L'objectif de cet ouvrage est d'explorer la vari t des cheminements par lesquels les activit s innovantes ont fait merger l'industrie lectrique depuis la phase pionni re du milieu du XIXe si cle jusqu' nos jours. En effet, au cours de la premi re moiti du XXe si cle, la recherche des innovations est pass e d'une activit men e par quelques individus hautement cr atifs, la plupart d'entre eux travaillant comme inventeurs ind pendants, une activit port e par des quipes de sp cialistes travaillant dans des structures industrielles sp cifiquement consacr es la recherche. Le mod le du laboratoire int gr , dominant dans l'industrie lectrique, ne saurait occulter la porosit des structures de recherche qui surent se greffer d'autres dynamiques (universit , agents ind pendants, etc.) ainsi que la r alisation, souvent irrempla able, des exp rimentations grandeur nature.
The goal of this book is to explore the variety of ways in which innovative activities were carried out in the electrical industry from its pioneering phase in the mid-19th century to the present. It is a shared assumption among historians of technology and economic historians alike that during the first half of the 20th century the mainsprings of innovation shifted from an activity pursued by a few highly creative individuals, most of them working as independent inventors, to one carried out by teams of specialists operating within industry, in structures specifically devoted to research. In electrical technology, as in other fields, the transition was gradual and it has continued to the present day. Laboratories, established in all the main electrical engineering firms, were dominant but many of the advances in electrical technology did not originate from departments designated as laboratories (university, independent agents, etc.).