Nickola Tesla: The Genius who lit the world. Have you heard of Nickola Tesla? Surprisingly, many people still do not realize the impact his work has made on American society, and the whole world. You might be wondering, "What is the War of Currents and what does it have to do with Nickola Tesla?" Well picture this...
Two mentalities come to a clash. One relies on the systematic proofs of trial and error. The other uses mathematical principles and theory to derive results. No booms or bangs of detonating cannons, or explosions of military camps are heard. Only the tension of conflicting beliefs, paired with the piercing buzz of electircal currents penotrating the air. The casualties? A few commoners in a freak electrical accident and some household pets. Not quite like an ordinary war? That's because it isn't. It is The War of Currents, led by the two genuises Thomas Edison and Nickola Tesla.
In 1887, the sparks that ignited The War of Currents arose. It was a time when elctricity was lighting homes and streets all over America's cities. The energy was provided by Thomas Edison's direct current, usually referred to as DC. Edison's breakthrough was a turning point for life in America. At that point, electricity could be transmitted from its source to a light bulb ten feet away. Even more useful, power from one building would be shot down a wire to a neighboring building, sharing energy and the new luxury of light. The DC system, however, was far from perfect. DC moves only in one direction and has a constant voltage. This is a straight forward method for creating power, but the voltage tended to heat and often melt the copper wires through which it ran. This made DC transmission for distances over a mile dangerous, and sometimes impossible. Also, DC power cannot be changed by a transformer because of its unvarying voltage. Edison's solution was to merely create more wires to accomodate the needs of the city. This unfortunately caused New York to look more like a spider web rather than an industrialized city. In addition to the unattractive appearance DC imposed, hazardous effects arose as well. In the Great Blizzard of March 11-14, 1888, a total of four hundred people died. Many of those deaths were caused by an excess of collapsing DC wires that electrocuted those below. Clearly something had to be changed...
Nikola Tesla was born in eastern Europe, in what is now called Croatia near the border of Bosnia. His revolutionary way of thinking presented somewhat of an opposition to Edison's DC system. Tesla invisioned a form of power called alternating current, also known as AC. He knew the faults of DC, and brainstormed a way to eliminate those problems, with an electric current of his own. AC's voltage, unlike DC, is not constant. While DC's voltage can be presented as a linear function with a constant value, AC voltage can be displayed as a sine wave. This is not as straight forward as Edison's system because one might think power is reduced when the voltage is in the negative phase of the sine wave. However, power does not rely solely on voltage; power = voltage x current. The current of AC also resembles a sine wave, being negative and positive at the same time the voltage is. So when the two negative values are multiplied, the power is still positive. Therefore, the same amount of power can be attained from the AC system, without keeping a constant high voltage that caused endless wire damage in the DC system. The most important advantage of the AC system is its ability to be modified by a transformer. With the AC system, the same line used to power a lamp can also used to power a motor. No more melting or excessive wires, no more distance restrcitions, no more DC. Tesla had outdone Edison, not by improving the DC system, but by creating a whole new electrical wonder of his own.
And so the war began. It was said that Edison, well aware of his system becoming obsolete, would not accept AC because it wasn't his idea. He then launched an anti-AC campaign, describing DC as "a river flowing peacefully to the sea, while alternating current was like a torrent rushing violently over a precipice." With the help of Harold Brown, Edison would continue the battle for sales, and recognition. Brown assisted Edison's propaganda by electrocuting dogs and horses to demonstrate the "dangers" of the AC system. These string of electrocutions actually led the the development of the electric chair.
Tesla's only efforts in this battle were demonstrations of his efficient AC motors and transformable power. At the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, J.P. Morgan (General Electric Company) offered to power the first all-electric fair. GE was a company backing DC, and they asked for one million dollars to light the fair. This task would require massive amounts of copper wire, some for the motors, and others for the lights. Different wires had to be used because of DC's unchanging voltage. George Westinghouse was by this time, a believer and supporter of Tesla's AC system. He offered to light the fair for half the price. This was a practical offer because AC wouldn't require all the wire DC needed. So a point was won for AC and Tesla when Westinghouse was granted the contract for powering the fair.
GE's retaliation was to ban the use of Edison's lamps for Westinghouse. This was a small obstacle for Tesla and Westinghouse, as they once again paralyzed the public in awe at the Columbian Exposition later that same year. They were chosen over Edison's DC system to power the fairgrounds and win the appreciation of spectators and energy users of the country. It didn't take many more displays of superiority for AC to be renowned as the more efficient power source. Soon after, 80% of all electric devices in the U.S. were for alternating current. Finally, the AC system was recognized as the invention that would light the future.
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