Human beings are one of the most complex living beings on this planet. We as a whole are very unpredictable. This has been a cause of many good and bad things. Good things in the sense of various inventions and bad things in the form of world wars and many battles between different kingdoms. Scientifically we have advanced a lot. We have many things surrounding us nowadays. Technology is day by day making us lazier. We are more dependent on machines now more than ever. But all of this has been very possible because of a small thing which has been in background of our lives for quite some time- “Electricity”.
Electricity is now an integral part of our households. From television to our most loved smartphones everything is powered by electricity in one way or the other. Now even our vehicles are utilizing electricity. With increased pollution and environmental problems, new methods for generating electricity are being seen as a source of reliable energy.
History
The earliest possible existence or we can say interaction of electricity was in 500 B.C. During that time, one day, Thales of Miletus was rubbing fur on amber and accidentally discovered static electricity. Later on, in 1600s, physician William Gilbert disclosed the initial or starting theories of electricity in a book named De Magnete. Then the research on electricity went a few more steps ahead in 1700s. An English scientist Francis Hauksbee created a glass ball which would glow when rubbed and later on this discovery helped in creation of neon lighting.
In 1879, Calcutta was the first city in India to visualize demonstration of electricity. In 1897, Sidrabong Hydroelectric Power Station was established in Darjeeling which later on became the first hydroelectric power station in India. It had been shut down few years ago but in 2013 Central Government of India declared it a heritage site and decided to revive it. In 1899, Emambagh Power Station was established which is now the first thermal power station in India. After that in 1905 Bangalore became the first city in Asia to have electrical street lights and Bombay started using electricity for tramway in the same year. In 1907, British also built the Galogi thermal power station in Mussorie, India which is still functional. On world standard also, New York was the first city to get electricity in 1882.
In the era before all this commercial and private use of electricity, there was also an argument on the topic that which is better between AC (alternating current) and DC (direct current). DC was supported by Thomas Edison and AC was supported by Nicola Tesla. Eventually when it was realized that AC was cheaper and was possible to distribute to large number of people. So, it is generally used today.
Progress
During the earlier days of electricity transmission, it was carried using bare copper wires with minimal cotton insulation. Wood was used in manufacturing of sockets, switch handles and fuse blocks. Rubberized cloth, flexible armoured cable and metal tubes were used for insulation. These times were very dangerous in terms safety. One of the biggest problems was that wires were not grounded. From 1965 onwards, grounded wires became a general standard. Houses were a lot safer due to these.
Modern era
Previously, electricity was primarily used of lighting purposes. But later on, with the invention of newer things, the consumption of electricity increased dramatically. Another important point is that due to the onset of industrialization the electricity demand also increased. Now we are using electricity for almost everything. With the onset of technology electricity is now playing an even more important role in our lives. Electric bikes, electric cars, internet of things, smart devices, and many more things are continuously increasing around us. But the sources of electricity generation have been the same for quite some time for us. Coal, gas and petroleum are being the major contributors. Even in India more than 45% electricity generation has been by coal. But it has started to change now. As we are stepping into more computer centric future, newer forms of electricity generation are being used nowadays.
What lies ahead?
Now we are more and more concerned about our environment and future generations. So newer and cleaner forms of renewable energy is being used more often now. Also, DC is making an impact now as LEDs and computers use DC. It is also speculated that in the future only electric cars will be there on roads as our fossil fuels are moving towards end. At last, due to DC it also becomes easy for us that we can integrate wind and solar energy into our households.
In the end, it all comes down to how efficient we are in using our resources. Electricity has made our lives brighter and it continues to propel us into a more advanced future. But it is our responsibility that how efficiently we can manage the balance between its use and overuse.
Electricity is the power that causes all-natural phenomena not known to be caused by something else.
—–Ambrose Bierce
By Raunak Jha
