LEADER 02950oam 22004694a 450 001 9910792896203321 005 20230125194205.0 010 $a0-8229-8193-9 035 $a(CKB)3710000001093359 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC4822555 035 $a(OCoLC)975232219 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse54082 035 $a(PPN)224079603 035 $a(EXLCZ)993710000001093359 100 $a20170309d2017 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcnu|||||||| 181 $2rdacontent 182 $2rdamedia 183 $2rdacarrier 200 10$aWhen they hid the fire$b[electronic resource] $ea history of electricity and invisible energy in America /$fDaniel French 210 1$aPittsburgh, Pennsylvania :$cUniversity of Pittsburgh Press,$d2017. 210 4$dİ2017 215 $a1 online resource (263 pages) 225 1 $aIntersections: environment, science, technology 300 $aIssued as part of book collections on Project MUSE. 311 $a0-8229-6425-2 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 204-230) and index. 327 $aPreface -- 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. 330 $aWhen 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. 606 $aElectric utilities$zUnited States$xHistory 607 $aUnited States$2fast 608 $aHistory.$2fast 615 0$aElectric utilities$xHistory. 676 $a333.79320973 700 $aFrench$b Dan$c(Historian),$01530252 801 0$bMdBmJHUP 801 1$bMdBmJHUP 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910792896203321 996 $aWhen they hid the fire$93775203 997 $aUNINA