Films with such a flat and straightforward album theme are destined to be less popular in the niche, and two of them, Westinghouse and Edison Electric (later General Electric), influenced the The second scientific and technological revolution, that is, the direction of technological choice for mankind to move towards the electrical age. As an electrical graduate and practitioner, especially for those who have worked hard on the control principle of motors, the DC-AC disputes, two-phase AC generator sets, high-voltage transmission lines, etc. involved in the film are all familiar.
Edison, as a famous inventor at that time, was obsessed with the technology of DC power generation, and he was disdainful of AC power. He had amazing creativity and industrial planning ability, but he lacked mathematical knowledge and complex theoretical insight. On the contrary, George Westinghouse, the founder of Westinghouse, was an avant-garde figure compared to his contemporaries, not like Edison who did many things simply because of his personal desire, but Before designing any equipment, analyze the problem from a theoretical point of view, and only put it into practice until the results are absolutely certain.
As a competitor, Edison discredited AC technology, saying that it was lethal, and took the initiative to use animals to do AC experiments to verify the dangers of AC. He did not hesitate to accept donations to create an electric chair to frame the Westinghouse Company. In fact, as long as the current reaches a certain level, both AC and DC are dangerous. It just means that human muscles are more sensitive to the alternating current of power frequency. Edison caught the Westinghouse researcher Franklin Pope's experiment and attacked Westinghouse's AC technology, almost putting Westinghouse in bankruptcy, until someone recommended a former Edison Power employee to Westinghouse, who was dissatisfied with Edison's rejection of AC technology. Solo Serb immigrant Nicola Tesla. Tesla designed an improved alternator, introduced two-phase AC technology and high-voltage transmission technology, and proved the safety of AC transmission to the academic community through a series of public experiments.
With cost advantages and technological innovation, Westinghouse won the bidding for lighting equipment at the Chicago Columbus World's Fair in 1893, and AC technology has been affirmed by the industry. After that, the Niagara Falls Hydropower Station bid, and the merged General Electric had to compromise to make an AC plan. In the end, the 5000-horsepower, 2.2KV, two-phase four-wire 25HZ generator designed by Westinghouse won the bid. 's strokes began to freehand. Even today, more than a hundred years later, it is still running stably and has become a textbook design in the history of generator construction.
As an idealistic and legendary person, Tesla could have been rich and wealthy in his life, but he was obsessed with his innovative experimental design of wireless power transmission, and suffered repeated lawsuits in his later years. He was never married, was destitute, and behaved erratically in his later years, becoming the prototype of some sci-fi works "Mad Scientist".
Edison did not stand still because he missed this "battle". He recorded a voice for human beings and named it phonograph. The song "Mary Had a Little Sheep" was the first voice he left for human beings; in addition, he also With the introduction of imaging technology, today's film technology has already entered the digital age, but "drinking water without forgetting the well digger", it is these advanced and genius creations that make the world move forward.
The battle for electricity was an epoch-making rivalry between several talented scientists and engineers in the 1880s. It was a gamble of the times, and despite all the tricks behind it, it's not for today's people. For example, when we fly freely in the ocean of the Internet, when we look up at the bright stars in the night sky under the street lamps, when we realize that this world has been driven by the creativity of these great geniuses, we should be grateful. Yes, we are also lucky, and we believe that future explorers will continue to take this world to the future just like their predecessors.
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