Yablochkov Pavel Nikolaevich (1847-1894) - Russian inventor, military engineer and entrepreneur. He is best known for his creation of the arc lamp, signal thermometer and other inventions in the field of electrical engineering.
Pavel Yablochkov was born on September 2 (14), 1847 in the village of Zhadovka, Serdobsky district, Saratov province. His father Nikolai Pavlovich was a representative of an old dynasty, but by the time his son was born he became impoverished. In his youth he distinguished himself in the naval service, but was dismissed due to illness. He subsequently began working as a peace mediator and justice of the peace. The inventor's mother, Elizaveta Petrovna, took care of the housework and, possessing an imperious character, held her entire large family in her hands (after Pavel, she gave birth to four more children).
The boy's parents provided him with primary education right at home, where he was taught the basics of literacy, writing and arithmetic, as well as the French language. But Pavel’s real passion was the design of various devices. As a teenager, he created a device that helped redistribute land, as well as a distant analogue of the modern speedometer. The device was installed on the carriage wheel and counted the distance traveled.
Years of study
At the insistence of his parents, in 1859, Pavel, thanks to successfully passing the tests, immediately entered the second grade of the Saratov gymnasium. But due to financial problems, three years later the father was forced to take his son. According to another version, the reason for the interruption of studies was the unbearable conditions in the gymnasium, where corporal punishment was used. Yablochkov spent some time in his parents' house, and then passed the exams and entered the Nikolaev Engineering School, located in the capital. It was cutting edge educational institution of his time, in which eminent scientists taught. While preparing for admission, Pavel attended training courses, where he was greatly influenced by the military engineer Caesar Antonovich Cui.
Caesar Antonovich Cui - teacher at the Nikolaev Engineering Academy
Pavel Nikolaevich's mentors were famous professors Fyodor Fedorovich Lasovsky, German Egorovich Pauker, Ivan Alekseevich Vyshegradsky. They gave him an excellent knowledge base in electricity, magnetism, mathematics, fortification, artillery, drawing, military tactics and many other disciplines. The military methods of education at the school had a positive influence on the inventor - he acquired military bearing and became physically stronger.
Military service
In 1866, Yablochkov graduated from college, received the rank of lieutenant engineer and was assigned to the fifth engineer battalion located in Kyiv. The service did not arouse much enthusiasm in Pavel - he was full of creative ideas that were not possible to bring to life in barracks conditions. In 1867, the scientist submitted his resignation due to illness. This allowed him to completely immerse himself in the world of electrical engineering and the result was not long in coming.
The inventor developed a self-excited generator, which marked the beginning of many studies in electrical engineering. However solid knowledge there was no such thing in electromagnetism and this limited its capabilities. In 1869, he was restored to service with the rank of second lieutenant, which gave him the right to enter the St. Petersburg Galvanic classes, where they trained to become military electrical engineers.
His stay at this educational institution was beneficial and Yablochkov became seriously acquainted with the most modern achievements in the field of electricity. For eight months, Pavel Nikolaevich attended a course of lectures, which was combined with active practice. The training was led by Professor Fyodor Fomich Petrushevsky. At the end, each course participant completed an internship in Kronstadt, where they actively worked with galvanic mines.
According to the current rules, graduates of the Galvanic classes were required to serve for three years, and Yablochkov was sent to the fifth engineer battalion, which he knew, as the head of the galvanic service. Having served his entire required term, the inventor retires from military service forever and moves to Moscow.
New life
In Zlatoglava, Pavel Nikolaevich got a job as head of the telegraph of the Moscow-Kursk Railway. One of the arguments that persuaded him to take the job was a good repair base. He actively continued his studies, absorbing the valuable experience of local electricians. An important role in the development of the inventor’s personality was played by his acquaintance with an electrical engineer who had enormous talent as an inventor. In this way, the individual image of a scientist was gradually formed, who did not give up trying to create something new.
At this time he brought to working condition Trouvé's faulty electric motor (the name comes from the name of the French inventor Gustav Pierre Trouvé), developed a project to optimize the Gram machine, and also created a burner for detonating gas and a device for recording temperature changes in passenger cars. But it was not possible to create consistently, since the main work took a lot of time.
Nevertheless, Yablochkov managed to delve deeply into the principle of operation arc lamps, he conducted many experiments aimed at improving them. In 1873, the scientist began work in a physical instrument workshop and a year later became the first in the world to create an electric floodlight design for railway tracks on a locomotive. In 1875, the scientist left for the USA for the World Exhibition in Philadelphia, where he wanted to present his inventions. But financial affairs did not go well and Pavel Nikolaevich came to Paris instead of the United States.
Paris stage
In the French capital, he gets a job in the workshops of academician Louis Breguet, whose telegraph apparatus he was well acquainted with from his work in Moscow. In addition, he owned a large enterprise that produced various electrical appliances. The Russian inventor showed Breguet his electromagnet and the Frenchman immediately appreciated his talent.
Pavel Nikolaevich immediately began working at the plant, while simultaneously conducting experiments in his small room on the university campus. He soon completed work on several inventions and managed to patent them.
In March 1876, Yablochkov received a patent for his most famous invention - the famous electric candle (an arc lamp without a regulator). A scientist from Russia managed to create a light source that met the needs of the mass consumer. It was an economical, simple and easy-to-use device that made lighting accessible to everyone. Compared to a carbon lamp, Yablochkov's device contained carbon rods (electrodes) separated by a kaolin spacer.
Yablochkov candle
Yablochkov’s candle is described in detail in the video of the “Chip and Dip” channel.
Alexander Pushnoy demonstrates the principle of operation of the Yablochkov candle in the Galileo program.
The success was stunning and people started talking seriously about the inventor who gave the world the “Russian light”. Soon Pavel Nikolaevich went as a representative of the Breguet company to an exhibition of physical instruments in London. Here serious success awaited him, because the Russian scientific community learned about the fate of the electric candle. Upon his return to Paris, numerous businessmen were waiting for the scientist, who quickly realized what opportunities for profit the creations of the Russian scientist offered.
Under the patronage of L. Breguet, the French inventor Auguste Deneyrouz, who organized a joint-stock company, began promoting the arc lamp. The company was engaged in studying electric lighting, and Yablochkov was entrusted with providing scientific and technical leadership. His competence included monitoring production and working to improve the device. The company with an authorized capital of 7 million francs virtually monopolized the production of “Russian light” on a global scale.
The next two years turned out to be very fruitful. Yablochkov was involved in installing street lighting and public buildings Paris and London. In particular, thanks to him, the bridge across the Thames, the Chatelet Theater, the London Theater and other objects were illuminated. From here, from Western Europe electricity began to spread throughout the world. And it is no coincidence, since the Russian electrical engineer managed to optimize the candle so that it could be used in large lighting fixtures. “Russian Light” illuminated American San Francisco, Indian Madras and the palace of the King of Cambodia.
Yablochkov candles installed on Victoria Embankment (1878)
At the same time, he created a kaolin lamp and developed a transformer for dividing electric current. The Paris exhibition of 1878 became a true triumph for Yablochkov - his pavilion was always full of visitors, who were shown many educational experiments.
Return to Russia
Dreams of his homeland did not leave the scientist throughout his stay in a foreign land. Here he received worldwide recognition, restored his commercial reputation, and paid off his accumulated debts. Before his trip to Russia, Pavel Nikolaevich bought a license for the right to use electric lighting in Russia. The company's management demanded the entire block of shares worth 1 million francs - the inventor agreed and received complete carte blanche.
Scientific circles in Russia warmly welcomed the return of the scientist, which cannot be said about the tsarist government, which reprimanded the inventor for supporting political emigrants abroad. But the most unpleasant thing was something else - domestic entrepreneurs were practically not interested in the electric candle. I had to organize the matter myself.
In 1879, a partnership was organized to create electric machines and electric lighting systems. Together with Yablochkov, such luminaries in the field of electrical engineering as Lodygin and Chikolev were involved in the work. From a commercial point of view, it was a completely successful project, but it did not bring any moral satisfaction. Intellectually, Pavel Nikolaevich understood how few opportunities there were in Russia to implement existing plans. In addition, in 1879, not the most joyful news came from overseas - he improved the incandescent lamp and found it mass application. This was the final reason for moving to Paris.
New Paris stage
In 1880, Yablochkov returned to the French capital, where he immediately began preparing for participation in the World Electrotechnical Exhibition. Here his inventions were again praised, but were overshadowed by Edison's incandescent lamp. This made it clear that the triumph of the arc lamp was already behind us and the prospects for the development of this technology were very vague. Pavel Nikolaevich reacted calmly to this turn of events and refused to further develop light sources. Now he was interested in electrochemical current generators.
The inventor will be torn between France and Russia for 12 years. It was a difficult time, because he did not feel like he belonged in any country. The domestic ruling and financial elite perceived him as waste material, and abroad he became a stranger, because the block of shares no longer belonged to the scientist. Yablochkov continued to work on electric motors and generators and studied issues of alternating current transmission. But all developments were carried out in a tiny apartment, where there were no conditions for scientific research. During one of the experiments, exploding gases almost killed a scientist. In the 90s, he patented several more inventions, but none of them allowed him to make a decent profit.
