AC/DC: The Savage Tale of the First Standards War
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A little more than 100 years ago, two titans of industry faced off in one of the most vicious battles the marketplace had ever seen. On one side, Thomas Edison, inventor extraordinaire, the creator of the phonograph and the electric light; on the other, George Westinghouse, tycoon and titan, backing the mysterious eastern European inventor Nikola Tesla. They fought over the very nature of the electrical system in America: would it be built on alternating current (as Westinghouse proposed), or direct currentà la Edison– Though a battle over electrical standards sounds dry, this tale is anything but. McNichol′s solid if brief survey of this relatively unknown moment in the history of technology ranges from macabre electrocutions of hapless animals (and eventually prison inmates) as demonstrations of the "Death Current" to the gleaming "electrical wonderland" of the 1893 World′s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. Though the author focuses on when it′s wise to fight a standards battle and when to give in, some might wish that he had another 200 pages in which to flesh out the story. His book tantalizingly scratches the surface of Edison′s ingenuity and force of will, Westinghouse′s shrewd business sense, and most of all the sheer eccentricity of Nikola Tesla.(Sept.) (Publishers Weekly, July 17, 2006)
Review
"You′ll never look at your wall socket the same again."
—Evan Ratliff, coauthor, Safe: The Race to Protect Ourselves in a Newly Dangerous World
—Evan Ratliff, coauthor, Safe: The Race to Protect Ourselves in a Newly Dangerous World
"From the twisted copper wires of electricity′s early years McNichol spins a story buzzing with genius and fraud, ambition and infamy, hilarity and humiliation. It′s a joy to read: a comic operetta of American industrial history, full of great men, small minds and an alarming number of dead dogs."
—Craig Stoltz, health editor, Washington Post
"Few writers explain technology as well as Tom McNichol. No one′s as good at finding the humor in it."
—Jeffrey O′Brien, senior editor, Wired magazine
"A fascinating history of the battle that decided what comes through the wires when we flick a switch. A great story of how far people will go to prove they′re ′right′ – and make a buck."
—J. J. Yore, executive producer, public radio′s Marketplace
"A tale of astonishing genius and greed, a perfect reflection of the competing forces that built corporate America. McNichol offers us a ringside seat at the birth of a superpower, and it′s a bloody, messy, and altogether fascinating spectacle."
—Brooke Gladstone, cohost, NPR′s On the Media
Inside This Book
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When I was growing up in the early fifties, I lived in a world where some of our friends and family still relied on paraffin lamps and town gas to light their homes. Most of us take electricity for granted, and hopefully all share a healthy respect for the danger of "the mains." As an electrical engineer by profession, I had to read this book to find out for myself how and why this battle was fought, and why it was won. I'm glad I did. It's a fascinating insight into the mind and stubbornness of Edison, and his lack of a wider vision. Well researched and easy to read, I recommend it to all who share an interest in our technical past.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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13 reviews
45 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Too short, omits most technical stuff
8 Oct 2006
Format:Hardcover
AC/DC, subtitled The Savage Tale of the First Standards War, is a quick read that does a pretty good job telling the PR and human side of the AC/DC story, but skimps badly on technical issues related to the AC/DC battle. This book is less than half the length of the much better book on the same topic, Empires of Light --- Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World, by Jill Jonnes (2003).
McNichols has two chapters on the bizarre electrocutions of animals and prisoners with details of every voltage used and electrode placement. But on a key technical point, getting Tesla's induction motor to actually work outside the laboratory, McNichols says next to nothing. The fact is that even though Westinghouse had bought the patent rights to Tesla's AC induction motor, Tesla's AC motor would not run on Westinghouse's early AC power. In the lab Tesla was running his motor on a polyphase AC generator that he had designed. McNichol says (page 83), "Tesla moved to Pittsburgh ... adapting the Tesla motor to the Westinghouse system". McNichols has got it backwards.
Tesla in Pittsburgh probably did teach Westinghouse's engineers about his AC induction motor, but the important point historically and relevant to today is that Tesla worked to get Westinghouse to redesign his power plants and distribution systems so that the AC induction motor would start and run well. This required lowering the AC frequency from 133 hz to 60 hz and changing from single phase to three phase power. The latter meaning the distribution wiring had to change, going from two wires to three wires.
