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Energy - The American Experience

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keywords: energy sources, alternative power, clean energy, horse plow, churning butter, sailing ship, women factory workers, subway station, nuclear power, solar power

Synopsis: Film footage, still images, drawings, and paintings are used to show the development of different forms of energy over 200 years, documenting changes in energy sources such as wood, oil, gas, coal, and steam power as well as the Government's research to develop clean energy such as wind, geothermal and solar...(read more)

Date: 1978
Duration: 00:29:10
Sound: Yes
Color: Color
Type: Public Domain
Language: English
Location: United States

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Energy - The American Experience

Early life in American using human energy (manpower) to perform daily tasks. Shows a typical American home in the Maryland countryside. Shows man splitting log (firewood) using a wedge and sledgehammer. Shows man, boy and horse plowing a field with single roe plow, hoeing a corn field, and skinning a log. Woman churning butter in a butter churn, shelling beans (peas). Two men using hand saw to saw a log. Shows sails and rigging of large sailing ship. Shows ingenious ways man use "falling water" as a form of useful power, the waterwheel. Shows machinery powered by steam engines. Point of view (pov) locomotive approaching a railroad trestle in rural America. Shows images of coal fired steam ships replacing sailing ships.

Shows horse drawn grain combine. Drawings are used to show the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1876, first official World's Fair in the United States. The official name was "International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and Products of The Soil And Mine". Image of Memorial Hall (Philadelphia) in West Fairmount Park. Scene of the great Plaza at Memorial Hall. Footage depicting the first internal combustion engine. Image of an early incandescent light bulb or lamp. Shows photographs of early Americans on the western frontier and immigrants coming to america to find jobs.

Still image of an early automobile. Footage of early automobile. Footage of early airplane taking off and in flight. Thomas Edison invention of motion pictures. Factory steam whistle blows, American women factory workers check-in for work at industrial plant in the early 1900's. Image of giant generator being built. Shows electric motor manufacturing plant. New York City transit subway train and subway station in 1905. Footage of women working in packaging plant. Shows farmer using early farm tractor to plow field. July 4th parade in small mid-western town in the early 1920's. Image of an "Uncle Sam We Want You" WWI recruiting poster. Series of photographs of people and events of the 1920's, 1930's, and 1940's.

In 1978 it was predicted America was running out of oil that powered our nation so the challenge was to find new sources of energy. Images of Nuclear power plants. In old oil fields a new method called "enhanced recovery" is employed to extract more recoverable oil. Addresses the issue of more fuel efficient automobile engines and battery powered cars. Image of a battery powered city car. Explores extracting oil from oil-bearing rock or shale. Shows underground coal mine and plant to transform coal into synthetic gas or oil. Shows geothermal steam as a source of energy. Using the sun as a source of energy.

00:01:24;01

Man splitting log using a wedge and sledgehammer

00:02:11;04

Woman churning butter in a butter churn

00:07:07;05

Point of view (pov) of train locomotive approaching a railroad trestle in rural America

00:09:59;11

Image of Memorial Hall (Philadelphia) in West Fairmount Park

00:13:06;10

Image of an early incandescent light bulb or lamp

00:15:19;10

View of early automobile