Physics of The Current War: Edison, Westinghouse & Tesla (AC vs. DC)
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Date: 2022-12-27
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Comments and reviews: 20
George
Hello Kathy thanks so much for all this information I never took physics when I went to high school in the 60s. I wasn't able to get to that point pass geometry since I have a learning disability. I got to say learn so much from your video. we'll have to play it a few times to learn something more with each view. volume explaining all this history my mind wanders of how people related with each other with these new inventions it's fascinating the early years of electricity. I can't believe Kathy you only have less than 9, 000 viewers it should be mandatory for everybody to understand the history of electricit and you're perfect person to help us to absorb all fantastic history
I learned a lot and your connections to all the other scientists before Edison and Tesla is fantastic. you strung historical information systematically like beads one after the other which was easy to understand the connections starting from Feherty up till before the 1900s with the current Wars. which was why I started looking for reviews of this movie which isn't getting much media coverage what do you think? made very interesting. repeat myself but I like when you went back to these experiments. When you started with Feherty around 1850 creating electromagnetic waves you think coils and magnets. sorry my battery on my smartphone is going on down to 4% I'm going to lose power pretty soon but. So I'll keep viewing the other videos I'm interested in your views on Nikolai Tesla and he's other experiments besides alternating generators. I'll keep listening and turning on other friends who are interested in this history you're fantastic thank you so much
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Hello Kathy thanks so much for all this information I never took physics when I went to high school in the 60s. I wasn't able to get to that point pass geometry since I have a learning disability. I got to say learn so much from your video. we'll have to play it a few times to learn something more with each view. volume explaining all this history my mind wanders of how people related with each other with these new inventions it's fascinating the early years of electricity. I can't believe Kathy you only have less than 9, 000 viewers it should be mandatory for everybody to understand the history of electricit and you're perfect person to help us to absorb all fantastic history
I learned a lot and your connections to all the other scientists before Edison and Tesla is fantastic. you strung historical information systematically like beads one after the other which was easy to understand the connections starting from Feherty up till before the 1900s with the current Wars. which was why I started looking for reviews of this movie which isn't getting much media coverage what do you think? made very interesting. repeat myself but I like when you went back to these experiments. When you started with Feherty around 1850 creating electromagnetic waves you think coils and magnets. sorry my battery on my smartphone is going on down to 4% I'm going to lose power pretty soon but. So I'll keep viewing the other videos I'm interested in your views on Nikolai Tesla and he's other experiments besides alternating generators. I'll keep listening and turning on other friends who are interested in this history you're fantastic thank you so much
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James
I will say this upfront: I am from Pittsburgh, PA The STEEL CITY, And, Carnegie and Frick were viewed as evil bastards in our home. However, the names of Henry Heinz AND George Westinghouse were REVERED. It was O. K, if you had an appliance that was, say. a Maytag or a Kenmore. But NOT G. E! (even though G. E. had NOTHING to do with Edison at that point, LOL. It was just NOT something one DID. It was like using Hunt's ketchup! (or drinking Pepsi in Atlanta). To my mother NO ONE in Pittsburgh EVER bought a G. E. appliance! (SOME here did, but THOSE people were disloyal. probably Communists) It was Westinghouse or something else not but not G. E! My Mum died in 1989. I have a G. E. refrigerator. May George have mercy on my soul! I know my mum won't. LOL.
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I will say this upfront: I am from Pittsburgh, PA The STEEL CITY, And, Carnegie and Frick were viewed as evil bastards in our home. However, the names of Henry Heinz AND George Westinghouse were REVERED. It was O. K, if you had an appliance that was, say. a Maytag or a Kenmore. But NOT G. E! (even though G. E. had NOTHING to do with Edison at that point, LOL. It was just NOT something one DID. It was like using Hunt's ketchup! (or drinking Pepsi in Atlanta). To my mother NO ONE in Pittsburgh EVER bought a G. E. appliance! (SOME here did, but THOSE people were disloyal. probably Communists) It was Westinghouse or something else not but not G. E! My Mum died in 1989. I have a G. E. refrigerator. May George have mercy on my soul! I know my mum won't. LOL.
