The Inventor of the Railway Air Brake: George Westinghouse

- વિશ્વના વૈજ્ઞાનીઓ

You might have seen the chain inside a train compartment. Pulling this chain applies the brakes and stops the train. Any passenger can use this chain to stop the train during an emergency. Do you know how the train stops when this chain is pulled?

Trains have brakes that work on air pressure. There is a long pipe connected to the brakes; when there is a vacuum inside this pipe, the brakes stay away from the wheels. The moment the chain is pulled, a valve in this pipe opens up and lets air inside. The pressure of this air pushes and applies the brakes. Because train wheels are very heavy and trains travel at high speeds, the brakes need to be powerful. Strong air pressure does exactly this job. This system is called the Air Brake System, and it was invented by a scientist named George Westinghouse. George Westinghouse was born on October 6, 1846, in Central Bridge, New York, USA. At just 15 years old, he joined the National Guard army. After resigning from the New York army, he joined the Navy, where he worked as an assistant engineer. Once the war ended, he returned home and joined Union College. By the age of 19, he had built a rotary steam engine and several other machines.

In those days, to brake a train, a separate "brakeman" had to be stationed in every single compartment. To solve this difficult problem, Westinghouse invented the air brake that worked on air pressure. Additionally, he made many improvements to railway signaling systems. After Thomas Edison invented the electric bulb in 1879, Westinghouse conducted research on Alternating Current (AC). Because of this, Westinghouse and Edison came to be known as rivals. Later, Westinghouse started his own electric company as well as an air brake factory. He passed away on March 12, 1914. Today, there are memorials dedicated to Westinghouse in many American cities.