1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910799237503321

Autore

Carlson W. Bernard

Titolo

Electrical Conquest : New Approaches to the History of Electrification / / edited by W. Bernard Carlson, Erik M Conway

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer Nature Switzerland : , : Imprint : Springer, , 2023

ISBN

9783031445910

3031445910

Edizione

[1st ed. 2023.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (282 pages)

Collana

Archimedes, New Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, , 2215-0064 ; ; 67

Altri autori (Persone)

ConwayErik M

Disciplina

509

Soggetti

Science - History

Technology - Philosophy

Power electronics

Electric power distribution

Electric machinery

History of Science

Philosophy of Technology

Power Electronics

Energy Grids and Networks

Electrical Machines

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

Acknowledgements -- Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. A Model for Heterogeneous Energy Transitions -- Chapter 3. Surveying the Landscape: The Oil Industry and Alternative Energy in the 1970s -- Chapter 4. We Have No Niagara”: Electrifying the “Britain of the South -- Chapter 5. Formation and Transformations of the Cuban Electric Company/Unión Eléctrica, 1920s-1980s -- Chapter 6. Between Material Dependencies, Natural Commons and Politics of Electrical Transitions: The State as Networks of Power in Greece, 1940-2010 -- Chapter 7. Large-scale Renewables and Infrastructure Gatekeepers: How Local Actors Shaped the Texas Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) Initiative -- Chapter 8. Co-ops Against Castroism: USAID and the Electrification of the Global Countryside -- Chapter 9. Vehicle-to-Grid,



Regulated Deregulation, and the Energy Conversion Imaginary. .

Sommario/riassunto

This book, drawing on fresh scholarship, investigates electrification in new places and across different time periods. While much of our understanding of electrification as a historical process is based on the seminal work done by Thomas P. Hughes in Networks of Power (1983), the scholars in this volume expand and revise Hughes’ systems approach to suggest that electrification is a heterogeneous and contingent process. Moreover, the contributors suggest that the conquest of the world by electricity remains incomplete despite more than a century elapsing. Above all, though, this book provides context for thinking about what lies ahead as humans continue their conquest of the earth through electricity. As we become increasingly dependent on electricity to power our lights, heat and cool our homes, turn the wheels of industry, and keep our information systems humming, so we are ever more vulnerable when the grid runs into trouble. Chapter "Surveying the Landscape: The Oil Industry and Alternative Energy in the 1970s" is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.