Who did Edison Con?

You might think nobody. But that would depend a lot on who you talked with. Thomas Alva Edison as everyone knows was one of the few truly great geniuses of our times – or anyone’s time for that matter.

One immediately thinks of the light bulb as Edison’s invention. Actually it wasn’t. In England a gentleman named Joseph Swan had invented a light bulb that was in use in homes and public areas years before Edison developed his. As a matter of fact when it came to patents, Swan sued Edison and in order to avoid a prolonged legal battle Edison had to take him in as a partner in Ediswan the English version of General Electric. (Edison’s ultimate American enterprise)

During the two decades beginning in 1880 a number of lawsuits were brought against the various “inventors” of the electric light. These were called “the Edison Trials” because all involved Edison either as complainant or defendant. Settlements in the form of compromise-corporations were the rule.

At all events, when Edison was starting his electric distribution business his generators produced direct current. Edison felt that this was the best and safest form of electricity. Accordingly, all of the new Edison Company’s systems in New York City and elsewhere provided only direct current service.

The DC vs. AC Wars

At about the same time a Serbian immigrant, Nikola Tesla, another genius, was experimenting with generating electricity that alternated at a set number of cycles per second – called, logically, alternating current. His work formed the basis of today’s alternating current (AC) including the polyphase power distribution systems and electric metering.

Tesla had worked for Edison for a short time and was unjustly accused by Edison of stealing proprietary information. This was proven false. However, Edison became as famous for his lawsuits as he did for his inventions. Many lawsuits were based on the fact that some of Edison’s patents covered work done by others. He made a practice of buying the rights of others thereby making them his own.

AC Wins
As it turned out DC can only be economically delivered to consumers a few miles from the power plant. AC, on the other hand, can be delivered for hundreds of miles with little power loss (called “line losses”)

The Lorson Electric Company specialized in the conversion of major office buildings in New York City from DC to AC in the decade following World War II. The advent and major growth of air-conditioning occurred at this time as well and added to the major load growth not only in New York but nation-wide.

The Edison Company had become Consolidated Edison Company of New York (“Con Ed”) through the merger of New York Edison, Brooklyn Edison, Staten Island Edison, Queens Power and Light and Westchester Lighting Company. Con Ed continued to provide DC on an ever decreasing scale until ending the service in 2007.

It has been said that like his friend Henry Ford, Edison was able to maximize his profits by use of mass-production techniques and purchasing of varied property rights. Edison died rich and famous.

Tesla died broke and lonely. His genius did not include financial perspicacity and despite his arrangements with George Westinghouse and J. P. Morgan his super-eccentric personality caused his eventual ostracization by the public as a mad scientist.

AC/DC

As we now know, both Edison and Tesla were right in their own fields. Clearly AC is the energy for the delivery of power at considerable distances. However, Edison might enjoy the irony that the world of Electronics is powered by DC: Computers, telecommunications as well as automobiles and office building loads for elevators, fans and pumps. Oh, and subway systems continue to operate on DC.