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War of the currents

Alternating Current (AC) Vs Direct Current (DC)
Thomas Edison Vs Nikola Tesla

Karl Gabriel D. Albarracin

Philippine Science High School – Central Visayas Campus

English 3

Mr. Wesley C. Barcoma

December 8, 2021
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The War of the currents was a competition between inventors, it was a competition to see who could make the
best electrical system. The main factor in deciding which electrical system was the best was efficiency.
Efficiency has a lot of benefits, but more importantly, the more efficient an electrical system, the less costly it is.
Having the most efficient electrical system meant that you would have the most investors. Investors look for a
way to make money, so they will make sure that what they are investing in is the best, most-efficient, and least
costly electrical system. The War of the currents was an incredible period in history, it was a period in time
where major changes happened, electrical systems majorly evolved, and new possibilities were discovered.

Thomas Edison was an American inventor; some would say that he was the greatest American inventor to ever
live. He was born on February 11, 1847, and died on October 18, 1931, at the age of 84, because of his
diabetes. He invented things that were the foundation for the devices we use today. Edison invented the
phonograph, the motion picture camera, and he developed the early versions of the electric light bulb. He had
humble beginnings, selling items on trains, like how you would see vendors on busses in the Philippines, to
fund his own experiments. He eventually established an industrial research lab in Menlo Park Laboratory,
where he made most of his inventions for over 10 years. In 1880, he founded the Edison Illuminating
Company. Edison established the first investor-owned electric utility in 1882. The electrical system that he
used for this electric utility was direct current (DC).

Direct current (DC) is a type current that has a one-directional flow of electric charge. It is characterized by
having a non-changing amperage, the non-changing direction of energy flow, and its constant flow of electrons.
Although it is famous for the time when Thomas Edison was developing it, the original founder/creator of direct
current was Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist. The reason that direct current (DC) lost in the War of the
currents was that it was more expensive and less flexible than the alternating current (AC). Though it did lose,
the direct current still has its uses today, one example is, for charging batteries. Direct current could very well
have won the War of the currents, if not for the alternating current.

As the name suggests, an alternating current (AC) is a type of current where the flow of energy and amperage,
alternates. The first person to ever produce alternating current was Hippolyte Pixii, a French instrument maker
in 1832. The alternating current is good because it allows us to save energy when it is otherwise not needed. A
common use for alternating current is for lightbulbs. A lightbulb is not always on, since most lightbulbs use
alternating current, they flash on and off much. Lightbulbs flash on and off so fast, that the human eye is not
capable of registering it, in fact, a lightbulb flashes 120 times in a singular second. As a result of its efficient,
and cost-effective functions, it was deemed as the best electrical system in the War of the currents. One of the
developers that truly allowed the alternating current to flourish during the War of the current was Nikola Tesla.

Visual representations of
direct current and
alternating current, being
applied on a circuit:
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Graphs of the voltage

and direction of
current, of the direct
current and alternating
current, over time.

Nikola Tesla was a Serbian American inventor, electrical and mechanical engineer, and futurist. He is well
known for his bright ideas and his contributions to the development of the alternating current (AC) electric
system. Tesla was born on 10 July 1856, and died on 7 January 1943, at the age of 86. Tesla had an eidetic
memory, or more commonly known as photographic memory. Eidetic memory is an exceptional ability that
helped Tesla in his lifetime, as it allowed him to remember everything he saw after only seeing it once. In the
initial stages of Tesla’s career, he worked in the Continental Edison Company. In his time at the Continental
Edison Company, he learned a plethora of information about engineering and physics, mostly about electricity.
Shortly after he left the Continental Edison Company, he began working on his own projects like an arc lighting
system. There were individuals who became interested in Tesla’s arc lighting system, namely Robert Lane and
Benjamin Vail, which agreed to sponsor the Tesla Electric Light & Manufacturing, which was an arc lighting
manufacturing and utility company. After investors abandoned Tesla Electric Light & Manufacturing, he went
through troubling times, but he survived it and started developing an induction motor that used alternating
current (AC).

Although the War of the currents started in the late 1880’s, many events led up to it. In 1870, Thomas Edison
built the first generator to be powered by direct current (DC). In 1880, Siemens Company developed
alternating current (AC) systems. In England, 1881, a waterwheel generated the first electric supply for public
use. In 1882, the Pearl Street Power Station was opened by Thomas Edison. In 1883, Tesla entered the scene
by inventing the Tesla Coil. The Tesla Coil is a transformer that allows electricity to alternate its voltage, this
was an essential part of Tesla’s development of the alternating current (AC) electrical system. In 1884, the
electric alternator was invented by Tesla. Tesla’s electric alternator was the first motor that generated an
alternating current. All these led up to the big event, the War of the currents.

