عنوان

When they hid the fire :

(Number (ISBN

0822981939

(Number (ISBN

9780822981930

Erroneous ISBN

0822964252

Erroneous ISBN

9780822964254

Title Proper

When they hid the fire :

General Material Designation

[Book]

Other Title Information

a history of electricity and invisible energy in America /

First Statement of Responsibility

Daniel French.

Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.

Pittsburgh, Pa. :

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

University of Pittsburgh Press,

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

[2017]

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

©2017

Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item

1 online resource (1 PDF (xi, 250 pages)

Series Title

Intersections: environment, science, technology

Text of Note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 204-230) and index.

Text of Note

Preface -- Introduction -- 1. English roots, utopia found and lost -- 2. The energy revolution and the ascendancy of coal -- 3. The conundrum of smoke and visible energy -- 4. Technology and energy in the abstract -- 5. Of fluids, fields, and wizards -- 6. Energy, utopia, and the American mind -- 7. Turbines, coal, and convenience -- Conclusion.

0

Text of Note

When They Hid the Fire examines the American social perceptions of electricity as an energy technology that were adopted between the mid-nineteenth and early decades of the twentieth centuries. Arguing that both technical and cultural factors played a role, Daniel French shows how electricity became an invisible and abstract form of energy in American society. As technological advancements allowed for an increasing physical distance between power generation and power consumption, the commodity of electricity became consciously detached from the environmentally destructive fire and coal that produced it. This development, along with cultural forces, led the public to define electricity as mysterious, utopian, and an alternative to nearby fire-based energy sources. With its adoption occurring simultaneously with Progressivism and consumerism, electricity use was encouraged and seen as an integral part of improvement and modernity, leading Americans to culturally construct electricity as unlimited and environmentally inconsequential--a newfound "basic right" of life in the United States.

Source for Acquisition/Subscription Address

JSTOR

Source for Acquisition/Subscription Address

OverDrive, Inc.

Stock Number

22573/ctt1mvb52c

Stock Number

6DD39B52-1810-4BBF-A3C0-69E63DCA3BD0

International Standard Book Number

9780822964254

Electric utilities-- United States-- History.

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS-- Real Estate-- General.

Electric utilities.

TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING-- Power Resources-- Electrical.

United States.

7

BUS-- 054000

TEC-- 031020

Number

Edition

Class number

Book number

French, Daniel, (Historian)

Date of Transaction

20200822140923.0

Cataloguing Rules (Descriptive Conventions))

pn

Electronic name

[Book]

Y