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Martin
in the 50s there was a war between Big band and Rock n Roll
in the 70s there was a war between Rock n roll and ACDC. ACDC won with Hard Rock
in the 80s there was a war between Heavy Metal and Glam Metal, Heavy Metal won
in the 70s there was also another war called THE BROWSER WARS, on one side we had Netscape navigator on the other side Internet Explorer, after all the blood was shed and threats issued, Microsoft Internet Explorer won
there was also a war on computers between Pear, Wang, Commodore, Apple, Microsoft, Apple won at least initially, then Microsoft took the crown back
but at the end of the day ACDC STILL RULES
FUN FACT, NIKOLA TESLA WAS SO AHEAD OF HIS TIME THAT HE USED TO LISTEN TO ACDC WHILE WORKING ON AC LOL
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in the 50s there was a war between Big band and Rock n Roll
in the 70s there was a war between Rock n roll and ACDC. ACDC won with Hard Rock
in the 80s there was a war between Heavy Metal and Glam Metal, Heavy Metal won
in the 70s there was also another war called THE BROWSER WARS, on one side we had Netscape navigator on the other side Internet Explorer, after all the blood was shed and threats issued, Microsoft Internet Explorer won
there was also a war on computers between Pear, Wang, Commodore, Apple, Microsoft, Apple won at least initially, then Microsoft took the crown back
but at the end of the day ACDC STILL RULES
FUN FACT, NIKOLA TESLA WAS SO AHEAD OF HIS TIME THAT HE USED TO LISTEN TO ACDC WHILE WORKING ON AC LOL
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MichaelJGrant
Actually, Edison was right, AC is more hazardous to life than DC at the voltage although I doubt he ever remotely knew why. Direct or steady state current causes to heart muscle to contract for as long as it is applied, As long as the curent is only momentary. and stops before too much tissue death occurs, the heart's natural pacemaker will restart normal rhythm. AC on the other hand will cause the heart to randomly spasm ineffectively pumping any blood until death occurs. Defibrilaators use high voltage DC. Electric chairs use high voltage AC. The sensitivity of the heart to AC depends on the frequency of the current. By some great cosmic coincidene, the human heart is most sensitive to, 60 hertz.
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Actually, Edison was right, AC is more hazardous to life than DC at the voltage although I doubt he ever remotely knew why. Direct or steady state current causes to heart muscle to contract for as long as it is applied, As long as the curent is only momentary. and stops before too much tissue death occurs, the heart's natural pacemaker will restart normal rhythm. AC on the other hand will cause the heart to randomly spasm ineffectively pumping any blood until death occurs. Defibrilaators use high voltage DC. Electric chairs use high voltage AC. The sensitivity of the heart to AC depends on the frequency of the current. By some great cosmic coincidene, the human heart is most sensitive to, 60 hertz.
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Jonathan
Love, love, love your videos! One comment relevant to the DC vs. AC battle; this wasn't just a conflict of physics, but of business models. Edison's empire was predicated on selling the components necessary for generating electricity at small, local scales; he envisioned getting rich by selling thousands of equipment units. Westinghouse foresaw something else: centralized electrical generation that would be produced and distributed at large scales; he would get rich by selling the electricity. I don't really believe that Edison believed that one kind of current was more dangerous than the other, but he did understand that large-scale AC transmission would tank his business.
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Love, love, love your videos! One comment relevant to the DC vs. AC battle; this wasn't just a conflict of physics, but of business models. Edison's empire was predicated on selling the components necessary for generating electricity at small, local scales; he envisioned getting rich by selling thousands of equipment units. Westinghouse foresaw something else: centralized electrical generation that would be produced and distributed at large scales; he would get rich by selling the electricity. I don't really believe that Edison believed that one kind of current was more dangerous than the other, but he did understand that large-scale AC transmission would tank his business.
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John
I do not know if you have a video on the challenge of AC vs DC on the Niagara Falls power plant. JP Morgan and his money did dirty tricks to Westinghouse who won the contract. JP told Westinghouse that he would claim he was the inventor of AC and by the time that Westinghouse proved this was correct in court that he would be bankrupt. Westinghouse sold the rights of AC to JP. JP once again proved that money always wins. JP had GE and the rights to AC.
