Overview

It is difficult to envision a world without electricity, especially in the developed world. Electric lights have allowed us to extend our waking hours beyond the constraints of daylight; electricity powers our factories, computers, stereos, and air conditioning units, pumps our water, and helps us iron our clothes. Yet, until the last part of the nineteenth century, electricity was more a scientific curiosity than a useful phenomenon, and it was not until the second quarter of the twentieth century that electrical power became available to most of the population of the United States, Europe, and parts of Asia. By the end of the twentieth century, most of the world's population had at least some access to electricity, although many areas had limited, unreliable, or no access. This widespread use of electricity was made possible, in large part...