When was electrical outlet invented

Among the simplest ways of solving the problem was the introduction of extension cords, which could be draped from the center of the room over to the side table or kitchen counter. However, using an extension cord required unscrewing the light bulb to provide access for the cord.

Not the best long-term solution. What would happen if a clothing iron, say, that was plugged into the overhead light fixture, fell from the ironing board?

A ripped cord and an electrical short were not unlikely results. Harvey Hubbell, who in founded what today is known as Hubbell Incorporated, came up with an ingenious solution. Already known for his invention of the pull-chain electrical light socket, Hubbell devised a two-part device that would allow portable appliances to quickly pull away from light sockets.

Learn More Documents Hubbell, Harvey. Patent Number , - Electric Switch. Bridgeport, CT, issued March 29, Hubbell, Harvey. Bridgeport, CT, issued August 11, Patent Number , - Separable Attachment-Plug.

Bridgeport, CT, issued November 8, From this new electric source, Michael Faraday was inspired to develop the electric generator, which employed a changing magnetic field to produce a current.

This was the first instance of using mechanical energy to create electricity, a fundamental element of future dams. This generator was used to provide electricity to the household.

Evolution of Household Electricity Thomas Edison was the first person to harness current electricity in a way that would provide this energy at an affordable price to households.

It began with his search for a more efficient light bulb because in his time, light bulbs burned out after only a few minutes. Edison created a light bulb whose filament was in a small vacuum, a space essentially empty of matter, so that the filament itself would not be forced to burn out by other materials in the air around it [8].

After inventing the light bulb, Edison engineered the first electric station, the Pearl St. Plant in New York City, to supply the electricity for his bulbs. He provided electricity through direct current DC , which means that the voltage did not come in cycles but instead directly as volts, using large dynamo generators. However, the problem with DC current was that it could not be transmitted over long distances.

The resistance of the wire produces a voltage drop whose magnitude increases with the length of the wire. This issue was resolved when Nikolas Tesla patented a system for creating alternating current, which produced voltage in cycles AC in [9]. The war eventually ended with Tesla and Westinghouse as the victors when Tesla used turbines to harness the mechanical power of Niagara Falls into alternating current and provided electricity to cities hundreds of miles away.

In the United States, the Westinghouse Company chose to standardize the operating frequency to 60 Hz, as suggested by Tesla, eliminating nine other possibilities. In Germany, however, the standardization was much simpler because one company, BEW, had a monopoly on electricity.

This same company chose to supply its consumers with more power by raising their voltage from volts to volts in This trend, as well as the 50 Hz operating frequency, spread across Europe over the next few decades [10]. It has been suggested that the US switch to the volt system. Edison had thought of a number of applications for this power, including a system for household wiring that used the existing piping of the house as its framework [12].

However, there was no convenient way of tapping into this power for anything other than lighting. This plug had to be wired to the appliance, but the user would not have to deal with live wires connected to the house. He then improved upon his own design by making the plug itself able to separate: one portion of the plug could be left in the socket, while the other was a two-prong plug that could be separated from the socket plug [13].

Labre in [14]. In order to reduce electrical shock as a result of a short circuit an undesirable connection , he added a third ground prong to the plug to be inserted into a third hole in the socket. When a person unknowingly creates a short in a circuit with an electrical plug, his body becomes the only path from the live wire of the plug to the ground. This means that instead of flowing through you, the electrons flow through the ground prong to the earth.

Aside from the ground prong, there are two prongs that connect to the live and neutral wires. The live wire carries current into the appliance, while the neutral wire carries current back to the electric panel, completing the circuit []. Worldwide, some plugs have different-sized prongs like in the US , some are set at different angles like in some European countries , and some can have completely different shapes like in Japan.