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I do not know if you have a video on the challenge of AC vs DC on the Niagara Falls power plant. JP Morgan and his money did dirty tricks to Westinghouse who won the contract. JP told Westinghouse that he would claim he was the inventor of AC and by the time that Westinghouse proved this was correct in court that he would be bankrupt. Westinghouse sold the rights of AC to JP. JP once again proved that money always wins. JP had GE and the rights to AC.
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Richard
Edison would have won his point if he had drawn attention to the hazards the lineman endured. Nearly HALF of them were KILLED on the job!
I was shocked when I learned about this high voltage DC line running though Saugus, CA. I was working nearby and this guy who worked there told me about them. They carry 500, 000 volts DC power!
It turns out that for very long lines that DC is more economical and has less loss due to induction.
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Edison would have won his point if he had drawn attention to the hazards the lineman endured. Nearly HALF of them were KILLED on the job!
I was shocked when I learned about this high voltage DC line running though Saugus, CA. I was working nearby and this guy who worked there told me about them. They carry 500, 000 volts DC power!
It turns out that for very long lines that DC is more economical and has less loss due to induction.
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scharkalvin
No AC current motors? Not true. A DC motor that has field coils (instead of permanent magnets in the field) with a commutator will happily run on AC OR DC current. In fact, these are the most common general purpose fractional horsepower motors in use today. Only when you get into multi-horsepower motors (or synchronous motors) do you start to see AC induction type motors with starting capacitors.
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No AC current motors? Not true. A DC motor that has field coils (instead of permanent magnets in the field) with a commutator will happily run on AC OR DC current. In fact, these are the most common general purpose fractional horsepower motors in use today. Only when you get into multi-horsepower motors (or synchronous motors) do you start to see AC induction type motors with starting capacitors.
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cdstoc
It's amazing how often a visionary founder of a company is fired from that company by the powers that be, usually the bankers. Edison fired from Edison General Electric, Henry Ford (who once worked for Edison) from the Henry Ford Company (which then became Cadillac, and Steve Jobs from Apple Computer, just to name three. All three of them also bounced back and became successful again in new endeavors.
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It's amazing how often a visionary founder of a company is fired from that company by the powers that be, usually the bankers. Edison fired from Edison General Electric, Henry Ford (who once worked for Edison) from the Henry Ford Company (which then became Cadillac, and Steve Jobs from Apple Computer, just to name three. All three of them also bounced back and became successful again in new endeavors.
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CosmicYoke
2: 55 THEYRE indeed deceptively simple while also being mysterious, we tend to associate the B-Field with changes in voltage however in a toroidal core there is practially no external B-Fields yet we'd still get a change in voltage on a secondary winding! Thus we must investigate the aptly named A-Field, also known as the Magnetic Vector Potential by Maxwell or the Electrotonic State by Faraday.
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2: 55 THEYRE indeed deceptively simple while also being mysterious, we tend to associate the B-Field with changes in voltage however in a toroidal core there is practially no external B-Fields yet we'd still get a change in voltage on a secondary winding! Thus we must investigate the aptly named A-Field, also known as the Magnetic Vector Potential by Maxwell or the Electrotonic State by Faraday.
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Rabblewitz
I thought J. P. Morgan was a bigger player in the current war than indicated here (granted, he had nothing to do with the Physics, backing Edison early on with the attitude that if you are going to run a business, make sure you have a monopoly. He also tried to ruin Westinghouse, until it became clear that AC was going to win. and that's when he discarded Edison.
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I thought J. P. Morgan was a bigger player in the current war than indicated here (granted, he had nothing to do with the Physics, backing Edison early on with the attitude that if you are going to run a business, make sure you have a monopoly. He also tried to ruin Westinghouse, until it became clear that AC was going to win. and that's when he discarded Edison.
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Fro
Very good, Kathy. I take it you studied this topic well?
I've always admired George Westinghouse at every level. He was a good man all around. And Thomas Edison should not have belittled himself. He still got more credit for electricity than Westinghouse, Tesla, even Franklin (though he discovered it, but didn't do anything with it that I know of anyways)
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Very good, Kathy. I take it you studied this topic well?