The inventor's health left much to be desired. In addition to heart problems, there was also a lung disease, the mucous membrane of which was damaged by chlorine during the experiment. Yablochkov was plagued by chronic poverty, but the electrical engineering company got seriously rich from his inventions. The inventor himself noted more than once that he never aspired to become rich, but always counted on fully equipping his scientific laboratory.
In 1889, Pavel Nikolaevich plunged headlong into preparing for the next International exhibition, where he headed the Russian department. He helped engineers from Russia who arrived in Paris and accompanied them at all events. The inventor's weakened health could not withstand such stress and he was partially paralyzed.
The return home took place at the very end of 1892. St. Petersburg greeted Yablochkov unfriendly and coldly; only close friends and family were next to him. Many of those to whom he gave the way to life turned away; there was nothing special to live on. Together with his wife and son, the scientist decided to return to small homeland, where he died on March 19 (31), 1894.
Personal life
With my first wife school teacher The inventor met Lyubov Nikitina in Kyiv. They married in 1871, but their married life was relatively short-lived, as the wife died at age 38 from tuberculosis. The marriage left four children, three of whom died in early age. The second wife, Maria Albova, gave birth to Pavel Nikolaevich’s son Plato, who later became an engineer.
- The first test of Pavel Nikolaevich's lighting system was carried out in the barracks of the Kronstadt training crew on October 11, 1878.
- Each Yablochkov candle produced at the Breguet enterprise burned for only 1.5 hours and cost 20 kopecks.
- In 1876, Pavel Nikolaevich was elected a member of the French Physical Society.
- In Russia, the greatest interest in the arc lamp was shown in the navy, where over 500 lamps were installed.
- In 2012, a technology park appeared in Penza, named after the great inventor, who specializes in materials science and information technology.
Yablochkov Technopark, Penza
Video
Film “Great Inventors. Russian light of Yablochkov." GreenGa LLC, commissioned by First TVCh CJSC, 2014.
Yablochkov candle- one of the variants of the electric carbon arc lamp, invented in 1876 by Pavel Nikolaevich Yablochkov.
History of creation and application
Pavel Nikolaevich Yablochkov began conducting his first experiments with electric lighting in his Moscow workshop in 1872 and 1873. The scientist then worked with regulators different systems, and then with the coal lamp of A. N. Lodygin, which was released at that time. Yablochkov took thin coals and placed them between two conductors. To prevent the coal from burning, Yablochkov wrapped it with mountain flax fibers. The idea was that the coal, when heated, would not burn, but only the surrounding mountain flax would glow. Although these experiments were unsuccessful, they suggested to Yablochkov the idea of using clay and other similar materials in electric lighting.
In 1875, during one of the many experiments on the electrolysis of solutions table salt Parallel coals immersed in an electrolytic bath accidentally touched each other. Immediately a flare-up broke out between them electric arc, which illuminated the walls of the laboratory with bright light for a short moment. This gave Pavel Nikolaevich the idea of creating a more advanced arc lamp device without an interelectrode distance regulator - the future “Yablochkov candle”. In October of the same year, Yablochkov went abroad. Once in Paris, he got a job in the physical instrument workshop of Professor Antoine Breguet. However, he was haunted by the idea of creating an arc lamp without a regulator.
By the beginning of the spring of 1876, Yablochkov completed the development of the design of an electric candle and on March 23 of the same year received a French patent for it No. 112024, containing a brief description of the candle in its original forms and an image of these forms. Yablochkov's candle turned out to be simpler, more convenient and cheaper to operate than Lodygin's coal lamp; it had neither mechanisms nor springs.
On April 15, 1876, Yablochkov took part in an exhibition of physical instruments, which opened in South Kensingston (London). There, the scientist acted both as a representative of the Breguet company and independently - exhibiting his candle. London became the site of the first public display of the new light source. On low metal pedestals, installed at a great distance from each other, Yablochkov placed four of his candles, wrapped in asbestos. The lamps were supplied with current from a dynamo located in the next room. By turning the handle, the current was turned on, and immediately the vast room was flooded with a very bright, slightly bluish electric light. The large audience was delighted.
Parisian hippodrome illuminated by Yablochkov candles
London street illuminated by Yablochkov candles
General diagram of Yablochkov's electric lighting: a lantern with 4 candles with a switch, powered by a Gram dynamo
The success of Yablochkov's candle exceeded expectations. The entire world press, especially the technical press, was full of information about the new light source. Newspapers published headlines: “You should see Yablochkov’s candle”; “The invention of the Russian retired military engineer Yablochkov - a new era in technology”; “Light comes to us from the North - from Russia”; “The Northern Light, the Russian Light, is a miracle of our time”; “Russia is the birthplace of electricity” etc.
At the end of the summer of 1876, Yablochkov returned from London to Paris, where he was introduced to the engineer and entrepreneur Louis Deneyrouz. For the practical implementation of his inventions and the organization of the production of electric candles in France, on the advice of Antoine Breguet, Yablochkov entered into an agreement with Deneyrouz, on the basis of which he created the company “Syndicat d’etude d’eclairage electrique procedes Jablochkoff”. This company, in addition to the production of candles, also carried out work on the installation of prime movers and dynamos for lighting installations with Yablochkov candles and their complete equipment. In the first years of its existence, the company's export turnover amounted to more than 5 million francs. Pavel Nikolaevich himself, having ceded the right to use his inventions to the owners of the company, as the head of its technical department, continued to work on further improvement of the lighting system, being content with a more than modest share of the company’s huge profits.
Yablochkov’s first candle lighting installation was installed in February 1877 in the “Salle Marengo” of the Louvre store and consisted of 6 candles powered by two Alliance machines. During their operation, flickering was observed, explained by the heterogeneity of the coals and fluctuations in the engine speed, and the rattling of the caps (“singing” of the candle). The candles in the lanterns had to be changed frequently after they burned out, and in order to ensure that the room did not remain in the dark, it turned out to be necessary to arrange a special device for changing lamps.
To expand the production of electric candles, it was necessary to solve several problems, the main one of which was the problem of providing lighting installations with alternating current generators. The first step in this direction was the construction by the workshops of the Belgian inventor Zinovy Theophilus Gramm of a special commutator that was connected to a direct current machine; however, this was only a partial solution to the problem. In 1877, Gramm produced the first alternating current machines to power Yablochkov candles. With the help of these machines it was convenient to power four separate circuits, each of which could include several candles. The machines were designed for electric candles of 100 carcels, that is, a luminous intensity of 961 candelas.
Following the Louvre store, Yablochkov’s candles were installed on the square in front of the Paris Opera building; in May 1877, they first illuminated one of the capital’s thoroughfares - Avenue de l’Opera. Residents of the French capital at the beginning of twilight flocked in droves to admire the garlands of white matte balls mounted on high metal poles. And when all the lanterns flashed at once with a bright and pleasant light, the audience was delighted. No less admirable was the lighting of the Parisian indoor hippodrome. His running track was illuminated by 20 arc lamps with reflectors, and the spectator areas were illuminated by 120 Yablochkov electric candles, arranged in two rows.
On June 17, 1877, Yablochkov's candles were installed on the West India Docks in London; a little later, Yablochkov's candles illuminated part of the Thames embankment, Waterloo Bridge, the Metropole Hotel, Hatfield Castle, and Westgate sea beaches. Almost simultaneously with England, Yablochkov’s candles flared up in the premises of the trading office of Julius Michaelis in Berlin. New electric lighting conquered Belgium and Spain, Portugal and Sweden with exceptional speed. In Italy, they illuminated the Colosseum, National Street and Colon Square in Rome, in Vienna - Volskgarten Park, in Greece - Falernian Bay. On the American continent, the “Russian light” first broke out in 1878 at the California Theater (now defunct) in San Francisco. On December 26 of the same year, Yablochkov's candles illuminated the Winemar stores in Philadelphia; then the streets and squares of Rio de Janeiro and the cities of Mexico. They appeared in Delhi, Calcutta, Madras and a number of other cities of British India. Even the Shah of Persia and the King of Cambodia illuminated their palaces with “Russian light”.
In Russia, the first test of electric lighting using the Yablochkov system was carried out on October 11, 1878. On this day, the barracks of the Kronstadt training crew and the square near the house occupied by the commander of the Kronstadt seaport were illuminated. Two weeks later, on December 4, 1878, Yablochkov’s candles - 8 balls - illuminated the Bolshoi Theater in St. Petersburg for the first time. The newspaper “Novoe Vremya” in its issue of December 6 wrote:
No invention in the field of electrical engineering has received such rapid and widespread, like Yablochkov candles. This was a true triumph of the Russian engineer.
Companies for the commercial exploitation of Yablochkov candles were founded in many countries around the world. Yablochkov's candles appeared on sale and began to sell in huge quantities, for example, the Breguet enterprise produced over 8 thousand candles daily. Each candle cost about 20 kopecks.
