Nikola Tesla Research Paper

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In the late 1800s two paths collided. Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla were both very interested in the application of electricity to modern life. Their stories illustrate the fusion of enlightenment and the battle over whose ideas regarding the use of electricity would take hold during the American industrial revolution
Thomas Edison:
Thomas Edison was born on February 11th 1847 in Milon, Ohio (Warren, 2012). Edison possessed a creative and inventive mind beginning in childhood and flourishing throughout his life. Moreover, he was a great business man; often he employed his skills to modify and improve other’s ideas instead of inventing new ones. Throughout the course of his life he was granted over one-thousand patents. His inventions included: …show more content…

A series of batteries would power strings of lightbulbs by direct current (DC) and replace the old oil lamps in use everywhere. Once the famous banker, J.P. Morgan, got word of Edison’s invention he sensed its value and wanted to be a part in it. The venture began when Morgan had Edison wire his home, the first in Manhattan. The big news spread throughout New York City and direct current lighting became popular very quickly. Soon direct current powered many homes and businesses in New York City (Cabana, 2012).
Nikola Tesla:
Nikola Tesla was born on July 10th 1856 in modern day Croatia (Warren, 2010). At a young age Tesla was obsessed with electricity. In an early childhood experiment he generated

THE WAR OF CURRENTS
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electricity by rubbing two cats together. Throughout his lifetime he obtained seven hundred patents. These included: spark plugs, radar, wireless communication, remote control, radio, and robots. June 6th 1884, his family immigrated to America (Warren, 2010). He was hired by
Thomas Edison to be an apprentice in his emerging electric light company, Edison and Co. He redesigned the direct current generator that powered Edison’s business. Working along …show more content…

The pressure grew for Edison to undermine the competition at all costs. Morgan and Edison launched their own campaign against Tesla and Westinghouse; AC would be demonstrated to cause sure death. They created an electric chair powered by AC. Many animals died from electrocution in front of many audiences. In one demonstration they electrocuted an elephant. These overzealous tactics backfired on Edison and Morgan and public opinion leaned towards Tesla and Westinghouse. (Cabana, 2012).
Tesla and Westinghouse continued to get many opportunities to promote alternating current in a public setting. They received a contract to light the 1887 world fair in Chicago; it was a dazzling sight that opened the imagination of human eyes to alternating current electricity.
They were awarded the contract to generate power from Niagara Falls, a famous tourist destination. As Morgan saw Edison and Company failing, he decided to transition to alternating current. He purchased the stock in Edison’s company and General Electric was born. This highly successful cooperation seized control of the electricity market once and for all and continues to be a major world force today (Cabana, 2012).

THE WAR OF CURRENTS

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