I've always admired George Westinghouse at every level. He was a good man all around. And Thomas Edison should not have belittled himself. He still got more credit for electricity than Westinghouse, Tesla, even Franklin (though he discovered it, but didn't do anything with it that I know of anyways)
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Sonya
First I enjoyed the presentation. Second the war has not ended: Examples of DC electronics include:
Cell phones.
The LilyPad-based D&D Dice Gauntlet.
Flat-screen TVs (AC goes into the TV, which is converted to DC)
Flashlights.
Hybrid and electric vehicles. So it is still going on, but using the strengths of each type of current.
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First I enjoyed the presentation. Second the war has not ended: Examples of DC electronics include:
Cell phones.
The LilyPad-based D&D Dice Gauntlet.
Flat-screen TVs (AC goes into the TV, which is converted to DC)
Flashlights.
Hybrid and electric vehicles. So it is still going on, but using the strengths of each type of current.
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education
This was a particularly helpful episode for me, as it helped me to out some of these major player names in better context. Thanks Kathy. But a question: If light can be bent with a magnet. can other RF nrg (or possibly even magnetism) be bent/refocused with a lens? Trying to think outside the box. :-)
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This was a particularly helpful episode for me, as it helped me to out some of these major player names in better context. Thanks Kathy. But a question: If light can be bent with a magnet. can other RF nrg (or possibly even magnetism) be bent/refocused with a lens? Trying to think outside the box. :-)
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Martin
Hi Kathy, Great video
MAY I MAKE A SUGGESTION
Please consider including the following background Music
ACDC - Hells Bells
ACDC - Night Prowler
ACDC - Who made Who
ACDC - Thunderstruck
ACDC - Flick of the Switch
and of course
ACDC - High Voltage
My pick would be Hells Bells
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Hi Kathy, Great video
MAY I MAKE A SUGGESTION
Please consider including the following background Music
ACDC - Hells Bells
ACDC - Night Prowler
ACDC - Who made Who
ACDC - Thunderstruck
ACDC - Flick of the Switch
and of course
ACDC - High Voltage
My pick would be Hells Bells
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Shawn
Every time I revisit this piece of history I have to go through that Harold Brown trauma and then somehow I block it out, only to have my disgust reignited. Still it's a story worth knowing. Just imagine what they could have accomplished if they could have united their efforts. Thanks
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Every time I revisit this piece of history I have to go through that Harold Brown trauma and then somehow I block it out, only to have my disgust reignited. Still it's a story worth knowing. Just imagine what they could have accomplished if they could have united their efforts. Thanks
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NO
given a closer look at the circuit at 8: 00 is so wrong it would not work, if the magnetic coil could energize by means of the sliding contact would make such a short that would blow up the Amp meter and no osculation after the first closure of the switch down the drawing
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given a closer look at the circuit at 8: 00 is so wrong it would not work, if the magnetic coil could energize by means of the sliding contact would make such a short that would blow up the Amp meter and no osculation after the first closure of the switch down the drawing
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Susil
At the beginning Tesla & Galileo Ferraris use 2-phase motors & generators & 3-Phase system initiated by Dolivo Dobrovolsky & he perfected with his 4 wire Star/ Delta method over the Tesla's later involvement of the same.
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At the beginning Tesla & Galileo Ferraris use 2-phase motors & generators & 3-Phase system initiated by Dolivo Dobrovolsky & he perfected with his 4 wire Star/ Delta method over the Tesla's later involvement of the same.
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David
Thank you for your clever detective work. You have helped me to have a more sober view of Tesla after having been mislead by some other accounts of his work which contained as it now appears some partial truths.
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Thank you for your clever detective work. You have helped me to have a more sober view of Tesla after having been mislead by some other accounts of his work which contained as it now appears some partial truths.
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Stephen
Great episode. I grew up knowing the basic battle between Edison and Westinghouse over AC but you just introduced me to the movie I had not known about and just went out and watched! Thanks so much!
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Great episode. I grew up knowing the basic battle between Edison and Westinghouse over AC but you just introduced me to the movie I had not known about and just went out and watched! Thanks so much!
reply
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