The success of Yablochkov's lighting system caused panic among the shareholders of English gas companies. They used all means, including outright deception, slander and bribery, to discredit new way lighting. At their insistence, the English Parliament even established in 1879 special commission in order to consider the issue of the admissibility of widespread use of electric lighting in British Empire. After lengthy debate and listening to testimony, the commission members did not reach a consensus on this issue.
In 1877, Russian naval officer A. N. Khotinsky received cruisers in America, built to order from Russia. He visited T. Edison’s laboratory and gave him A. N. Lodygin’s incandescent lamp and the “Yablochkov candle” with a light crushing circuit. Edison made some improvements and in November 1879 received a patent for them as his inventions. Yablochkov came out with harsh criticism in the press, saying that Thomas Edison stole from the Russians not only their thoughts and ideas, but also their inventions. Professor V.N. Chikolev wrote then that Edison’s method was not new and its updates were insignificant.
The International Electrotechnical Exhibition held in Paris in 1881 showed that Yablochkov’s candle and his lighting system began to lose their importance. Although Yablochkov’s inventions were highly praised and were recognized by the International Jury out of competition, the exhibition itself was a triumph of the incandescent lamp, which T. Edison brought to practical perfection by 1879. It could burn for 800-1000 hours without replacement, it could be lit, extinguished and relit many times. In addition, it was also more economical than a candle. All this had strong influence for the further work of Pavel Nikolaevich. Beginning in 1882, he completely switched to creating a powerful and economical chemical current source.
Yablochkov candle in Russia
In 1878, Yablochkov decided to return to Russia to tackle the problem of the spread of electric lighting. At home, he was enthusiastically greeted as an innovative inventor. Soon after the inventor’s arrival in St. Petersburg, the joint-stock company “Partnership of Electric Lighting and Manufacturing of Electrical Machines and Apparatuses P. N. Yablochkov the Inventor and Co.” was established, among the shareholders of which were industrialists, financiers, and military personnel - fans of electric lighting with Yablochkov’s candles . Assistance to the inventor was provided by Admiral General Konstantin Nikolaevich, composer N. G. Rubinstein and other famous people. The company opened its electrical plant on the Obvodny Canal.
The first test of electric lighting using the Yablochkov system was carried out in Russia on October 11, 1878. On this day, the barracks of the Kronstadt training crew and the square near the house occupied by the commander of the Kronstadt seaport were illuminated. Two weeks later, on December 4, 1878, Yablochkov’s candles - 8 balls - illuminated the Bolshoi Theater in St. Petersburg for the first time. The newspaper “Novoe Vremya” in its issue of December 6 wrote:
In the spring of 1879, the Yablochkov-Inventor and Co. partnership built a number of electric lighting installations. Most of the work on installing electric candles, developing technical plans and projects was carried out under the leadership of Pavel Nikolaevich. Yablochkov's candles, manufactured by the company's Paris and then St. Petersburg factories, were lit in Moscow and the Moscow region, Oranienbaum, Kyiv, Nizhny Novgorod, Helsingfors (Helsinki), Odessa, Kharkov, Nikolaev, Bryansk, Arkhangelsk, Poltava, Krasnovodsk, Saratov and other cities of Russia.
The invention of P. N. Yablochkov was met with the greatest interest in the naval institutions. By mid-1880, about 500 lanterns with Yablochkov candles were installed in Russia. Of these, more than half were installed on military ships and in factories of the military and naval departments. For example, 112 lanterns were installed at the Kronstadt Steamship Plant, 48 lanterns were installed on the royal yacht “Livadia”, and 60 lanterns were installed on other ships of the fleet, while installations for lighting streets, squares, stations and gardens each had no more than 10-15 lanterns.
However, electric lighting in Russia has not become as widespread as abroad. There were many reasons for this: the Russian-Turkish war, which diverted a lot of resources and attention, the technical backwardness of Russia, the inertia, and sometimes bias of the city authorities. It was not possible to create a strong company with the attraction of large capital; the lack of funds was felt all the time. The inexperience of the head of the enterprise himself in financial and commercial affairs also played an important role. Pavel Nikolaevich often went to Paris on business, and on the board, as V. N. Chikolev wrote in “Memoirs of an Old Electrician,” “...unscrupulous administrators of the new partnership began to throw away money in tens and hundreds of thousands, fortunately it was easy!”.
Design features
Candlesticks for Yablochkov candles with spring clip
Lamp for candles Yablochkova (Paris)
Yablochkov candle device
The first model of Yablochkov's candle, which was demonstrated at an exhibition in London, consisted of two parallel coals; In order for the arc to burn only at the end of the coals, one of the coals was surrounded by a low-melting porcelain tube or a white glass tube, as was done to imitate candles in gas lighting. As the coals burned, this tube gradually melted. Due to the fact that the coals burned unevenly when powered by direct current, the positive coal became thicker than the negative one. The thicker positive electrode of electric candles produced a fairly noticeable shadow. Further research showed that uniform combustion of coals of the same cross-section is possible only when using alternating current to power the candle.
The candle was installed in a special candlestick, which consisted of two copper parts, isolated from one another and mounted on a stand made of slate or some other material. The copper parts were a spring clamp into which both coals were inserted to create good contact. Two wires from the current source approached this clamp.
The very name of the candle was given to this light source due to the fact that the candle looked like a porcelain shell of coal and the flame was not between the electrodes, but at the end of a white rod, as was the case, for example, with a stearin candle.
By February 1877, Yablochkov had slightly improved the candle. He abandoned the porcelain pipe. The candle now consisted of two coal blocks 120 mm long and 4 mm in diameter, separated by an insulating material - kaolin. The distance between the coals was 3 mm. A contactor (“columbine”) was installed on the upper edge of the coals in the form of a charred plate attached with a paper strip. When connecting the spark plug to an alternating current source, the safety jumper at the end burned out, igniting the arc. The candle burned for ¾ hours; after this time it was necessary to insert it into the lantern new spark plug. The luminous intensity of the candles was 20-25 carcels, that is, 192-240 candelas. These candles were used to illuminate the Louvre store.
Based on his experience in lighting the Louvre store, Yablochkov managed to make significant changes to the design of the candle: kaolin was replaced by gypsum, which increased the luminous flux; the length of the coal blocks was increased to 275 mm, of which 225 mm was useful; Thanks to the improvement of the material from which the candles were made, their service life was doubled and increased to one and a half hours. Bottom edges The coals were later metalized (that is, coated with red copper) in order to obtain better contact when inserting the candle into the spring holder. This candle design was designed for mass distribution.
The candles were covered with glazed glass balls. The diameter of the ball was usually 400 mm, and a hole was made at the top. The lanterns were up to 700 mm high; their bases had doors for ventilation.
To increase the lighting time, a lantern design for 4 candles was developed, in which four holders were placed crosswise on a common stand. After a certain period of time, the lamp workers walked around the lanterns and transferred the current with special switches from the burnt candle to a new one. Subsequently, so-called automatic candlesticks were invented. One of them was a structure of several candles, each of which had a metal rod resting on it. This rod supported the lever on which the contact was located. When the candle burned down to a certain level, the stop was destroyed, the contact dropped and the current passed to another candle. Another device was made differently: a rod was placed in the middle of the candlestick, from which a thin silk thread was stretched; when the candle burned out, the thread caught fire, the lever supported by it fell and transferred the current to another candle. In addition, to transfer the current, a mercury switch was installed under the candlestick; it consisted of a box with several holes into which mercury was poured. A metal circle and several rods were placed on the axis; Only one rod entered the compartment with mercury. With this device, when the candle burned, the lever was pulled in and the rod was in the mercury; as soon as the candle burned out or accidentally went out, the lever fell, the rod came out of the compartment with mercury, and a new one entered another compartment and the current was transferred to the next candle.
Other improvements
Pavel Yablochkov constantly made improvements to the design of the lamp. In addition to the main French patent No. 112024, he received six more privileges to it.
The first additional privilege, dated September 16, 1876, assigned Yablochkov priority in replacing kaolin with other silicate-like substances with additives of metal salts to color the flame. The nature of the insulating material that was placed in the candle between the electrodes had great importance. Having first settled on kaolin, Pavel Nikolaevich continued to search for other suitable materials. In addition, Yablochkov began to use this insulating layer in order to color the arc flame in different colors. At the same time, Yablochkov patented the production of candles of several calibers according to luminous intensity. As a result of long-term work, he managed to achieve uniform quality of coals and produce them in a fairly large assortment with luminous intensity from 8 to 600 carcels, that is, from 77 to 5766 candelas.
In his second additional privilege dated October 2, 1876, Yablochkov provided for the use as an insulating layer of mixtures that, under the influence of heating, can turn into a small amount of semi-liquid fluid mass and form an arc in the place between the electrodes where this drop will touch the electrodes; the arc can move when the semi-liquid drop moves. Such substances are capable of increasing the arc length at the same current voltage, which was used by Yablochkov to make candles for different light intensities.
