Pavel Nikolayevich Yablochkov (also spelled as Jablochkoff; Russian: Павел Николаевич Яблочков; September 14 [O.S. September 2], 1847 – March 31 [O.S. March 19], 1894) was a Russian electrical engineer, businessman, and the inventor of the Yablochkov candle, a type of electric light that uses carbon arcs.

Biography

Yablochkov graduated in 1866 as a military engineer from the Nikolayev Engineering Institute, now known as the Military Engineering-Technical University (Russian: Военный инженерно-технический университет). He also graduated in 1869 from the Technical Galvanic School in Saint Petersburg. After serving in the army, Yablochkov moved to Moscow in 1873. There, he was appointed as the Head of the Telegraph Office at the Moscow-Kursk railroad. He opened a workshop for his experiments in electrical engineering, which started the work that led to his future inventions in electric lighting, electric machines, galvanic cells, and accumulators.

Yablochkov’s major invention was the first model of an arc lamp that removed the need for complicated parts that required a regulator to control the electric arc. In the same year, he traveled to Paris, where he built an industrial version of the "electric candle" (French patent № 112024, 1876). In Paris, he developed his arc light idea into a complete system of electric lighting powered by Zénobe Gramme direct current dynamos fitted with an inverter to supply single-phase alternating current. The first public use of the Yablochkov system was in October 1877 at Halle Marengo of the Magasins du Louvre, which was lit by six Yablochkov candles. By 1880, the system had grown to include 120 lamps, with 84 lit at a time. It was powered by a 100-horsepower steam engine and had been operating every night for two and one-half years.

The Paris Exposition of 1878 gave Yablochkov a special chance to show his invention to people around the world. With the help of Gramme, he successfully had 64 of his arc lights installed along the half-mile (0.8 km) length of Avenue de l'Opéra, Place du Théâtre Français (today Place André-Malraux), and around the Place de l'Opéra. The lights were first turned on in February 1878. Yablochkov candles required high voltage, and soon experimenters reported that the arc lights could be powered over a 7-mile (11 km) circuit. Yablochkov candles were better than Lontin-Serrin regulator arc lights, which each needed a separate Gramme generator. Starting in 1880, the Paris Hippodrome’s 20 Serrin lights powered by 20 generators were replaced by 68 additional Yablochkov candles. This change was based on two years of positive experience with 60 candles powered by just three generators. The impact of the 1878 Paris demonstration caused gas company shares to drop in value, and they did not recover until 1880. French, English, and American businessmen quickly set up companies to license Yablochkov’s patents.

As part of his arc lighting patents, Yablochkov described a method of using Michael Faraday’s discovery of induction to create a continuous current with higher voltage. Primary windings were connected to a source of alternating current, and secondary windings could be connected to several electric "candles." Although it was not recognized at the time, Yablochkov’s idea of using transformers to provide different voltages from the same AC line was the model that modern transmission and distribution systems would later use. The patent stated that such a system "allowed to provide separate supply to several lighting fixtures with different luminous intensities from a single source of electric power." In 1879, Yablochkov established “Electric Lighting Company, P.N. Yablochkov the Inventor and Co” and an electrical plant in Petersburg that would later produce illuminators for military vessels and factories. There was significant international competition for his arc lights. His lasted one and a half hours, whereas those of Charles F. Brush lasted twice as long.

From the mid-1880s, Yablochkov focused mostly on problems of generating electric energy. He constructed the so-called “magnet dynamo electric machine,” which had most of the features of the modern inductor. Yablochkov did extensive research on transforming fuel energy into electric energy, suggested a galvanic cell with alkaline electrolyte, and created a regenerative cell (the so-called autoaccumulator).

Yablochkov participated in electrical engineering exhibitions in Russia (1880 and 1882), Paris (1881 and 1889), and the First International Congress of Electricians (1881). For his participation in the exhibition and congress, he was awarded the French Order of the Legion of Honor.

Personal life

Yablochkov was a member of a secret society called Freemasonry. He joined the Supreme Council of France of the Scottish Rite in 1876. After leading three lodges in Paris, he founded a new lodge named "Cosmos" on June 25, 1887, under the Supreme Council. He hoped this lodge would attract young and wealthy Russian immigrants living in Paris. One member of his lodge was Maksim Kovalevsky, who later helped reintroduce Freemasonry to Russia and prepared for the creation of the Grand Orient of Russia's Peoples.

Legacy

In 1947, the USSR created the Yablochkov Award to honor the best work in the area of electrical engineering.

A crater on the Moon is named Yablochkov in his honor.

• A plaque on the outside wall of House Number 35, where M. Gorky Street and Yablochkov Street meet in Saratov
• A monument stands at the grave of P. N. Yablochkov in Sapozhok village, Rtischevsky District

Gallery

• A monument located at the tomb of P. N. Yablochkov in the village of Sapozhok, Rtishchevsky area.
• Yablochkov arc lamps lighting a music hall on la Place du Chateau d'eau in Paris around 1880.
• A house in Saratov where Yablochkov lived during his final years.
• The Paris Hippodrome around 1881 was illuminated by 128 Yablochkov candles, with one Gramme generator needed for every 20 lights.