The reason that Tesla's induction motor needed three phase AC is that it worked by establishing a smoothly rotating magnetic field that dragged the shorted rotor around with it. You can't do this with single phase AC power. The frequency change (133 hz to 60 hz) was because an induction motor is essentially controlled by the frequency of AC power and 133 hz caused the motor to run too fast and (very likely) not start well.
On the most important technical issue in the AC/DC battle, how far power could be sent, McNichols makes no attempt to explain how AC can be sent further than DC. The key is the way transformers work. While AC does not flow as easily in wire as DC due to inductance, this disadvantage is more than overcome by the fact that effective length of the wiring can be reduced by the square of the voltage increase. For example, distributing AC at 3,000 V vs 100V for DC makes the wire length look shorter by a factor of 30 squared, which is 900! This is a huge advantage for AC.
McNichols has two chapters on the bizarre electrocutions of animals and prisoners with details of every voltage used and electrode placement. But on a key technical point, getting Tesla's induction motor to actually work outside the laboratory, McNichols says next to nothing. The fact is that even though Westinghouse had bought the patent rights to Tesla's AC induction motor, Tesla's AC motor would not run on Westinghouse's early AC power. In the lab Tesla was running his motor on a polyphase AC generator that he had designed. McNichol says (page 83), "Tesla moved to Pittsburgh ... adapting the Tesla motor to the Westinghouse system". McNichols has got it backwards.
Tesla in Pittsburgh probably did teach Westinghouse's engineers about his AC induction motor, but the important point historically and relevant to today is that Tesla worked to get Westinghouse to redesign his power plants and distribution systems so that the AC induction motor would start and run well. This required lowering the AC frequency from 133 hz to 60 hz and changing from single phase to three phase power. The latter meaning the distribution wiring had to change, going from two wires to three wires.
The reason that Tesla's induction motor needed three phase AC is that it worked by establishing a smoothly rotating magnetic field that dragged the shorted rotor around with it. You can't do this with single phase AC power. The frequency change (133 hz to 60 hz) was because an induction motor is essentially controlled by the frequency of AC power and 133 hz caused the motor to run too fast and (very likely) not start well.
On the most important technical issue in the AC/DC battle, how far power could be sent, McNichols makes no attempt to explain how AC can be sent further than DC. The key is the way transformers work. While AC does not flow as easily in wire as DC due to inductance, this disadvantage is more than overcome by the fact that effective length of the wiring can be reduced by the square of the voltage increase. For example, distributing AC at 3,000 V vs 100V for DC makes the wire length look shorter by a factor of 30 squared, which is 900! This is a huge advantage for AC.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
AC/DC informs easily about early electricity experimenters and experiments
5 Jan 2007
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
McNichols does an excellent job from explaining in clear terms about electricity, to the relevant background of the two main experimenters and producers -- exponents of either Alternating AC or Direct DC current, the competitors Edison and Westinghouse -- and finally to the modern equivalent of their wars. McNichol introduces the whole subject with his own personal dangerous episodes with both currents. Then the book has a fascinating section explaining the element, just like recent books on ice and salt. The one very difficult and long part to read is the animal experiments done electrocuting dogs and horses, to prove falsely that AC was more dangerous than DC. But the characters of Edison, whose stubbornness doomed him with only DC, and the savvy of Westinghouse to adopt AC, are vivid. Intriguing to learn that Telluride, Colorado was one of the first places where they experimented with the feasibility of AC in the mountains. And it is interesting to see the modern equivalent wars with formats for taping, starting with the early Beta vs. VHS.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
History of an important chapter of science
11 July 2008
Format:Hardcover
This very short book provides a simple chronological history of the development and spread of electricity in the US from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Three characters are focused on; Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla. The amount of science and engineering is kept to a minimum with only the most superficial explanation of technical terms and inventions. Instead, the book focuses on the individual rivalries and relationships that dominated the electrical industry at the turn of the 20th century. The story makes for fun reading, and the author adds a little commentary to each chapter. The book could have been vastly improved by the inclusion of several dozen photos and diagrams. Many key technical concepts and inventions could have been better presented with photos and diagrams included. I consider this an appropriate book for someone interested in learning a little of the Industrial Revolution, and its affects on society.
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