Triumph of AC. 2. The battle of the currents

Abstract

This is the second part of a two-part article on the early development of electric power systems and the competition between advocates of direct current (DC) and of alternating current (AC) for the generation, transmission, distribution, and utilization of electrical energy. The first part discussed the invention of the practical incandescent light; the development, chiefly by Thomas Edison, of low-voltage DC power systems; and the work of Nicola Tesla, William Stanley, George Westinghouse, and others in Europe and in North America that led to the advent of AC power systems. This second part of the article discusses what became known as "the battle of the currents.".