:03,760 --> 00:42:07,120 Speaker 1: that tube. That matches the one you created coming out 649 00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:10,480 Speaker 1: of your microphone, and that one would be enough for 650 00:42:10,600 --> 00:42:12,839 Speaker 1: you to send to a speaker to power it. It's 651 00:42:12,880 --> 00:42:16,880 Speaker 1: really pretty darn cool. Vacuum Tubes would be used in 652 00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:19,759 Speaker 1: all sorts of early electronics, and they would usher in 653 00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:23,399 Speaker 1: an age of rapid development, though it was also one 654 00:42:23,440 --> 00:42:26,760 Speaker 1: in which those electronics were all very large, because vacuum 655 00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:30,400 Speaker 1: tubes are pretty big themselves, so a computer with vacuum 656 00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:33,800 Speaker 1: tubes and computers would come much later, but a computer 657 00:42:33,880 --> 00:42:37,160 Speaker 1: running on vacuum tubes would by necessity take up a 658 00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:39,480 Speaker 1: great deal of space, and it would also generate a 659 00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:42,040 Speaker 1: lot of heat. It wouldn't be until the development of 660 00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:45,600 Speaker 1: the transistor that these problems would be surmounted and we'd 661 00:42:45,640 --> 00:42:48,920 Speaker 1: be able to miniaturize electronics. Now, I think this is 662 00:42:48,920 --> 00:42:51,360 Speaker 1: a good place for us to leave off with the 663 00:42:51,400 --> 00:42:55,399 Speaker 1: story of GE to recap the company formed during an 664 00:42:55,440 --> 00:42:59,160 Speaker 1: era of industrialization and was largely under the influence of 665 00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:03,640 Speaker 1: a monopoly sick capitalist that being JP Morgan. It had 666 00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:06,759 Speaker 1: hardly any competition to speak of, being part of a 667 00:43:06,840 --> 00:43:10,000 Speaker 1: do woppoli with Westinghouse and having far more of the 668 00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:12,920 Speaker 1: market share in the United States, and its focus on 669 00:43:13,040 --> 00:43:16,160 Speaker 1: research and development as well as acquisitions, meant it was 670 00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:20,600 Speaker 1: becoming increasingly powerful and cementing its near future. Now, in 671 00:43:20,640 --> 00:43:23,319 Speaker 1: the next episode, we'll look at how ge would play 672 00:43:23,320 --> 00:43:26,960 Speaker 1: an important part in establishing radio broadcasting in the United States, 673 00:43:27,520 --> 00:43:30,719 Speaker 1: as well as its early history with NBC, and we'll 674 00:43:30,760 --> 00:43:34,040 Speaker 1: also learn about how the US government began to chip 675 00:43:34,080 --> 00:43:36,600 Speaker 1: away at some of the moves Morrigan had made in 676 00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:39,000 Speaker 1: the early years of the company. But for now, it's 677 00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:41,799 Speaker 1: time to sign off. If you guys have suggestions for 678 00:43:41,880 --> 00:43:44,319 Speaker 1: future episodes of tech Stuff, why not send me an 679 00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:47,399 Speaker 1: email the addresses tech Stuff at how stuff works dot 680 00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:49,799 Speaker 1: com or pop on over to our website that's tech 681 00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:52,680 Speaker 1: stuff podcast dot com. You're gonna find an archive of 682 00:43:52,800 --> 00:43:55,239 Speaker 1: all of our past episodes there. You're also going to 683 00:43:55,280 --> 00:43:58,880 Speaker 1: find links to our social media accounts, so you can 684 00:43:58,960 --> 00:44:01,720 Speaker 1: leave us a message on things like Facebook or Twitter. 685 00:44:02,200 --> 00:44:04,560 Speaker 1: And you'll also find a link to our online store, 686 00:44:04,600 --> 00:44:06,840 Speaker 1: where every purchase you make goes to help the show 687 00:44:06,880 --> 00:44:09,400 Speaker 1: and we greatly appreciate it, and I'll talk to you 688 00:44:09,440 --> 00:44:16,920 Speaker 1: again really soon. Text Stuff is a production of I 689 00:44:17,040 --> 00:44:20,000 Speaker 1: Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more podcasts from I 690 00:44:20,120 --> 00:44:23,719 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, 691 00:44:23,840 --> 00:44:25,840 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.