100 K.W. Parsons' Radial Flow Steam Turbine alternator with Generator, partly sectioned
- Made:
- 1891
100 K.W. Radial Flow Steam Turbine alternator with Generator, by C. A. Parsons and Company, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom, 1891. Partly sectioned; (Radial flow, for the Cambridge Electric Supply Company installed in 1892)
Parsons' steam turbo-generator, 1891. Until the invention of the steam turbine by Charles Parsons (1854-1931) in 1884, steam engines could not turn fast enough to produce electricity efficiently on a large scale. Used at the Cambridge Electric Light Station, this turbo-generator was the first to show that turbines could be run as economically as the best steam engines. Turning at 4,800 revolutions per minute, it had a power output of 100 kilowatts, and operated for thirty years. Steam turbines still drive most generators today.
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Science Museum: Energy Hall Gallery
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Details
- Category:
- Motive Power
- Object Number:
- 1925-216/1
- type:
- turbine
- credit:
- Parsons, Charles Algernon, Sir
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