Imagine, for a moment, living in a time without electricity. Not very long ago, lamps cut through the evening's darkness by burning oil. Power for industry was generated at the point of usage by huge steam engines such as those on display at the Mining Museum. Today, we take electricity for granted; alternating current powering endless applications is only a flick-of-a-switch away. It is interesting to note that the first transmission of alternating current over long distances was to power a Colorado mine operation. The Gold King mine, located near Telluride, Co, was faced with a financial crisis in 1888. Like other operations, coal fired the steam engines that powered the mine's equipment. As the nearby coal deposits were consumed, the cost of transporting coal from further sources became more and more prohibitive (Hunt & Draper, 1964). The Nunn power station was the first to transmit Alternating Current (AC electricity) over a long distance, supplying power to the Gold King Mill near Telluride, Colorado. (Adaped from Denver Public Library, Negative No. X-6589) Engineers realized that the rapidly descending San Miguel River, which lay in the valley below could provide far more power than was needed for the Gold King's operations (Unique Mining Plant, 1891). Instead of using the river's flow to turn a water wheel that would have provided mechanical power in the typical belt-and-wheel (jack-shaft) fashion, the Nunn power station converted the mechanical flow of the river into alternating current (AC electricity). Westinghouse alternators utilizing patents by Nikola Tesla created the electricity. Hunt and Draper (1964) describe the installation: A wooden shack was constructed and a six-foot Pelton water wheel furnished power to a 100 h.p. generator, 133 cycle, single-phase, 3,000 volts. It was belted to the wheel. The wheel operated under a 310 ft. head, and a motor identical to the generator was installed at the mill, 2.6 miles away as the crow flies. Both the generator and motor were Westinghouse alternators, the largest then made, designed from Tesla's patents, and bearing his name (pg. 60). George Westinghouse, Thomas Edison's competitor, recognized Tesla's innovations in developing an Alternating Current generator. Westinghouse purchased the rights to Tesla's 1888 AC motor patent and began to produce a new motor, first installed at the Nunn power station. For the first time ever, AC power was created with the flow of the San Miguel River and Tesla's invention, transmitted miles over power lines, and used in an industrial application at the Gold King's mill, near Telluride, CO. AC power -- one of the greatest innovations of our time -- with a history in Colorado mining. In essence, every time we plug an appliance into an outlet and tap into AC power, we are tapping into one of the greatest innovations of our time - with a history in Colorado mining. Visitors can explore both belt-and-wheel (jack-shaft) power transmission in mining and the development of the early electrical generation (including Edison and Westinghouse dynamos) at the Western Museum of Mining & Industry. Scott Wright Former Director of Education   References Hunt & Draper. (1989). "Lightening in His Hand." Omni, 1964. p.59. Unique Mining Plant. (1891). The Electrical World, March 21, 1891. p.223