Lester Allan Pelton

Lester Allan Pelton Lester Allan Pelton Lester Allan PeltonVery little is known about the early life of Lester Allan Pelton, who was born in 1829 in Vermilion, OH. Caught up by gold fever and eager for adventure, he left Ohio in 1850 for California to strike it rich. After discovering mining was much more difficult than he had imagined, Pelton found other work, including wood milling, carpentry, and selling fish he caught in the Sacramento River. Pelton never strayed far from the gold camps. In 1860 he settled in Camptonville, along the Yuba River, a hotbed of placer mining activity. Here he worked as a carpenter and often traveled to the mining operations, where he studied the equipment and processes with an inventors eye. Steam heat was used to power fruchtwein of the mining. Pelton noticed the huge amounts of wood that were needed to keep boilers going miners stripped the forest from the hillsides for miles around. Gathering wood also wasted an incredible amount of time and energy . Although turbine water wheels were in use along bigger rivers, they were ineffective with lower-volume mountain streams. The Pelton water wheel. Always inventive, Pelton experimented with designing a better water wheel. Standard wheels had a row of single cups or buckets. Instead of the jet of water hitting the cups in the center, he designed a wheel with split buckets side by side that could harness the kinetic energy of a small volume of water flowing at high speed. Rather than having the water flow stopped by hitting the center of the cup on a standard wheel and wasting the kinetic energy, the water flow was split and deflected left and right into the dual buckets. This simple idea easily doubled the efficiency of the standard water wheel, raising it from 30-40% to as much as 90%. Pelton commented that my invention relates to certain improvements in water wheels of that class which are driven by the momentum of a stream of water delivered into buckets on the periphery of a whee l through a suitable discharge nozzle and under a high pressure . . . The stream of water is divided into two parts by a central ride which directs the current of water into the curved bottoms of the two halves of the bucket, from which it passes out over the flaring or divergent sides of the bucket, so as to escape smoothly and utilize the full reactionary force of the escaping stream, in addition to the direct force of the impinging jet. This unique design revolutionized the use of turbines in high-energy sites, such as small, fast-running mountain streams. This was made possible because Peltons wheel was driven by the kinetic energy of the water jet, rather than the pressure of the water hitting the cup (harder to accomplish efficiently in narrow, low-volume waterways). In the late 1870s Pelton successfully modeled, tested, and manufactured his first turbine wheel. The first operational Pelton wheel was installed at the Mayflower Mine in Nevada City in 1878. In 1895, a 30-foot-di ameter wheel was installed at a gold mine in Grass Valley, CA. Peltons invention transformed the American West by replacing expensive, bulky steam engines at mining and construction sites with low-cost hydroelectric power. By the turn of the century the age of hydroelectric power was flourishing. Twenty years after forming Pelton Water Wheel Company in San Francisco to meet the growing demand for hydropower and hydroelectricity, Pelton died in 1908 at age 78. Later turbine designs (Turgo, Banki) were based on the Pelton wheel, which is totenstill used today to produce hydroelectric power around the world. Mark Crawford is an independent writer.Peltons new water wheel design transformed the American West by replacing expensive, bulky steam engines at mining and construction sites with low-cost hydroelectric power.

