Trystan Casey
The discovery and development of electricity was not the work of a single person, but rather the result of many researchers' work over time. Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison are two of the greatest inventors in history, and their rivalry in the late 19th century helped shape the future of electricity. Tesla, a Serbian-American engineer, is known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system, while Edison, an American inventor, is credited with illuminating an incandescent lightbulb with energy in 1879.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Who invented electricity? | Neither Edison nor Tesla invented electricity. |
| Who discovered electricity? | Neither Edison nor Tesla discovered electricity. |
| Who invented the lightbulb? | Edison is credited with perfecting and patenting the lightbulb in 1879, but neither Edison nor Tesla invented it. |
| Who invented alternating current? | Nikola Tesla is credited with developing the first system allowing efficient distribution of alternating current. |
| Who invented direct current? | Thomas Edison is known for his advocacy of direct current. |
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What You'll Learn
Neither invented electricity
While Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison are two of the greatest inventors in history, neither of them invented electricity. Electricity is a set of physical phenomena and was, therefore, discovered rather than invented. The use of electricity as we know it today is the result of years of research and development.
The discovery of electricity is attributed to Thomas Edison in 1879 as he managed to illuminate an incandescent light bulb with energy. However, Edison did not discover electricity but built on the work of earlier researchers such as Alessandro Volta, who developed the voltaic pile in 1800.
Nikola Tesla is credited with the development of the first system that allowed the efficient distribution of alternating current. He also invented the first alternating current induction motor. However, both transformers and alternating current generators were already known and built before Tesla, by inventors such as Michael Faraday and Joseph Henry in the 1830s.
Thomas Edison advocated for direct current, which was a more expensive and inefficient system due to the dissipation of energy in the form of heat. Edison and Tesla were rivals when it came to their electricity delivery systems, with Edison even campaigning to discredit Tesla's alternating current, labelling it as dangerous.
Overall, while Tesla and Edison made significant contributions to the development and distribution of electricity, they did not invent electricity itself.
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Tesla invented AC induction motor
Nikola Tesla, a Serbian-American engineer, inventor, and futurist, is known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. He was born in 1856 and first studied engineering and physics in the 1870s without receiving a degree. He gained practical experience in the early 1880s working in telephony and at Continental Edison in the new electric power industry.
In 1884, Tesla immigrated to the United States and worked briefly at the Edison Machine Works in New York City before branching out on his own. With the help of partners, he set up laboratories and companies in New York to develop electrical and mechanical devices. One of his most notable inventions was the AC induction motor, which he developed in 1887. This motor ran on alternating current (AC), a power system format that was rapidly gaining traction in Europe and the United States due to its advantages in long-distance, high-voltage transmission.
The AC induction motor consisted of three main parts: a rotor, a stator, and coils. This system converted electrical energy into mechanical energy through electromagnetic induction, offering a more efficient, cost-effective, and reliable solution compared to existing direct current motors. Tesla's AC motor was groundbreaking, and he signed the first contract for its commercial use in Strasbourg in 1883.
In 1888, Tesla demonstrated his induction motor, and Westinghouse Electric licensed the patent, marking a significant moment in the competition between electric companies. Westinghouse recognised the advantages of Tesla's invention and bought the rights to use the AC system, leading to the famous “war of currents” propaganda campaign between Westinghouse, Edison, and Thomson-Houston Electric Company.
Tesla's AC induction motor played a pivotal role in the development of modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply systems, and his innovations in this field earned him a considerable amount of money and recognition.
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Edison perfected and patented the lightbulb
While neither Thomas Edison nor Nikola Tesla invented or meaningfully improved the lightbulb, Edison is credited with patenting the first commercially successful bulb.
Edison was born in Ohio in 1847 and received most of his education at home. He set up a laboratory in his family's basement and spent most of his time experimenting. In 1879, he and his team of researchers tested more than 3,000 designs for bulbs between 1878 and 1880. They executed approximately 1,200 experiments, testing hundreds of materials before hitting upon the winning design. It turned out that baking a piece of coiled cotton thread until it was carbonised was the winning filament. The filament was housed in a glass vacuum bulb, which was illuminated when voltage was applied. The bulb cost $40,000 (approximately $850,000 in today's money) and burned for slightly more than half a day.
