-
First Battery
Alessandro Volta invented the first true battery which came to be known as the Voltaic Pile. -
Edwin Drake
American oil driller, popularly credited with being the first to drill for oil in the United States. -
1st Hydroelectric Dam
First hydroelectric power scheme was developed at Cragside in Northumberland, England by William George Armstrong. It was used to power a single light bulb in his art gallery. -
Electron being discovered
J.J Thomson discovered this through his explorations on the properties of cathode rays. Thomson made his suggestion on 30 April 1897 following his discovery that Lenard rays could travel much further through air than expected for an atomic-sized particle. -
First pumped storage pump
The first use of pumped storage was in the 1890s in Italy and Switzerland. In the 1930s reversible hydroelectric turbines became available. These turbines could operate as both turbine-generators and in reverse as electric motor driven pumps. -
1st Geothermal plant
Prince Piero Ginori Conti tested the first geothermal power generator on 4 July 1904 in Larderello, Italy. It successfully lit four light bulbs.[7] Later, in 1911, the world's first commercial geothermal power plant was built there. -
1st Megawatt Wind Turbiine
First known practical windmills were built in Sistan, a region between Afghanistan and Iran, from the 7th century. These "Panemone" were vertical axle windmills, which had long vertical driveshafts with rectangular blades.Made of six to twelve sails covered in reed matting or cloth material, these windmills were used to grind grain or draw up water, and were used in the gristmilling and sugarcane industries. -
Shipping Reactor in Pennsylvania
In 1953, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his Atoms for Peace speech to the United Nations. Commercial nuclear power generation was cornerstone of his plan. A proposal by Duquesne Light Company was accepted by Admiral Rickover and the plans for the Shippingport Atomic Power Station started. -
First Solar Cells
Researchers invented first solar cells capable of harnessing the sun's energy. The cells could convert sunlight directly into electricity. The technology was first used in space to power satellites. -
1st Commercial Nuclear
In 1932, James Chadwick discovered the neutron, which was immediately recognized as a potential tool for nuclear experimentation because of its lack of an electric charge. Experimentation with bombardment of materials with neutrons led Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie to discover induced radioactivity in 1934, which allowed the creation of radium-like elements at much less the price of natural radium.
