Title: AC/DC – The Savage Tale of the First Standards War
Author: Tom McNichol
Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2006 (First)
ISBN: 9780787982676
Pages: 198
Civilization
as we know it now, would collapse within a few days if electricity is to vanish
from the face of the earth on a fine morning. Global communication would be
immediately cut off and lack of convenient energy would make the issue a
life-threatening one. Electricity comes in two varieties – the type we receive
from the distribution lines stretched to our homes and offices and the other
kind supplied by batteries and used by electronic devices such as the mobile
phone and handheld devices. The first is called ‘alternating current’ or AC
which reverses current flow 50 or 60 times a second depending on the country of
your domicile. The second variety is called ‘direct current’ or DC which flows
in the same direction at all times. The supply companies generate, transmit
over long distances and distribute only alternating current (AC) while direct
current (DC) is often derived from AC through electronic means. It surprises us
now to learn that a savage clash of industrial interests took place between the
supporters of AC and DC in the last decade of the nineteenth century when both technologies
were making baby steps. Both sides invested money and prestige on the duel in
which AC backed by George Westinghouse made a decisive victory while DC
supported by Thomas Edison bit the dust. This book tells the gruesome story of
the battle and the horrifying tactics used by the DC side. Tom McNichol is a
contributing editor for ‘Wired’ magazine. His articles have appeared in leading
newspapers and journals in the US.
The
book begins with a general introduction on mankind’s exposure to the electric
effect in the form of static electricity and lightning. Early studies on the
effect of electricity on animal muscles are also mentioned. When we reach the
nineteenth century, the industrial scenario was ripe for an industrial solution
to the growing need for energy for productive work. Edison stepped in to fill
the gap. He was a real genius, though little schooled, who had become a
full-time inventor in 1869. He had 38 patents to his credit in 1872 and at the
peak of his career, a staggering count of 1093 patents stood to his name.
Edison’s inventions sometimes were far ahead of its time. His first invention
was an electric vote recorder for legislative assembly, which understandably
didn’t sell well. The second invention was an improved stock market ticker
which won him $40,000. The author makes a shrewd analysis of Edison in terms of
his potential and contributions. Edison was at the right place at the right
time with the right mind. He came into adulthood at the dawn of the Industrial
Age. Had he been born 20 years earlier, he would have found few opportunities
as an inventor; had he come along 20 years later, he might have ended up a
frustrated researcher at one of the large industrial corporations.
Edison
pioneered direct current, even though his interest was kindled in it in order
to provide power to the incandescent lamps he was developing and planning to
install countrywide. He experimented with various voltages, or electrical
pressures. Too much voltage would quickly overheat and rupture the element; too
low a voltage and there will not be enough light. He finally settled on 110
volts as a standard, which is still with us today. All of North America and a
handful of other countries still operate on 110 or 120 V electrical system.
Edison set up a central generating station working on DC which provided power
to customers within a mile’s radius of the station. DC was not amenable to
extension of the line as the losses on the cable mounted with distance. This
required more generating stations evenly distributed around the city. But urban
land was of prime value which increased the capital cost. Being of a reasonably
low voltage, the distribution lines had to be thick, requiring more copper and
still more cash.
McNichol
then sets the stage for the oncoming battle. Edison’s only competition was in
Europe, where the electricity market was cutting a different path. In 1882,
Lucien Gaulard and John Gibbs patented the AC system for distributing electricity.
In the US, George Westinghouse turned his sights to the new technology. AC
transmission was largely unproven, but it had some interesting qualities.
Articles in American trade journals were regularly hostile to AC, dismissing it
as an unnecessary and unworkable alternative. Critics contended that in
stepping up voltages to several thousands of volts to transmit power, much of
the energy would be lost in the form of heat. But this was not so. Higher
voltages meant lower current to be transmitted and it could be sent over longer
distances. Conductor sizes also reduced. One central station could serve more
customers in a wider geographical area. Just at that time, Westinghouse met
Nikola Tesla whose concept of the AC induction motor provided a simple, rugged
and lower cost solution to industrial drives.
And
then, the standards war broke out. Edison’s side claimed that DC was safe and
AC was a safety hazard that can electrocute the public. Harold Brown, an Edison
accomplice and self-styled electrical engineer (the first one in history!)
recommended that AC voltage is to be limited to 300V to avoid the danger it posed.
This required heavier copper, effectively pricing AC out of the market. Brown
then conducted a horrifying series of experiments to convince the public about
the safety risks of AC. He performed electrocution tests on dogs, calves and
horses and tabulated the results. These are reproduced in the book which gives
a chill down the spine. Before he was finished, Brown experimented on 44 dogs
at the Edison Lab, torturing them all but a handful. But the public was not
convinced, who knew that DC also was equally dangerous. The commercial
advantages of AC ensured its eventual victory. Edison was not in the habit of
losing, and the idea of defeat in such a large enterprise as electricity only
stoked his competitive nature.
Within four years of the standards war, DC lost. Edison’s
company had purchased AC patents in 1886 as a hedge. Edison could have shifted some
of his company’s resources to the AC standard and quickly made up lost ground on
Westinghouse. But he stubbornly refused to budge – the AC patents purchased by the
company were allowed to lapse. The investors then edged Edison out of the company.
In 1892, Edison’s General Electric and Thomson-Houston combined to form the General
Electric Company, which became a legend in the history of AC and electrical engineering.
DC was still used in the 1900s for battery-run cars. But the invention of the automobile
electric starter in 1912 eliminated the need for the hand crank of internal combustion
engine, making petrol-powered cars as easy as to start electric cars. The discovery
of Texas crude oil dramatically reduced the price of fuel, making it affordable
for the average working man. Electric cars then faded out of the picture.
The book
then looks at the modern setting where DC has made a decent and impressive comeback.
The development of electronic devices ensured the continuation of DC. The new LED
lighting also relies on DC. AC’s advantage was in high voltage transmission but
DC is fast catching up with it after the invention of high voltage valves. The HVDC
system has other advantages such as stability as well in interconnecting two AC
grids asynchronously. The author then concludes that like in the standards war,
all victories are provisional, all defeats subject to revision. Advances in technology,
changes in the market place, in the way people live and what they value can overturn
even the most entrenched technical standard. The book is easy to read even for a
lay person.
The book
is highly recommended.
Rating: 3 Star