Help! My Work Friend Got Promotedand Im Jealous

Help My Work Friend Got Promotedand Im JealousHelp My Work Friend Got Promoted- and Im JealousDear Fran,Im 31 years old and have been working in the engineering and project management industry for a little over 10 years, five at my current company. A good friend of mine started working at my company about two years ago but in the business development sector. Its been great to have her here because we can grab lunch or a quick chat anytime.Heres the issue- Ive had the same punkt for my entire time at this company and after only a couple of years, she recently got a huge promotion. Window office, director title, six-figure salary, the whole bit. I know I should be happy for her, but I cant help but feel extremely jealous of her situation. Shes making mora than I am by a good $30K and at her age, she is bound to keep on rising up the ranks.I guess I also worry about our friendship. How are we going to keep up break time chats and water-cooler talk when shes in a whole different hierarch y? How can I handle this whole thing more gracefully?Thanks,Dont want to be enviousDear EnviousAh, envy that little green monster that often seems to cause so much pain. It can rear its ugly head at friends, colleagues, celebrities, bosses, family members, and perfect strangers (in no particular order). It can glom on to someone elses courage, clarity of vision, emotional serenity, compassion, persistence, intelligence, quick wit, or success.Let me give you a personal example. As a writer, my most powerful envy comes when Im in the middle of a book and I suddenly find myself so profoundly moved or deeply amused by the words on the page that I have to stop and take a breath to contemplate (and envy) the authors skill. Here are a couple of random examples that stopped me this way ecstasy Donoghues Room Shira Naymans Awake in the Dark Patrick Suskinds Perfume Jeffrey Eugenides Middlesex and Cynthia Kaplans book of personal essays, Why Im Like This.Now I want you to notice that, of the books that have stirred my green monster, some are bestsellers, some only sold a few thousand copies some were recently published, some years ago some were lauded by critics, some not so much. The truth is that while I might occasionally envy someones success, what I envy most powerfully is what I most value, certain qualities of character, and what I aspire to as a writer.So first, I want you to be clear about what it is that youre envying. Is it your friends success? The fact that she got chosen for a promotion and you didnt? That she got a lucky break and you didnt? The six-figure salary? Or does your envy stem from your fear shes more skilled at her job than you are at yours?I ask you these questions because I think it will help you to separate that which is mostly beyond your control and concentrate on that which is primarily in your control. Life is certainly not fair and your friends success may well be due to sheer good luck, which is painfully beyond your control.What is in your control, and what you can concentrate on, is how to be the best you can be at your job. Identify things that would make you promotable and work on those skills. Separate what is going on with your friends promotion from the realities of your position and the likelihood of moving up. If you truly feel that a promotion is due, pursue it with your manager.Another worthwhile consideration is whether you actually enjoy and are stimulated by your current position. If youre bored, or find yourself eyeing your friends (or another) field that seems more interesting or presents more opportunities for advancement, take some steps in that direction. Maybe her job change will prove to be a catalyst for you to make some changes for yourself. You dont necessarily need to wait around for management to give you a bump up the ladder maybe its time for you to pursue a new industry or a new company that will provide the opportunities that you are seeking.Next, you call this woman a good friend, b ut I wonder if shes a real friend. Is she someone you can actually talk to, or is your relationship merely centered around the water cooler chat? Are you worried about her throwing her new position in the hierarchy around because she already has? If so, then Id stop thinking of her as your good friend and try to gracefully back away while continuing with the superficial water cooler chat.My standards for a good friendship, however, are a little different. I root for my friends to reach their goals, I applaud their achievements, and I expect them to do the same for me. A quality friendship is based on whether I can talk to and confide in my friends, and whether they they can talk to and confide in me. I feel that friends are real friends because they share honest feelings with each other, and can allow themselves to be or appear vulnerable.If this were me, and I thought she was my good friend, Id find a time when she and I werent at work, and share some of my feelings surrounding her promotion. I might casually say that Id been hoping for a promotion, too, or even confess how envious I am I might ask her how or why she thinks she got the promotion, and maybe even ask her for some suggestions. And then Id watch very carefully to see how she handled the situation. This is a tricky time for your friendship. If shes really your friend, shell offer her support and hear out your disappointments in a loving way. If a candid conversation like that didnt go smoothly, Id seriously think about how close of a friend she really is.I wish you the best of luck in your career and your friendship, and Im glad you wrote in and asked.FranRead More From FranHow to Calm and Be ClearHave a question for Fran? Email questionsthemuse.comPhoto of women working courtesy of Shutterstock.

4 Tips for Getting a Raise You Deserve - FlexJobs

4 Tips for Getting a Raise You Deserve - FlexJobs4 Tips for Getting a Raise You Deserve -Asking for a raise can rattle even the steeliest of nerves, but as I learned from a wise source, If you dont ask, you dont get. Every professional will need or want to approach their manager about getting a raise at some point in their career, so we wanted to find out what managers want to hear from employees during these requests. Direct from the horses (managers) mouth, here are four fantastic tips from CEO Sara Sutton.Tips for getting a raise1) Track your accomplishments.Employees should track their accomplishments and present them to their employer when asking for a raise. There are the obvious accomplishments like how much revenue they personally brought in, and then the subtle accomplishments that account toward that bottom line, such as completing tasks on time and independently. Whenever possible, use quantifiable information.2) Be prepared. The worst thing someone can do when asking for a raise is not be prepared to answer the question of why they deserve it. If they present several concrete points as to why they have both earned it, AND ultimately how it will either earn the company more money and/or continue to save the company money, they are much more likely to get the raise.3) Lay the groundwork.Its a good idea to lay the groundwork, meeting with your manager on a regular basis and letting them know that youre interested in a raise, rather than demanding it in one fell swoop. It provides you the opportunity to gauge your managers reaction and ask for any tips or advice they could offer, if appropriate.4) Show your dedication.It also allows you to show your long-term dedication to the company, which is usually viewed as a good thing if youre already a valued employee, theyll want to keep you.