The third addition to the main French patent No. 112024, taken on October 23, 1876, provided that the insulating mass was made not of solid pieces, but of powder, and the coals were surrounded by a shell, the outer part of which was made of asbestos cardboard. The coals around the shell are surrounded by powder, the shells of the coals are also separated from each other by the powder.
By the fourth amendment of November 21, 1876, coals are replaced by tubes containing the same mass used for insulation. In the sixth and last addition to patent No. 112024 dated March 11, 1879, Yablochkov again returned to the mass, which should provide new ignition after the candle goes out. To achieve this, the mass must be sufficiently conductive to restart the ignition. This was achieved by adding up to 10% zinc powder to the mass; Pavel Nikolaevich made the mass itself from a mixture of gypsum and barium sulfate.
Patents
In addition to French patent No. 112024, P. N. Yablochkov received patents for an electric candle in other countries:
- in England - for “improvement in electric light”, issued on March 9, 1877 under No. 3552 as a preliminary specification, and for “improvement in electric lamps and in devices for separating and distributing electric light related to them,” issued on July 20, 1877 for No. 494.
- in Germany - for an electric lamp, issued on August 14, 1877 under No. 663.
- in Russia - for “an electric lamp and a method for distributing electric current in it,” issued on April 6 (12), 1878.
- in the USA - for an electric lamp, issued on November 15, 1881.
Disadvantages of the Yablochkov candle
The disadvantages inherent in Yablochkov candles can be classified as follows:
- Short spark plug life; here Yablochkov reached the possible technical limit - an hour and a half. It was no longer possible to increase the length of the coals, since this would lead to a greater increase in the diameter of the caps.
- The extinction of one lamp is associated with the extinction of all candles connected in series.
- It was impossible to relight the extinguished candle. Practical resolution this question was not found.
- Participation was required to switch burnt out lamps service personnel. This drawback was also practically not eliminated.
Notes
Literature
- Kaptsov N. A. Pavel Nikolaevich Yablochkov, 1847-1894: His life and work. - M.: Gostekhizdat, 1957. - 96 p. - (People of Russian science).
- Kaptsov N. A. Yablochkov - the glory and pride of Russian electrical engineering (1847-1894). - M: Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Armed Forces of the USSR, 1948.
- P. N. Yablochkov. To the 50th anniversary of his death (1894-1944) / Ed. prof. L. D. Belkinda. - M., L.: State Energy Publishing House, 1944. - P. 23-31
- Pavel Nikolaevich Yablochkov. Proceedings. Documentation. Materials/holes ed. Corresponding member USSR Academy of Sciences M. A. Chatelain, comp. prof. L. D. Belkind. - M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1954. - P. 67
In the spring of 1876, the world media was full of headlines: “Light comes to us from the North - from Russia”; “The Northern Light, the Russian Light is a miracle of our time”; “Russia is the birthplace of electricity.”
On different languages journalists admired the Russian engineer Pavel Yablochkov, whose invention, presented at an exhibition in London, changed the understanding of the possibilities of using electricity.
The inventor was only 29 years old at the time of his outstanding triumph.
Pavel Yablochkov during his years of work in Moscow. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Born inventor
Pavel Yablochkov was born on September 14, 1847 in the Serdobsky district of the Saratov province, in the family of an impoverished small nobleman who came from an old Russian family.
Pavel's father studied in the Naval Cadet Corps in his youth, but due to illness he was dismissed from service with an award. civil rank XIV class. The mother was a powerful woman who held in strong hands not only the household, but also all family members.
Pasha became interested in design as a child. One of his first inventions was an original land surveying device, which was then used by residents of all surrounding villages.
In 1858, Pavel entered the Saratov men's gymnasium, but his father took him away from the 5th grade. The family was strapped for money, and there was not enough money for Pavel’s education. Nevertheless, they managed to place the boy in a private preparatory boarding house, where young people were prepared to enter the Nikolaev Engineering School. It was maintained by the military engineer Caesar Antonovich Cui. This extraordinary person, who was equally successful in dealing with issues of military engineering and writing music, aroused Yablochkov’s interest in science.
In 1863, Yablochkov brilliantly passed the entrance exam to the Nikolaev Engineering School. In August 1866, he graduated from college with the first category, receiving the rank of engineer-second lieutenant. He was appointed junior officer to the 5th engineer battalion, stationed in the Kyiv fortress.
Attention, electricity!
The parents were happy because they believed that their son could make a great military career. However, Pavel himself was not attracted to this path, and a year later he resigned from service with the rank of lieutenant under the pretext of illness.
Yablochkov showed great interest in electrical engineering, but he did not have enough knowledge in this area, and to fill this gap, he returned to military service. Thanks to this, he had the opportunity to enter the Technical Galvanic Institution in Kronstadt, the only school in Russia that trained military electrical engineers.
After graduation, Yablochkov served the required three years and in 1872 he left the army again, now forever.
Yablochkov's new place of work was the Moscow-Kursk Railway, where he was appointed head of the telegraph service. He combined his work with inventive activity. Having learned about the experiments Alexandra Lodygina for street and indoor lighting electric lamps, Yablochkov decided to improve the then existing arc lamps.
How did the train spotlight come about?
In the spring of 1874, a government train was supposed to travel along the Moscow-Kursk road. The road management decided to illuminate the path for the train at night using electricity. However, officials did not really understand how to do this. Then they remembered the hobby of the head of the telegraph service and turned to him. Yablochkov agreed with great joy.
For the first time in the history of railway transport, a searchlight with an arc lamp - a Foucault regulator - was installed on a steam locomotive. The device was unreliable, but Yablochkov made every effort to make it work. Standing on the front platform of the locomotive, he changed the coals in the lamp and tightened the regulator. When changing locomotives, Yablochkov moved to a new one along with a searchlight.
The train successfully reached its destination, to the delight of Yablochkov’s management, but the engineer himself decided that this method of lighting was too complex and expensive and required improvement.
Yablochkov leaves service for railway and opens a physical instrument workshop in Moscow, where numerous experiments with electricity are carried out.
"Yablochkov's Candle" Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
The Russian idea came to life in Paris
The main invention in his life was born during experiments with the electrolysis of table salt. In 1875, during one of the electrolysis experiments, parallel coals immersed in an electrolytic bath accidentally touched each other. Immediately an electric arc flashed between them, illuminating the walls of the laboratory with bright light for a short moment.
The engineer came up with the idea that it was possible to create an arc lamp without an interelectrode distance regulator, which would be much more reliable.
In the fall of 1875, Yablochkov intended to take his inventions to the World Exhibition in Philadelphia in order to demonstrate the successes of Russian engineers in the field of electricity. But the workshop was not doing well, there was not enough money, and Yablochkov could only get to Paris. There he met Academician Breguet, who owned a physical instrument workshop. Having assessed the knowledge and experience of the Russian engineer, Breguet offered him a job. Yablochkov accepted the invitation.
In the spring of 1876, he managed to complete the work of creating an arc lamp without a regulator. On March 23, 1876, Pavel Yablochkov received French patent No. 112024.
Yablochkov's lamp turned out to be simpler, more convenient and cheaper to operate than its predecessors. It consisted of two rods separated by an insulating kaolin gasket. Each of the rods was clamped into a separate terminal of the candlestick. An arc discharge was ignited at the upper ends, and the arc flame shone brightly, gradually burning the coals and vaporizing the insulating material.
Money for some, science for others
On April 15, 1876, an exhibition of physical instruments opened in London. Yablochkov represented the Breguet company and at the same time spoke on his own behalf. On one of the days of the exhibition, the engineer presented his lamp. New source light created a real sensation. The name “Yablochkov candle” was firmly attached to the lamp. It turned out to be extremely convenient to use. Firms operating “Yablochkov candles” were rapidly opening all over the world.
But the incredible success did not make the Russian engineer a millionaire. He took the modest post of head of the technical department of the French "General Company of Electricity with Yablochkov's patents."
He received a small percentage of the profits received, but Yablochkov did not complain - he was quite happy with the fact that he had the opportunity to continue scientific research.
Meanwhile, “Yablochkov candles” appeared on sale and began to sell out in huge quantities. Each candle cost about 20 kopecks and burned for about an hour and a half; After this time, a new candle had to be inserted into the lantern. Subsequently, lanterns with automatic replacement of candles were invented.
“Yablochkov’s Candle” in the music hall in Paris. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
From Paris to Cambodia
In 1877, “Yablochkov’s candles” conquered Paris. First they illuminated the Louvre, then the opera house, and then one of the central streets. The light of the new product was so unusually bright that at first Parisians gathered to simply admire the invention of the Russian master. Soon, “Russian electricity” was already lighting up the hippodrome in Paris.
The success of Yablochkov candles in London forced local businessmen to try to get them banned. The discussion in the English Parliament lasted for several years, and Yablochkov’s candles continued to work successfully.
