The Growth and Development of Ac Electricity by Nikola Tesla Succeeding Thomas Edison’s Dc Power System

The growth and development of AC electricity by Nikola Tesla succeeding Thomas Edison’s DC power system

Background

Without electricity, the growth and development that is seen in our society would not have been possible. In fact, before 1880, prior to the invention of electricity, an average lifestyle was mainly based upon man-made labour. For example, most of the people had to make a living out of kerosene lanterns and gas lamps as only the rich, and wealthy city dwellers had the luxury of electric lighting [1]. The electrical world basically began with Thomas Edison’s invention of the first electrical light bulb. In 1882, Edison went on to open a power generation company which distributed electrical power through the use of direct current (DC) [1, 2]. The company first provided power to fifty-nine customers in New York in an area of one square mile [4]. By 1890, Edison had around hundred power plants across the United States [2]. Everything seemed to be running according to what Edison had desired until 1887 when Nikola Tesla, another great scientist, filed for seven U.S. patents. This included one of the most important phenomena today, alternating current (AC) [2]. The invention of AC electricity has turned out to be one of the most important inventions of all times.

The major difference between Thomas Edison’s DC power system and Nikola Tesla’s AC power system is that Edison’s DC power system was only able to deliver power a few miles within the company’s power plants while Tesla’s alternating current power system was able to power homes and distribute electricity to much greater distances from the power plants [2]. However, rather than accepting the fact that Nikola Tesla’s invention as one of the greatest, Edison responded to the idea of AC electricity in a negative manner. His theory was that “direct current was like a river flowing peacefully to the sea, while alternating current was like a torrent rushing violently over a precipice” [3]. In fact, he even launched a smear campaign. Initially, in 1887, when a man was accidentally killed upon touching the uncovered power lines, Edison appointed the task of developing a method to intentionally kill people with electricity. Hence, the electric chair was invented [2]. Thereafter, Edison started a publicity campaign to convince how dangerous alternating current was. He further stated that alternating current was extremely hazardous and was only to be used to electrocute murderers in prisons. In addition, to further prove his false claims, Edison publicly electrocuted animals such as dogs, horses and even an elephant [2, 3, 5]. This was regarded as the “War of the Currents” era where two of the most astute scientists squared off against one another [5].

Fortunately, Edison’s claims eventually worn out as people realized the immense importance of AC electricity in the society. George Westinghouse Corporation (GWC), which was known for buying the patents from Nikola Tesla, won the bidding versus General Electric Company, which had taken over the Edison Company for illuminating The Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 [2]. The main reason for GWC’s victory was because of the presentation of a more efficient and cost-effective AC power system. George Westinghouse said he could power the fair for only $339 000 using Tesla’s alternating current compared to the General Electric’s bid of $554 000 [2, 5]. In addition, later on in the year, the Niagara Falls Power Company also awarded Westinghouse the contract to generate power from the Niagara Falls. Even though some had doubt, Tesla always believed the power generated from Niagara Falls can not only power all of Buffalo, NY but the entire United States. In 1896, the alternating current generators at Niagara Falls began to operate and delivering power twenty miles away to Buffalo, NY [2, 3, 4].