Subject:  History of (electric) industry (fwd)
Date:     Sat, 7 Mar 1998 163635 -0600 (CST)
From:     "Roy L. Beavers" <rbeavers@llion.org>
To:       emfguru@hotmail.com
--------------------------------------------------

Thanks Helmut!!!

You should get the story of the various "competitive" ordinary
electric light bulbs (with life span up to 10 times what GE 
manufactures) but which were "bought out" rather than marketed......

Roy Beavers (EMFguru)
rbeavers@llion.org..............http://www.feb.se/EMF-L/EMF-L.html
................................It is better to light a single candle ...
than to curse the darkness...............................................

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 21:14:54 GMT
From: Helmut Wabnig 
To: "Roy L. Beavers" 
Subject: History of industry

Look at this, I want to share it with you:

From: "David R. Dayton" 
Newsgroups: sci.engr.lighting
Subject: Fluorescent Lamps vs the Utilities - 60 years ago
Date: 16 Feb 1998 17:32:31 GMT

	The fluorescent lamp was first marketed in 1938.
The introduction of fluorescent lighting was initially very
disconcerting to the utilities. You may pay your Electric Bill
but your parents and grandparents payed their Light Bill.
For many years, the major business of the utilities
related to lighting.

	The utilities projected a drop in power requirements
due to the lighting efficiency of the new fluorescent lamps
compared to incandescent lamps. The utilities proposed
to carry over to the new light source the principles which
had been developed for incandescent lamps. Despite the low
surface brightness of the fluorescent lamps and greatly reduced
glare, they insisted that all fluorescent lamps for general lighting
should be shielded. The fixture manufactures complied in many cases
and the lamp efficiency was reduced by as much as 25% and more lamps
and power consumption were required for a given level of illumination.

	The final objection by the utilities was that the fluorescent
lamp had a low power factor, which would tend to limit the capacity of
the installed wiring and was in general costly to the electric
companies. The objection was valid but all that was necessary to
correct the problem was to add a capacitor to the ballast circuit.

	The lamp producers met the demands of the utilities and on May
1, 1939, General Electric issued a statement of policy which included
the sentence "The fluorescent Mazda lamp should not be presented as a
light source which will reduce lighting costs."  Westinghouse stated
"We will oppose the use of fluorescent lamps to reduce wattage." and
then there was harmony.

Now of course, lighting is a small fraction of the
"electric bill"

Dave Dayton




Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.feb.se/EMF-L/EMF-L.html