“Candles” conquered Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, and in Rome they illuminated the ruins of the Colosseum. By the end of 1878, the best stores in Philadelphia, a city in which Yablochkov never made it to the World Exhibition, also illuminated his “candles.”
Even the Shah of Persia and the King of Cambodia illuminated their chambers with similar lamps.
In Russia, the first test of electric lighting using the Yablochkov system was carried out on October 11, 1878. On this day, the barracks of the Kronstadt training crew and the square near the house occupied by the commander of the Kronstadt seaport were illuminated. Two weeks later, on December 4, 1878, “Yablochkov’s candles” illuminated the Bolshoi (Kamenny) Theater in St. Petersburg for the first time.
Yablochkov returned all inventions to Russia
Yablochkov’s merits were recognized in scientific world. On April 21, 1876, Yablochkov was elected a full member of the French Physical Society. On April 14, 1879, the scientist was awarded a personalized medal of the Imperial Russian Technical Society.
In 1881, the first International Electrotechnical Exhibition opened in Paris. At it, Yablochkov’s inventions were highly appreciated and were recognized by the International Jury as out of competition. However, the exhibition became evidence that the time of the “Yablochkov candle” was running out - an incandescent lamp was presented in Paris that could burn for 800-1000 hours without replacement.
Yablochkov was not at all embarrassed by this. He switched to creating a powerful and economical chemical current source. Experiments in this direction were very dangerous - experiments with chlorine resulted in a burn to the mucous membrane of the lungs for the scientist. Yablochkov began to have health problems.
For about ten years he continued to live and work, shuttling between Europe and Russia. Finally, in 1892, he and his family returned to their homeland for good. Wanting all inventions to become the property of Russia, he spent almost all of his fortune on buying out patents.
Monument at the grave of Pavel Yablochkov. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Andrei Sdobnikov
Pride of the Nation
But in St. Petersburg they managed to forget about the scientist. Yablochkov left for the Saratov province, where he intended to continue scientific research in the silence of the village. But then Pavel Nikolaevich quickly realized that there were simply no conditions in the village for such work. Then he went to Saratov, where, living in a hotel room, he began drawing up a plan for electric lighting of the city.
Health, undermined by dangerous experiments, continued to deteriorate. In addition to breathing problems, I was bothered by pain in my heart, my legs were swollen and completely gave out.
At about 6 o'clock in the morning on March 31, 1894, Pavel Nikolaevich Yablochkov passed away. The inventor passed away at the age of 46. He was buried on the outskirts of the village of Sapozhok in the fence of the Archangel Michael Church in the family crypt.
Unlike many figures pre-revolutionary Russia, the name of Pavel Yablochkov was revered in Soviet times. Streets were named after him in various cities across the country, including Moscow and Leningrad. In 1947, the Yablochkov Prize was established for the best work in electrical engineering, which is awarded once every three years. And in 1970, a crater was named in honor of Pavel Nikolaevich Yablochkov. back side Moons.
P.N. Yablochkov was born on September 14 (26), 1847 in the Saratov province, in the family of an impoverished small nobleman. Since childhood, he was fond of design: he invented a device for land surveying, which the peasants of the surrounding villages later used during land redistribution; a device for measuring the distance traveled by a cart - a prototype of modern odometers.
He received his education first at the Saratov Men's Gymnasium, then at the Nikolaev Engineering School in St. Petersburg. In January 1869 P.N. Yablochkov was sent to the Technical Galvanic Institution in Kronstadt, at that time it was the only school in Russia that trained military specialists in the field of electrical engineering. After completing his studies, he was appointed head of the galvanic team of the 5th engineer battalion, and after three years of service he retired to the reserve.
After P.N. Yablochkov worked at the Moscow-Kursk Railway as head of the telegraph service, here he created a “black-writing telegraph apparatus».
P.N. Yablochkov was a member of the circle of electricians-inventors and electrical engineering enthusiasts at the Moscow Polytechnic Museum. Here he learned about A. N. Lodygin’s experiments in lighting streets and rooms with electric lamps. After which I decided to start improving the arc lamps that existed at that time. He began his inventive activity with an attempt to improve the Foucault regulator, the most common at that time. The regulator was very complex, operated with the help of three springs and required constant attention.
In the spring of 1874, Pavel Nikolaevich had the opportunity to practically use an electric arc for lighting. A government train was supposed to travel from Moscow to Crimea. For traffic safety purposes, the administration of the Moscow-Kursk road decided to illuminate this train railway track at night and turned to Yablochkov as an engineer interested in electric lighting. For the first time in the history of railway transport, a searchlight with an arc lamp - a Foucault regulator - was installed on a steam locomotive. Yablochkov, standing on the front platform of the locomotive, changed the coals and tightened the regulator; and when they changed the locomotive, he dragged his spotlight and wires from one locomotive to another and strengthened them. This continued all the way, and although the experiment was a success, he once again convinced Yablochkov that this method of electric lighting could not be widely used and the controller needed to be simplified.
After leaving telegraph service in 1874, Yablochkov opened a workshop of physical instruments in Moscow. According to the memoirs of one of his contemporaries:
“It was the center of bold and ingenious electrical engineering activities, sparkling with novelty and 20 years ahead of the times.”Together with electrical engineer N. G. Glukhov, Yablochkov conducted experiments to improve electromagnets and arc lamps. He attached great importance to the electrolysis of table salt solutions. An insignificant fact in itself played a big role in the further inventive fate of P. N. Yablochkov. In 1875, during one of the many electrolysis experiments, parallel coals immersed in an electrolytic bath accidentally touched each other. An electric arc flashed between them, illuminating the walls of the laboratory with bright light for a short moment. It was at these moments that P.N. Yablochkov came up with the idea of a more advanced device for an arc lamp (without an interelectrode distance regulator) - the future “Yablochkov candle”.
In the fall of 1875, P. N. Yablochkov left for Paris, where by the beginning of spring 1876 he completed the development of the design of an electric candle. On March 23, he received a French patent for it No. 112024. This day became a historical date, a turning point in the history of the development of electrical and lighting engineering.
Yablochkov's candle turned out to be simpler, more convenient and cheaper to operate than A. N. Lodygin's coal lamp; it had neither mechanisms nor springs. It consisted of two rods separated by an insulating kaolin gasket. Each of the rods was clamped into a separate terminal of the candlestick. An arc discharge was ignited at the upper ends, and the arc flame shone brightly, gradually burning the coals and vaporizing the insulating material. Yablochkov had to work a lot on choosing a suitable insulating substance and on methods for obtaining suitable coals. Later, he tried to change the color of electric light by adding various metal salts to the evaporating partition between the coals.
On April 15, 1876, an exhibition of physical instruments opened in London, at which P.N. Yablochkov exhibited his candle and held a public demonstration of it. On low metal pedestals, Yablochkov placed four candles, wrapped in asbestos and installed at a great distance from each other. The lamps were supplied through wires with current from a dynamo located in the next room. By turning the handle, the current was turned on, and immediately the vast room was flooded with a very bright, slightly bluish electric light. The large audience was delighted. So London became the site of the first public display of the new light source.
The success of Yablochkov's candle exceeded all expectations. The world press was full of headlines:
“You should see Yablochkov’s candle”Companies for the commercial exploitation of Yablochkov candles were founded in many countries around the world. Pavel Nikolaevich himself, having ceded the right to use his inventions to the owners of the French “General Electricity Company with Yablochkov's patents”, as the head of its technical department, continued to work on further improvement of the lighting system, being content with a more than modest share of the company’s huge profits.
“The invention of the Russian retired military engineer Yablochkov - a new era in technology”
“Light comes to us from the North - from Russia”
“The Northern Light, the Russian Light, is a miracle of our time”
“Russia is the birthplace of electricity”
Yablochkov's candles appeared on sale and began to sell in huge quantities, each candle cost about 20 kopecks and burned for 1½ hours; After this time, a new candle had to be inserted into the lantern. Subsequently, lanterns with automatic replacement of candles were invented.
In February 1877, the fashionable shops of the Louvre were illuminated with electric light. No less admirable was the lighting of the huge Parisian indoor hippodrome. His running track was illuminated by 20 arc lamps with reflectors, and the spectator areas were illuminated by 120 Yablochkov electric candles, arranged in two rows.
New electric lighting is conquering England, France, Germany, Belgium and Spain, Portugal and Sweden with exceptional speed. In Italy, they illuminated the ruins of the Colosseum, National Street and Colon Square in Rome, in Vienna - the Volskgarten, in Greece - the Bay of Falern, as well as squares and streets, seaports and shops, theaters and palaces in other countries.
The radiance of the “Russian light” crossed the borders of Europe. Yablochkov candles appeared in Mexico, India and Burma. Even the Shah of Persia and the King of Cambodia illuminated their palaces with “Russian light”.
