Tags: Famous Inventors | inventions | Thomas Edison | Westinghouse

During the Infancy of the Electrical years there were two inventors with two systems of Electrical current. Thomas Edison with his Direct Current (DC) model and Tesla with his Alternating Current(AC) model.

The war of the currents was fought and the AC system of Tesla and George Westinghouse was the winner . The battle, however, was just as charged as the power lines. Both systems had their pro and con arguments. The battle of the currents was fought on the field of public opinion and propoganda was used by both sides as ammo.

DC was already in use, stable and Edison had 120+ power stations delivering electricity to customers. The problem with DC was that the stations had to be close to the customers and delivery was expensive. On the flip side, the Nikola Tesla AC system could be transmitted to greater distances on thinner and cheaper lines. AC systems used a higher voltage by making use of transformers.

Edisons DC system only worked for districts within a few miles of the power station, while Tesla's DC system could travel hundreds of miles.

The war of the currents got bloody as Edison tried to show the dangers of AC power and helped invent the electric chair. His campaign and employees publicly electrocuted animals to prove how dangerous AC power was.

In 1903 Edison's team helped electrocute an elephant. Topsy the Elephant who had killed a few of the handlers. Edison even filmed it. It was one of the sickest electrocutions in history and also one of the more famous execution.

AC replaced DC for wide commercial and residential distribution but DC is still in use for various purposes such as subway systems, elevators and others.