The War of the Currents
Jan. 15th, 2023 09:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qatsiBook Review: Empires of Light - Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the race to electrify the world, by Jill Jonnes
This had been on the wish list for a while and it was a welcome Christmas present. Jonnes gives some background on electricity, from classical times through Franklin, Galvani, Volta and Faraday, before picking up the main story in late nineteenth century America. Edison was first to challenge gas lighting, with his high-resistance, low voltage, direct current. But it had problems and technical limitations. Tesla left Serbia and Europe for America, working for Edison for a while but unable to persuade him of the benefits of alternating current. Westinghouse, an inventor and general industrialist, saw the potential (pun not intended) and pushed with Tesla for a time the alternating current - the great advantage being the ability to send it over long distance with relatively low losses, which were prohibitive with direct current.
Edison claimed AC wasn't safe. And in some cases it wasn't, where the wiring was poorly maintained or protected. Edison was a great enthusiast for alternating current for one case only - the electric chair. Jonnes describes this gruesome episode in some detail. But one a more positive note, the battle was slowly won by AC for its lower costs and demonstrable reliability. Eventually all three men succumbed to capitalism one way or another; Edison in particular seems to have stormed off to engage in other research. Westinghouse bankrupted his electrical company but carried on in other areas. Tesla, forever the dreamer, built dramatic machines for wireless transmission and reception of energy, only to find that Marconi had built the radio already. Although there are one or two moments of repetition, Jonnes tells the story with the right balance of science and entertainment. A good start to reading in 2023.
This had been on the wish list for a while and it was a welcome Christmas present. Jonnes gives some background on electricity, from classical times through Franklin, Galvani, Volta and Faraday, before picking up the main story in late nineteenth century America. Edison was first to challenge gas lighting, with his high-resistance, low voltage, direct current. But it had problems and technical limitations. Tesla left Serbia and Europe for America, working for Edison for a while but unable to persuade him of the benefits of alternating current. Westinghouse, an inventor and general industrialist, saw the potential (pun not intended) and pushed with Tesla for a time the alternating current - the great advantage being the ability to send it over long distance with relatively low losses, which were prohibitive with direct current.
Edison claimed AC wasn't safe. And in some cases it wasn't, where the wiring was poorly maintained or protected. Edison was a great enthusiast for alternating current for one case only - the electric chair. Jonnes describes this gruesome episode in some detail. But one a more positive note, the battle was slowly won by AC for its lower costs and demonstrable reliability. Eventually all three men succumbed to capitalism one way or another; Edison in particular seems to have stormed off to engage in other research. Westinghouse bankrupted his electrical company but carried on in other areas. Tesla, forever the dreamer, built dramatic machines for wireless transmission and reception of energy, only to find that Marconi had built the radio already. Although there are one or two moments of repetition, Jonnes tells the story with the right balance of science and entertainment. A good start to reading in 2023.