In Russia, the first test of electric lighting using the Yablochkov system was carried out on October 11, 1878. On this day, the barracks of the Kronstadt training crew and the square near the house occupied by the commander of the Kronstadt seaport were illuminated. On December 4, 1878, Yablochkov's candles, 8 balls, illuminated the Bolshoi Theater in St. Petersburg for the first time. As the newspaper “Novoe Vremya” wrote in its issue of December 6:
“Suddenly the electric light was turned on, a bright white light instantly spread across the hall, but not cutting eye, but soft light, in which colors and paints female faces and toilets retained their naturalness, as in daylight. The effect was amazing"Not a single invention in the field of electrical engineering has received such rapid and widespread distribution as Yablochkov’s candles.
During his stay in France, P.N. Yablochkov worked not only on the invention and improvement of the electric candle, but also on solving other practical problems.
In just the first year and a half - from March 1876 to October 1877 - he gave humanity a number of other outstanding inventions and discoveries: he designed the first alternating current generator, which, unlike direct current, ensured uniform burning of carbon rods in the absence of a regulator; pioneered the use of alternating current for industrial purposes, created the alternating current transformer (November 30, 1876, the date of the patent, considered the date of birth of the first transformer), a flat-wound electromagnet, and the first to use static capacitors in an alternating current circuit. Discoveries and inventions allowed Yablochkov to be the first in the world to create a system for “crushing” electric light, that is, power large number candles from a single current generator, based on the use of alternating current, transformers and capacitors.
In 1877, Russian naval officer A. N. Khotinsky received cruisers in America, built to order from Russia. He visited Edison’s laboratory and gave him A. N. Lodygin’s incandescent lamp and the “Yablochkov candle” with a light crushing circuit. Edison made some improvements and in November 1879 received a patent for them as his inventions. Yablochkov spoke out in print against the Americans, saying that Thomas Edison stole from the Russians not only their thoughts and ideas, but also their inventions. Professor V.N. Chikolev wrote then that Edison’s method is not new and its updates are insignificant.
In 1878, Yablochkov decided to return to Russia to tackle the problem of the spread of electric lighting. Soon after the inventor’s arrival in St. Petersburg, the joint-stock company “Partnership of Electric Lighting and Manufacturing of Electrical Machines and Apparatuses P. N. Yablochkov-Inventor and Co.” was established. Yablochkov's candles were lit in many cities of Russia. By mid-1880, about 500 lanterns with Yablochkov candles were installed. However, electric lighting in Russia has not become as widespread as abroad. There were many reasons for this: the Russian-Turkish war, which diverted a lot of funds and attention, the technical backwardness of Russia, the inertia of city authorities. It was not possible to create a strong company with the attraction of large capital; the lack of funds was felt all the time. An important role was played by P.N.’s inexperience in financial and commercial affairs. Yablochkova.
In addition, by 1879, T. Edison in America had brought the incandescent lamp to practical perfection, which completely replaced arc lamps. The exhibition that opened on August 1, 1881 in Paris showed that Yablochkov's candle and his lighting system began to lose their importance. Although Yablochkov's inventions were highly praised and were recognized by the International Jury out of competition, the exhibition itself was a triumph of the incandescent lamp, which could burn for 800-1000 hours without replacement. It could be lit, extinguished and relit many times. In addition, it was also more economical than a candle. All this had a strong influence on the further work of Pavel Nikolaevich, and from that time on he completely switched to creating a powerful and economical chemical current source. In a number of schemes for chemical current sources, Yablochkov was the first to propose wooden separators to separate the cathode and anode spaces. Subsequently, such separators found wide application in the designs of lead-acid batteries.
Work with chemical current sources turned out to be not only poorly studied, but also life-threatening. While conducting experiments with chlorine, Pavel Nikolaevich burned the mucous membrane of his lungs. In 1884, during experiments, a sodium battery exploded, P.N. Yablochkov almost died, and after that he suffered two strokes.
He spent the last year of his life with his family in Saratov, where he died on March 19 (31), 1894. On March 23, his ashes were buried on the outskirts of the village of Sapozhok (now Rtishchevsky district), in the fence of the Archangel Michael Church in the family crypt.
At the end of the 1930s, the Archangel Michael Church was destroyed, and the Yablochkov family crypt was also damaged. The grave of the inventor of the candle itself has also become lost. But on the eve of the scientist’s 100th anniversary, the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences S.I. Vavilov decided to clarify the burial place of Pavel Nikolaevich. On his initiative, a commission was created. Its members traveled to more than 20 villages of the Rtishchevsky and Serdobsky districts; in the archives of the Saratov regional registry office they managed to find the metric book of the parish church of the village of Sapozhok. By decision of the USSR Academy of Sciences, a monument was erected at the grave of P. N. Yablochkov, the opening of which took place on October 26, 1952. The words of P.N. are engraved on the monument. Yablochkova.
The great Russian electrical engineer was born on September 26, 1847 in the Saratov province. He was the first child in the family; subsequently the Yablochkovs had four more children - one boy and three girls. The father of the future inventor, Nikolai Pavlovich, was a small nobleman, after the reform of 1861 he worked as a peace mediator, and later as a justice of the peace for the Serdobsky district. The mother, Elizaveta Petrovna, took care of the household of a rather large family and, according to contemporaries, was distinguished by her imperious character.
Elementary education Pavel Nikolaevich received in his parents' house, he was taught literacy, numeracy, writing and French. Tendency to technical work and design appeared in him from an early age. Oral traditions report that as a teenager, Yablochkov independently built a land-measuring device, which was actively used by peasants during land redistribution. At the same time, Pavel came up with a device that was attached to the carriage wheel, allowing one to count the distance traveled. Unfortunately, none of these devices have survived to this day.
In 1859, Pavel Nikolaevich was sent to a civilian educational institution - the Saratov gymnasium. This, by the way, was sharply at odds with the traditions of the Yablochkov family, all of whose men were military men. Obviously the reason was physical state boy, by the age of twelve he was very thin and tall with weak lungs. Only children of nobles, clergy, merchants and officials studied at the Saratov men's gymnasium. Pupils from the lower strata were denied access. In the gymnasium, corporal punishment and rough treatment were widespread, and the educational process instilled in adolescents only a persistent aversion to science. As a result, academic performance was low and students preferred to skip classes. Chernyshevsky, who worked within the walls of this institution from 1851 to 1853, gave a colorful description of the gymnasium teachers: “There are quite developed students. Teachers - laughter and grief. They have not heard of anything other than the Code of Laws, Filaret’s Catechism and the Moscow Gazette - autocracy, Orthodoxy, nationality...”
Under the current conditions, some parents preferred to take their children back; in November 1862, Yablochkov also went home. For some time he lived in the village of Petropavlovka in his parents' house, and when the question arose about continuing his education, he went to a military school - the Nikolaev Engineering School. Those wishing to get into this institution had to pass a special exam, which included chemistry, physics, drawing and a foreign language. In just six months, Pavel Nikolaevich managed to fill all the gaps in knowledge and successfully passed the entrance tests.
The Engineering School at that time was an excellent educational institution, which received quite a lot of attention. great attention. Domestic military engineering developed independently of any foreign views and was rich in advanced technical ideas. Only eminent scientists were involved in teaching at the school. Yablochkov did not find the outstanding mathematician M.V. among the teachers. Ostrogradsky, however, his influence on the teaching of exact sciences was still fully felt. Pavel Nikolaevich’s teachers were: professor of structural mechanics G.E. Pauker, professor of fortification F.F. Laskovsky, professor of mechanics I.A. Vyshnegradsky and other scientific luminaries. IN Engineering school cadet Yablochkov received initial information in magnetism and electricity, in addition he studied fortification, attack and defense of fortresses, mine art, military communications, artillery, topography, tactics, construction art, mathematics, physics, chemistry, drawing, Russian and foreign languages.
In the summer of 1866, he graduated from college with the first category, was promoted to the rank of engineer-second lieutenant and assigned to Kyiv in the fifth sapper battalion.
Life in the engineer battalion turned out to be completely unbearable for Yablochkov. Already by that time he had a lot of technical ideas, however, there was not a single opportunity to turn to their developments, since military service interfered with this. It should be noted that at the same time (1867) the first practically usable self-excited generator was created, which gave rise to a real explosion of research in the field of electrical engineering. Various works This area was carried out by technicians, scientists and simply amateurs in all major world powers. Pavel Nikolaevich, who had only basic information about electromagnetism, limited to the practice of exploding mines, among others, turned all his attention to the practical application of electricity.
At the end of 1867, Yablochkov submitted a report to the command with a request to be released from military service due to illness. For him, this was the only way to leave combat service and engage in research. For thirteen months, Pavel Nikolaevich was engaged in work in the field of electrical engineering. Accurate information about this period of his life has not been preserved, but, obviously, he was severely lacking in knowledge. In December 1869, with the previous rank of second lieutenant, he again decided to serve in the military and, taking advantage of the rights granted by his military rank, entered a special educational institution for officers - the St. Petersburg Galvanic Classes (by the way, the only place at that time where military electrical engineers were specially trained).
