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The Underappreciated Nikola Tesla, and Other Under-Recognized Historic Figures

Khalid Elhassan January 12, 2020 32 min

Nikola Tesla - A New System of Alternating Current Motors and Transformers — Nikola Tesla. Pintrest

37. Paying Edison Back

Nikola Tesla explaining the virtues of alternating current. How Stuff Works

Direct current (DC) is crappy when compared to alternating current (AC), because DC is weaker and can only be transported short distances. However, Thomas Edison had already invested millions in DC, and he was not about to let the upstart AC flush that investment down the drain if he could help it.

Unfortunately for Edison, the former employee whom he had screwed over and in whose face he had laughed, ended up playing a key role in flushing that DC investment away. Nikola Tesla, working for AC advocate George Westinghouse, basically designed the modern AC electricity supply system that ensured its easy delivery and use. In so doing, Tesla ensured the defeat of Thomas Edison and his DC plan in what came to be known as “The War of the Currents“.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.