William Petrie

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William Petrie (born January 21, 1821 in Kings Langley ; † 1904 ) was an English inventor who developed several improved arc lamps .

Life

Staites and Petries lamp from 1847

Petrie, who was interested in chemistry, often visited John Herschel's laboratory a few kilometers away in his childhood and youth . After his family moved to London in 1837, Petrie studied mathematics and chemistry at King's College . He then researched magnetism and electricity in Frankfurt am Main . After returning to England, he received patents for electromagnetic generators in 1841 and 1852.

In 1847 Petrie met and worked with William Edwards Staite . Petrie developed the first completely self-regulating arc lamp. Electric motors changed the distance between the electrodes depending on the current strength. Petrie's lamp was much brighter and more energy efficient than Staite's older model, but the battery consumption remained too high. Staite patented this lamp under his sole name in 1847, but promised Petrie to include it in future patents.

The next improved model of the lamp was also only published under Staite's name in 1848. The lamp has been shown in public several times, including during a performance at Her Majesty's Theater . This was probably the first commercial success of electric light in England. Another self-regulating lamp was released in France around the same time. A commission set up by the Académie des sciences to clarify the patent claims decided in favor of Staites. Petrie improved the lamp further and received a patent for it in 1849 together with Staite.

After Staite's death in 1854, Petrie stopped working with electric light and turned to other fields of research.

literature

  • G. Woodward: Staite and Petrie: pioneers of electric lighting. IEEE Proceedings of Science, Measurement and Technology 136, 6 (Nov. 1989): 290-296, ISSN  0960-7641