Studies on the feasibility of building a hydro plant in the site were initiated in 1893. The increasing need for power that was cheaper and easily adapted to mine underground use drove the Lota coal mine company to develop a study of alternatives for this purpose. Engineer William E. Raby traveled to the United States and Europe to assess the use of electricity generation and transmission. The availability of the Chivilingo hydro resources arose as a better alternative to a steam plant.
Turbine
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Image Credit:
Courtesy Wikicommons/B.diaz.c
Image Caption:
The Chivilingo Hydroelectric Power Plant was the first in Chile and only the second in South America.
Era_date_from:
1897
2001
The 367-80 is the prototype for most jet transports. Its success was due largely to its mechanical systems, including turbine engines with thrust reversers and noise suppressors, redundant hydraulic control systems, and an improved cabin-pressurization system. Honeycomb flap panels were introduced, along with a strong, lightweight structural design that controlled fatigue cracking. These led to several innovations in aircraft tooling and manufacturing techniques.
The Dash-80 was the first commercial airliner economical enough to take the US airline industry off subsidy.
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Image Credit:
Courtesy Wikipedia/Boeing Dreamscape (CC BY 2.0)
Image Caption:
Prototype of the Boeing 707 and most jet transport systems, the Boeing 367-80 established economic feasibility of commercial air travel.
Era_date_from:
1954
1994
Founded by Eleuthère Irénéé du Pont (1771-1834), the Brandywine River Mills became the largest maker of explosive black powder in the United States. That success resulted directly from the firm's pioneering use of gunpowder processing machinery driven by water wheels and water turbines.
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Image Credit:
Courtesy Flickr/Harvey Barrison (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Image Caption:
On of the waterwheels belonging to the Brandywine River Powder Mills
Era_date_from:
1803
2002
These two water turbines were probably the largest and nearly the most powerful ever built in the United States, supplying direct mechanical power to a manufacturing plant. Their installation between 1871 and 1873 makes them among the oldest surviving water turbines.
A dam at Cohoes diverted water to mills and factories along a power canal system. The vertical-shaft turbines at the mill were said to run at 800 horsepower (600 kilowatt) under a head of 20 feet and were connected to an overhead shaft by bevel gearing.
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Image Credit:
Public Domain; Produced prior to 1/1/1923
Image Caption:
An 1879 sketch of the Boyden Hydraulic Turbine, drawn by James Emerson for his book "Treatise relative to the testing of water-wheels and machinery"
Era_date_from:
1871
1975
The Bonneville Dam, Columbia River Power and Navigation System consists of 55 major projects on Oregon's Columbia River and is said to be the largest hydroelectric system in the world.
The Columbia River forms part of the border between Washington and Oregon and flows inland through the only waterway that crosses the Cascade Mountains. To harness the energy of the ninth longest river in North America, engineers developed unique design and construction approaches to overcome problems caused by depth of water, current velocity, and an irregularly-shaped river bottom.
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Image Credit:
Courtesy Flickr/Ann Larie Valentine (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Image Caption:
The impressive power of the Bonneville Dam
Era_date_from:
1938
1987