1888 – USA
The transmission of high voltage alternating current (AC) over long distances is more efficient than the transmission of direct current (DC)
DC transmission is no longer used anywhere in the world.
NIKOLA TESLA
In the 1880s THOMAS EDISON (1847-1931) developed DC generation and set up his Edison light company to build power plants. DC loses much of its energy when transmitted through wires at long distances and DC power plants had to be close to cities.
In 1888 Tesla came up with an idea involving a rotating magnetic field in an induction motor, which would generate an ‘alternating current’. He invented the AC induction motor and suggested that the transmission of AC power is more efficient.
On 16th November 1896 the AC power plant at Niagara Falls built by George Westinghouse (1864-1914) became the first power plant to transmit electric power between two cities (from Niagara Falls to Buffalo).
Tesla’s development of AC power led to the invention of induction motors, dynamos, transformers, condensers, bladeless turbines, mechanical rev. counters, automobile speedometers, gas discharge lamps (forerunners of fluorescent lights), radio broadcasting and hundreds of other things. His patents number over 700.
The tesla (T), the SI unit of magnetic flux density, for measuring magnetism, is named in his honour.
TIMELINE
CHANGE FORMAT
history of science 101 