Here Pavel Nikolaevich became acquainted with advanced achievements in the field of using electric current, and also seriously supplemented his own training. By the 60s of the nineteenth century, Russia was already the homeland of deep theoretical research laws and properties of electricity, the birthplace of the most important and largest inventions in this area. The course of study lasted eight months, the main lectures, accompanied by experiments and exercises, were given by Professor F.F. Petrushevsky, and in the summer, students of the institution practiced exploding mines using galvanic current. At the end of the training, the officers underwent “naval” practice in Kronstadt, where they mastered the techniques of equipping, installing, testing and monitoring the serviceability of movable and stationary galvanic mines.
Each officer who completed his studies in Galvanic classes was required to serve one year in engineering troops without the right to leave or early dismissal. In this regard, Yablochkov returned to Kyiv again to the fifth sapper battalion. Here he headed the galvanic team located in the garrison, he was entrusted with the duties of a battalion adjutant and head. All this further limited his ability to work on electrical engineering problems. After serving his mandatory term, Pavel Nikolaevich resigned in 1871. After that he never returned to military service, appearing in the documents with the rank of “retired lieutenant.”
The Kyiv period of Yablochkov’s life also includes his acquaintance with the teacher of one of the local schools, Lyubov Ilyinichna Nikitina, his first wife, whom he married in 1871. Unfortunately, Lyubov Nikitichna was seriously ill with tuberculosis and died at the age of 38. Three of Pavel Nikolaevich’s four children from this marriage inherited their mother’s illness and died at a young age.
At the end of 1871, the future inventor began a new stage in his life: he moved from Kyiv to Moscow. Where could a young engineer who wanted to devote himself to work in the field of electrical engineering get a job? In Russia at that time there was no electrical engineering industry as such, nor electrical laboratories. Yablochkov was offered the position of head of the telegraph of the Moscow-Kursk railway under construction. This telegraph had a good workshop created for the purpose of repairing equipment and equipment. The inventor happily agreed to this position, which gave him the opportunity to carry out the experiments he had planned and test his ideas.
In subsequent years, Pavel Nikolaevich communicated a lot with the capital’s electricians, assimilated and adopted their experience and knowledge. It can be said that Moscow turned out to be a huge school for Yablochkov, in which his exceptional technical skill finally crystallized. A huge influence on Pavel Nikolaevich’s professional growth was made by his acquaintance with the brilliant Russian electrician Vladimir Chikolev, who had remarkable inventive talent, supported by deep scientific training.
However, Yablochkov not only attended meetings of scientists and technicians. During his time working on the railroad, he managed to repair Trouvé's damaged electric motor, develop a project to modify the Gram machine, and present two unique inventions - a burner for detonating gas supplied to the combustion site through a layer of sand, and a device for capturing changes in air temperature in railway passenger cars. By the way, the circuit of this device included two Heusler tubes, which at that time were used exclusively as demonstration devices and had no practical applications. Working in fits and starts, since working on the telegraph took a lot of time, the young inventor examined various types of existing arc lamps, tried to improve regulators for them, made galvanic elements and compared their effect, and conducted experiments with the newly invented incandescent lamp of the A.N. system. Lodygina. And in the spring of 1874, Yablochkov managed to successfully complete the world's first installation of electric floodlights on a steam locomotive.
The experiments carried out by Lodygin in 1873 related to incandescent lamps, coupled with the solution proposed by Chikolev to the issue of creating an arc lamp, aroused great interest in new methods of lighting in society. Restaurants, large stores, and theaters began to strive to install electric lighting installations unprecedented before that time. Yablochkov, interested in the rising demand for items of electrical equipment, at the end of 1874 decided to organize his own laboratory-workshop of physical devices, capable of conducting experimental work and at the same time accepting orders from clients.
From the very beginning, things were going without much success; on the contrary, the electrical workshop constantly required the investment of Pavel Nikolaevich’s personal funds. However, the inventor was able to implement his planned designs. Since work in the workshop took up virtually all of the experimenter’s time, at the beginning of 1875 Yablochkov had to leave his service on the railway. His co-owner in the physical instrument workshop was a good friend, an electrical engineering enthusiast, Nikolai Glukhov, a retired artillery staff captain. Like Yablochkov, Glukhov invested all his funds in this institution, working there on issues of electrolysis and building a dynamo. Pavel Nikolaevich made new regulators for arc lamps and improved Plante batteries. Yablochkov and Glukhov conducted experiments on illuminating the square with a large spotlight that they installed on the roof of the house. And although the spotlight had to be removed at the request of the police, they became the pioneers of a separate field of lighting technology, which later received enormous practical significance(lighting of construction works, open workings, airfields). Yablochkov's workshop was the center of witty and daring electrical engineering projects, distinguished by originality and novelty. Many Moscow scientists and inventors liked to gather there; unique experiences and new devices were developed. In this workshop, Pavel Nikolaevich built an electromagnet of a unique design.
The principle of operation of an electric candle or arc light source without a regulator was invented by Yablochkov in October 1875. However, he still needed a lot of time to bring the lamp design to a form suitable for practical use. Unfortunately, the situation in the physical instrument workshop had become very difficult by this time. Yablochkov and Glukhov had many overdue orders, and bills from suppliers of equipment and materials had not been paid. The workshop enabled inventors to do a lot with their ideas, but as a commercial enterprise it failed. Pavel Nikolaevich's personal debts increased every day. His relatives refused him material support, and customers and creditors, having lost hope of getting what was due to them, filed a lawsuit in commercial court. In connection with the threat of ending up in a debtor's prison, Yablochkov made an extremely difficult decision for himself. In October 1875, the inventor fled from creditors abroad. This act further tarnished his commercial reputation, but the invention was saved. Through quite a short time Pavel Nikolaevich fully paid off all debts.
The scientist chose Paris as his place of stay abroad, which in the 70s of the nineteenth century was the center of scientific and technical forces in the field of electrical engineering. France, together with England and Russia, occupied a leading position in this area, significantly ahead of the USA and Germany. The names of Gramm, du Moncel, Leblanc, Niodet and other French electricians were known to the entire scientific world. Arriving in Paris, Yablochkov first met with an outstanding figure in telegraphy, a member of the Paris Academy, Louis Breguet, who, among other things, was also the owner of a factory that produced various electrical devices, chronometers and telegraphs. Pavel Nikolaevich took with him abroad only one of his structurally complete products - an electromagnet. The Russian inventor showed it to Breguet and also talked about some other technical ideas. Breguet immediately realized that before him was a talented inventor with enormous abilities, curious ideas and excellent knowledge of magnetism and electricity. He offered him a job without hesitation, and Yablochkov, who was only twenty-eight years old, immediately got to work. Pavel Nikolaevich worked mainly at the factory, but often experimented at home, in a modest room in the university part of Paris. Within a short time, he completed work on a whole series of devices he had previously invented and patented them.
On March 23, 1876, Yablochkov received a French patent for his most outstanding invention - an electric candle. Russian scientists managed to create the first economical, convenient and simple mass light source. about the candle in as soon as possible flew all over Europe, marking the beginning of a new era in electrical engineering. The lightning success of the electric candle (or, as they said at that time, “Russian light”) was explained simply - electric lighting, previously presented only as a luxury item, overnight became accessible to everyone. Yablochkov, who went to the London Exhibition of Physical Instruments in the late spring of 1876 as an ordinary representative of the Breguet company, left England as a recognized and authoritative inventor. From Russian scientists present at the exhibition - former teacher Yablochkov, Professor Petrushevsky and Moscow Professor Vladimirsky - Russian scientific circles also learned about the electric candle.
In Paris, representatives of various commercial circles were already waiting for the inventor. Enterprising businessmen immediately realized what high profits could be made from the invention of an unknown Russian genius, who, moreover, was not distinguished by entrepreneurial abilities. Louis Breguet, having refused to produce and sell Yablochkov’s electric candles, introduced Pavel Nikolaevich to a certain Deneyrouz, who took upon himself the issues of its further promotion.
Deneyrouz was a graduate of the Paris Polytechnic School, served in the navy, and was engaged in inventive activities. In particular, he was one of the developers of the Deneyrouz-Rouqueirol apparatus, the predecessor of Cousteau's scuba gear. Deneyrouz, without any problems, organized a joint-stock company for the study of electric lighting using Yablochkov’s methods with a capital of seven million francs. In this organization, Pavel Nikolaevich was engaged in scientific and technical management, supervised the production of his candles and carried out their further improvements. The financial, commercial and organizational side remained with Deneyrouz and other shareholders. The company immediately secured monopoly rights to the production and sale of electric candles and other Yablochkov inventions throughout the world. Pavel Nikolaevich himself did not have the right to use his invention even in Russia.
