Title - A.C. Versus D.C. - The Battle of Emerging Technologies
Date and Time - Tuesday, October 20, 12:00 Noon to 1 pm
Speaker - Robert Swayne, PE
Details - The 2019 movie “The Current War” is based on events surrounding the introduction of competing Alternating Current and Direct Current power systems in the late 1800s. Let’s dig into the history and technical aspects of these two systems and see what drove the competition of these emerging technologies.
This presentation will cover a brief history of electricity discoveries focusing on times of Edison, Tesla, and Westinghouse and their inventive contributions to society. We will review Edison’s D.C. system’s fundamental limitations and why A.C. became the obvious technological winner. Once A.C. was established, long distance power distribution developed along with motor technology, both accelerating the industrial revolution.
A.C. and D.C. systems will be discussed along with their applications. Single-phase, two-phase and three-phase motor and generator types will also be discussed and demonstrated. Yes, two-phase. Philadelphia holds a distinction as one of very few cities still using two-phase distribution. Join us for this lookback when the incandescent lamp was considered high tech.