The War of the currents was a series of important events that made it go down in the history books. The main
individuals in the War of the currents were Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. Edison developed direct current,
while Tesla developed alternating current. The direct current was the main electrical system in America for
many years, but it had an issue. The direct current was not easily able to convert the voltages to go higher or
lower. Tesla believed that the alternating current held the solution to the direct current’s problem. In 1888, the
first polyphase alternating current electrical system was demonstrated by Tesla. Edison noticed Tesla’s
advancements and took drastic measures. Edison tried to discredit the alternating current as much as he
could, he spread lies that the alternating current was extremely dangerous. He electrocuted stray animals
using alternating current, and prompted executions using alternating current, via electric chair, to show to the
eyes of the public that the alternating current is indeed dangerous, but it was all for naught. In 1893, General
Electric, which used Edison’s direct current, got outbid by George Westinghouse, who powered the Chicago
World’s Fair using Tesla’s alternating current.
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The War of the currents was a great and historic moment in the history of technology. It was a truly wonderful
time, humanity made huge advancements in the field of electricity, and technology in general. Through the War
of the currents, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and many others clashed heads and made each other better. In
the end there was one electrical system that stood at the top, the alternating current (AC) electrical system.
During that the War of the currents, many things were invented and discovered. Without such an event, we do
not know if humanity would be at the same technological level as it is now. This is a nature of us humans, we
battle, none willing to lose, the only thing to do is do better, and get better. It is amazing how competition can
bring people to new heights that may have never been possible otherwise.
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War of the currents

I. What was the War of the currents?
A. The War of the currents was a competition between inventors.
1. A competition to see who could make the best electrical system.
B. The main factor in deciding which electrical system was the best was efficiency.
1. The more efficient an electrical system, the less costly it was.
II. Who were the main individuals during the War of the currents?
A. Thomas Edison was an American inventor.
1. Edison invented things that were the foundation for the devices we use today.
a. He invented the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and he developed the early
versions of the electric light bulb.
2. Edison established an industrial research lab in Menlo Park Laboratory.
3. In 1880, Edison founded the Edison Illuminating Company.
4. Edison established the first investor-owned electric utility in 1882.
a. He used direct current (DC) for this electric utility.
B. Nikola Tesla was a Serbian American inventor, electrical and mechanical engineer, and futurist.
1. He is well known for his bright ideas and his contributions to the development of the
alternating current (AC) electric system.
2. Tesla had an eidetic memory.
a. It allowed him to remember everything he saw after only seeing it once.
3. In the initial stages of his career, Tesla worked in the Continental Edison Company.
a. There, he learned information about engineering and physics, mostly about electricity.
4. Tesla left the Company, and began working on his own projects like an arc lighting system.
a. Robert Lane and Benjamin Vail sponsored the Tesla Electric Light & Manufacturing.
III. What were the main electric systems during the War of the currents?
A. Direct current (DC) is a type of current that has a one-directional flow of electric charge.
1. Direct current (DC) is characterized by having a non-changing amperage, the non-changing
direction of energy flow, and its constant flow of electrons.
2. Though it did lose in the War of the currents, the direct current still has its uses today.
a. Direct current (DC) can be used when charging batteries.
B. Alternating current (AC) is a type of current where the flow of energy and amperage, alternates.
1. The alternating current is good because it saves energy when it is otherwise not needed.
2. A common use for alternating current is for lightbulbs.
a. A lightbulb that uses alternating current (AC) flashes 120 times in a singular second.
IV. Many events led up to the War of the currents.
A. In 1870, Thomas Edison built the first generator to be powered by direct current (DC).
B. In 1880, Siemens Company developed alternating current (AC) systems.
C. In England, 1881, a waterwheel generated the first electric supply for public use.
D. In 1882, the Pearl Street Power Station was opened by Thomas Edison.
E. In 1883, Tesla entered the scene by inventing the Tesla Coil.
1. The Tesla Coil is a transformer that allows electricity to alternate its voltage.
F. In 1884, the electric alternator was invented by Tesla.
V. The War of the currents was a series of important events that made it go down in the history books.
A. The direct current was the main electrical system in America for many years, but it had an issue.
1. The direct current was not easily able to convert the voltages to go higher or lower.
B. Tesla believed that the alternating current held the solution to the direct current’s problem.
C. In 1888, the first polyphase alternating current electrical system was demonstrated by Tesla.
D. Edison noticed Tesla’s advancements and took drastic measures.
1. He spread rumors that the alternating current was extremely dangerous.
2. He electrocuted stray animals using alternating current.
3. He prompted executions using alternating current, via electric chair.
E. In 1893, General Electric, which used Edison’s direct current, got outbid by George
Westinghouse, who powered the Chicago World’s Fair using Tesla’s alternating current.
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