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nandnHappy Birthday, George Westinghouse (a German-American inventor andnengineer)
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nOnnthis date in 1683, thirteen German families landed in Philadelphia,nPennsylvania, in the American colonies. They soon founded a townncalled Germantown. This day commemorates the addition of Germannculture and foods to the American “melting pot.” Of course, thisnfits in perfectly with Oktoberfest celebrations that are held innGermany and all over the world during this time of year.
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nToncelebrate, grab your wurstl (sausage) and sauerkraut, pilenyour plate high with kasspatzn (mmm, my favorite cheesennoodles) and potato pancakes, and be sure to have a giant pretzel!
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nGeorgenWestinghouse, born on this daynin 1846 in New York, invented the railway air brake and pioneered thenAmerican electrical system in a rivalry with Thomas Edison. AlthoughnEdison is even more famous than Westinghouse, it was Westinghouse’snalternating-current system, based on research by Nikola Tesla, thatnprevailed (won out) over Edison’s direct- current system. n
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nThenmain reason that power plants use alternating current is because itnis much easier to change the voltage of the power using antransformer. Power plants can save a lot of money and energy bynsending power long distances at high voltages, and then drop it downnto lower voltages for distribution and household use. If you want tonknow more, check out the explanations at How Stuff Works. If you wantnto read about the “Current War” and how Westinghouse benefittednfrom a quarrel between Tesla and Edison, check out this article.
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nOfncourse, one reason I chose to highlight Westinghouse is because hencomes from the Westringhausen family in Germany. That means that henwas a German-American!
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