The period of time 1876-1878 was very tense and extremely productive in Yablochkov’s life. He wrote: “The first work was the installation of lighting in the street of the Opera, as well as in the shops of the Louvre, in the great Chatelet theater and in some other places in Paris. In addition, the lighting of the bridge over the Thames, the port of Le Havre and the London Theater in St. Petersburg was carried out. Bolshoi Theater…. It was from Paris that electricity spread throughout all countries of the world - to the king of Cambodia and the palaces of the Shah of Persia, and did not appear in Paris from America, as they now have the impudence to claim.” The Russian electrical engineer worked with passion, daily seeing the development of the work he had begun, and the attention to his work from scientific organizations. He gave presentations at the Society of Physicists and at the Paris Academy. Outstanding French physicists Saint-Clair Deville and Becquerel were especially familiar with his work. Yablochkov improved the design of the electric candle until it could be used in large lighting devices, and received five additions to the main patent. In addition, during his work abroad, Pavel Nikolaevich made whole line important discoveries- invented induction coils to divide the electric current (later this device was called a transformer), developed methods for dividing the current using Leyden jars (capacitors), and made a kaolin lamp. In addition, Yablochkov patented several magneto-dynamoelectric machines of his own design.
The Paris Exhibition of 1878 was a triumph of electricity in general and a triumph of Yablochkov in particular. The pavilion with its exhibits was completely independent; it was built in the park surrounding the main exhibition building - the Palace of the Champs de Mars. The pavilion was constantly filled with visitors, who were shown various experiments without interruption in order to popularize electrical engineering. The exhibition was also visited by many domestic scientists.
Pavel Nikolaevich always said that his departure from Russia was temporary and forced. He dreamed of returning home and continuing his work in his homeland. By that time, all his debts on the old workshop had already been paid, and his commercial reputation had been restored. The only serious obstacle to moving to Russia was Yablochkov’s agreement with the company, according to which he could not independently implement his inventions anywhere. In addition, he had a lot of unfinished work, which he was working on at the company’s plant and to which he attached quite a lot of importance. In the end, Yablochkov decided to buy a license for the right to create electric lighting in our country using his own system. The possibilities of its spread in Russia seemed to him very great. The company administration also took this into account and charged a huge amount - a million francs, almost the entire block of shares owned by Yablochkov. Pavel Nikolaevich agreed, giving up his shares, he received complete freedom of action in his homeland.
At the end of 1878, the famous experimenter returned to St. Petersburg. Different layers of Russian society perceived his arrival differently. Scientific and technical circles, seeing in Yablochkov the founder of a new era in electrical engineering, welcomed the return of the most talented inventor and expressed respect for his merits. The government of Alexander II, which had secret reports from foreign agents about Yablochkov’s material support for political emigrants in need, gave him a series of verbal reprimands. Most of all, Pavel Nikolaevich was surprised by domestic entrepreneurs, who were rather indifferent to his arrival. Of all the ministries, by that time only the Marine Ministry, which carried out only experiments with Yablochkov’s electric candle, and the Ministry of the Imperial Court, which organized electric lighting for palaces and subordinate theaters, were involved in the use of electricity.
Soon, Yablochkov managed to organize a partnership of faith, dealing with the production of electrical machines and electric lighting. To work in the partnership, Pavel Nikolaevich attracted experienced and well-known persons in domestic electrical engineering, among others, Chikolev and Lodygin. A number of demonstration lighting installations were successfully completed in St. Petersburg. Yablochkov's candles began to spread throughout the country. Chikolev describes this time in his memoirs as follows: “Pavel Nikolaevich came to St. Petersburg with a reputation of world fame and a millionaire. Whoever visited him - his excellency, his lordship, his excellency, countless others. Yablochkov was in great demand everywhere, his portraits were sold everywhere, and enthusiastic articles were devoted to magazines and newspapers.”
Yablochkov's partnership carried out the lighting of the square in front of the Alexandrinsky Theater, the Palace Bridge, Gostiny Dvor and smaller objects - restaurants, workshops, mansions. In addition to working in new organization The scientist carried out enormous public activities, helping to increase the popularity of electrical engineering in Russia. In the spring of 1880, the world's first specialized exhibition on electrical engineering was held in St. Petersburg. Domestic scientists and designers, without inviting a single foreigner to participate, independently filled it with the works of their creative work And technical thought. All areas of electrical engineering were presented at the exhibition, and a temporary power station was built to display the exhibits. The exhibition opened in Salt Town and ran for twenty days, during which it was visited by over six thousand people - an impressive figure for that time. The exhibition owed such successes to a great extent to Yablochkov’s personal participation. The material income received was used as a fund for the creation of the first domestic electrical engineering magazine “Electricity”, which began publication on July 1, 1880.
Meanwhile, Yablochkov’s hopes for the emergence of demand for electric lighting in Russia did not materialize. During the two years of the partnership's work (from 1879 to 1880), the work was limited to only a relatively small number of installations, among which there was not a single large installation of electric lighting permanent type. The financial side of the partnership suffered great losses, aggravated even more due to the unsuccessful management of affairs by the persons at the head of the commercial part of the enterprise.
At the beginning of 1881, Yablochkov again went to Paris, where, together with other eminent electrical engineers, he took an active part in the preparation of the International Electrotechnical Exhibition and the holding of the first International Congress of Electricians. For his hard work in preparing the exhibition of 1881 and in the work of the congress, Pavel Nikolaevich was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor. However, it was after this exhibition that it became clear to most scientists and technicians, including Yablochkov, that “Russian light,” which until recently was considered advanced and progressive, was beginning to lose its position as the best electric light source for the mass consumer. The leading position was gradually occupied by new electric lighting using incandescent lamps, in the invention of which the Russian scientist Alexander Lodygin played a significant role. It was his world's first models of incandescent lamps that were brought to the United States and presented to Edison by the domestic electrical engineer Khotinsky in 1876 during a trip to accept ships built for the Russian fleet.
Pavel Nikolaevich perceived reality absolutely soberly. It was clear to him that the electric candle had received a fatal blow and in a few years his invention would no longer be used anywhere. An electrical engineer has never been involved in the design of incandescent lamps, considering this direction of electric lighting to be less important compared to arc sources. Pavel Nikolaevich did not work on further improvement of the “Russian light”, assessing that there are many other issues in life that require solutions. He never returned to designing light sources. Absolutely rightly believing that progress in the field of obtaining simple and cheap electrical energy will entail a further increase in the use of electricity, Pavel Nikolaevich directed all his creative energy to the creation of generators operating on the principles of induction and electrochemical current generators.
From 1881 to 1893, Yablochkov worked in Paris, regularly making trips to Russia. It was an extremely difficult time for him. In Russia, in the eyes of ruling and financial circles, he found himself in the position of a debunked hero. Abroad, he was a stranger, having lost his shares, he no longer had weight in the company. His health was undermined by the backbreaking work of the past years; the inventor could no longer work as much and as diligently as before. He was ill almost all of 1883, suspending all his research. In 1884 he resumed work on generators and electric motors. At the same time, the scientist took up the problems of alternating current transmission. The study of the processes occurring in fuel cells turned out to be associated with the proximity of sodium vapor and a number of other substances harmful to breathing. Yablochkov’s private apartment was completely unsuited for carrying out work of this kind. However, the brilliant inventor did not have the means to create the appropriate conditions and continued to work, undermining his already weakened body. In his autobiographical notes, Pavel Nikolaevich wrote: “All my life I worked on industrial inventions, on which many people profited. I did not strive for wealth, but I expected to have at least enough money to set up a laboratory in which I could work on purely scientific issues, I'm interested in... However, my insecure condition forces me to abandon this thought...” During one experiment, the released gases exploded, almost killing Pavel Nikolaevich. In another experiment with chlorine, he burned the lining of his lungs and suffered from shortness of breath ever since.
In the 90s of the nineteenth century, Yablochkov received several new patents, but none of them brought material benefits. The inventor lived very poorly, while at the same time the French company exploiting his inventions turned into a powerful international corporation, which quickly switched to electrical engineering work of a different kind.
In 1889, during preparations for the next International Exhibition, Yablochkov, putting aside all his scientific research, began organizing the Russian department. One hundred Yablochkov lanterns shone at this exhibition for the last time. It is difficult to appreciate the colossal efforts that Pavel Nikolaevich made in order to give our department rich content and a worthy form. In addition, he provided all possible assistance to the arriving Russian engineers and ensured the greatest efficiency of their stay in France. The intense work at the exhibition did not pass without consequences for him - Yablochkov had two seizures, accompanied by partial paralysis.
At the end of 1892, Yablochkov finally returned to his homeland. Petersburg greeted the scientist coldly; his friend and comrade-in-arms Chikolev wrote: “He stayed in a simple room in an inexpensive hotel, only friends and acquaintances visited him - an invisible and poor people. And those who fawned on him at one time turned away from him. Even those who were put on their feet and ate bread at the expense of the partnership kicked him with their hoofs.” In St. Petersburg, a brilliant inventor fell ill. Together with his second wife Maria Nikolaevna and their only son Platon, Yablochkov moved to Saratov. His health deteriorated every day; the heart disease that Pavel Nikolaevich suffered from led to dropsy. The scientist's legs were swollen, and he hardly moved. At his request, a table was moved to the sofa, at which Yablochkov had been working until last day own life. On March 31, 1894, he passed away. To an outstanding figure world science, who with his works constituted an entire era in