The War of the Currents
In one of our recent discussions about electricity we talked about the two different forms of electricity, alternating and direct current. I was puzzled by the fact that Thomas Edison, the man responsible for inventions such as the light bulb and the phonograph, would support direct current, the variant of electricity that is considered less sophisticated and less successful, as it is no longer in use today. After some research I discovered that the time after electricity’s conception, when it was still an immature technology, became defined by the “War of the Currents”, the struggle between Edison and George Westinghouse over which of the currents the public would accept. I am still not sure why Edison supported direct current, as even then it was widely considered an inferior technology, but I have a theory that he simply felt duty bound to support his invention through thick and thin. He could have just been a stubborn man. The time period is very interesting, fraught with competing inventors and progress, and is a large part of popular culture, inspiring movies such as The Prestige.
Question: Who was the inventor of Alternating current?
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