Edison filed a patent for an electric lamp with a carbon filament in November 1879. The patent listed several materials that might be used for the filament, including cotton, linen, and wood. He spent the next year finding the perfect filament, testing more than 6,000 plants to determine which material would burn the longest. Several months later, Edison and his team discovered that a carbonised bamboo filament could burn for more than 1,200 hours. Bamboo was used for the filaments in Edison's bulbs until it was replaced by longer-lasting materials in the early 1900s.
Edison's work with light bulbs was a spark of brilliance on the timeline of invention. He improved many other existing devices, including the microphone, telephone receiver, universal stock ticker, and phonograph. He also patented the Edison effect (now called the thermionic diode), which is the basis for all electron tubes.
Tesla, on the other hand, is known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. He worked in the new electric power industry and set up laboratories and companies in New York to develop a range of electrical and mechanical devices. His AC induction motor and related polyphase AC patents earned him a considerable amount of money and became the cornerstone of the AC electricity system that is still used today.
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Edison discredited Tesla's AC
Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison were both pioneers of electrical engineering, but they had very different approaches to their work. Tesla had an incredible memory and could build working prototypes with few preliminary drawings, while Edison was more of a "sketcher and a tinkerer". Edison held 1,093 patents, while Tesla garnered fewer than 300 worldwide.
Edison dismissed Tesla's idea of an alternating-current (AC) system of electric power transmission as "impractical", promoting his simpler but less efficient direct-current (DC) system. Edison's DC system maintained a lower voltage from the power station to the consumer and was therefore, in his view, safer. However, AC technology, which allows the flow of energy to periodically change direction, is more practical for transmitting large quantities of energy over long distances.
The conflict between the two systems and their proponents became known as the "War of Currents". Tesla insisted that he could increase the efficiency of Edison's prototypical dynamos, and Edison eventually allowed him to try. According to Tesla, Edison promised him $50,000 if he succeeded. After Tesla worked tirelessly for several months and made significant progress, Edison claimed the offer had been a joke and refused to pay up. Tesla quit and spent months doing odd jobs in New York City. He eventually raised enough money to found the Tesla Electric Light Company, where he developed several successful patents, including AC generators, wires, transformers, and lights.
Tesla sold most of his patents to George Westinghouse, an inventor, entrepreneur, and engineer who had been feuding with Edison for years. Westinghouse and Tesla's partnership likely made AC's eventual triumph that much more bitter for Edison. Westinghouse built a power plant at Niagara Falls to power New York City, using the same system of local power grids we use today. However, Edison's point about the dangers of AC technology was valid. Most plug-in devices must internally convert AC back to DC, and this conversion wastes a lot of energy.
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Tesla's AC was more efficient
Neither Edison nor Tesla discovered electricity. The history of electricity involves many pioneers, including Ebenezer Kinnersley, Luigi Galvani, Allessandro Volta, Hans Christian Ørsted, André-Marie Ampère, James Clark Maxwell, Humphry Davy, Michael Faraday, and Joseph Henry.
Nikola Tesla is known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. He invented AC electricity and the AC induction motor. He was a proponent of AC, which was more efficient than direct current (DC) as it had better HP output, better average efficiency, better responsiveness, and better control. AC motors also supported regen and were maintenance-free. They allowed for easy regenerative breaking, unlike DC motors, which had more moving parts and wore out more quickly.
Tesla's AC system was so efficient that Westinghouse Electric licensed his AC induction motor and related polyphase AC patents in 1888. This was during a time of extreme competition between electric companies, with the "war of currents" propaganda campaign claiming that Edison Electric's direct current system was better and safer. Despite this, Tesla's AC system proved to be more efficient and became the cornerstone of modern electricity supply.
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Frequently asked questions
Neither. Electricity was not invented, but rather discovered, as it is a set of physical phenomena. The invention of the first incandescent lightbulb is attributed to Thomas Edison in 1879, but he built on the research of Alessandro Volta, who presented the first voltaic pile in 1800.
Nikola Tesla is credited with the development of the first system allowing efficient distribution of alternating current (AC). He also invented the first AC induction motor and obtained several patents related to AC. Thomas Edison perfected and patented the lightbulb and advocated for the use of direct current (DC) for power transmission.
Yes, Tesla and Edison were rivals when it came to their electricity delivery systems. They battled to dominate with their electricity transmission methods, leading to what was known as the "War of Currents". Edison even tried to discredit Tesla's AC system as dangerous.
