Most students who frequent the advanced physics lab on the third floor of Clark Hall likely overlook the ancient-looking mechanism that sits on a sturdy cart in the corner.
Composed of hulking dark metal and wrapped wires, it looks a bit like the innards of an old-time sewing machine on steroids, measuring four feet across at its largest dimension.
But a century and a half ago, the apparatus was a modern marvel: one of the world’s first electric dynamos (machines that convert mechanical energy into electrical energy). Literally and figuratively, it illuminated a new era on the Hill.
Constructed by physics Professor William Anthony and several students, the dynamo—the first of its type built in this country—powered a pair of carbon arc lamps (early electric bulbs that produced light by zapping voltage between two electrodes).
The dynamo and lamps operated on campus for a decade, comprising the world’s first outdoor electric lighting system.
“One of the first practical uses of the dynamo was to power some arc lights installed in the towers of McGraw Hall and Sage Chapel,” noted Kermit Parsons, MRP ’53, in his 1968 book The Cornell Campus: A History of its Planning and Development.
“In January 1880, the intense light of these arc lights was visible for miles around Ithaca. There was, of course, no competition from other light sources.”
