Summary
Highlights
Thomas Edison, a famed inventor, develops the first practical and long-lasting light bulb using a carbonized filament in 1879. Realizing that the light bulb alone isn't enough, Edison sets out to create an entire electrical system, including power plants and wiring, to deliver direct current (DC) to homes and businesses. His Pearl Street Station in Manhattan becomes the world's first power plant. However, his DC system can only efficiently transmit power within a half-mile radius, limiting its widespread adoption.
In a university in Austria, Nikola Tesla, an ambitious physics student, formulates a radical idea for generating electricity using alternating current (AC). Tesla envisions AC as a stronger and more efficient way to deliver electrical power, capable of traveling much farther than DC. Despite the initial skepticism and the fact that an AC motor has never been successfully developed, Tesla believes his vision is the future of electricity.
Tesla arrives in America and begins working for Thomas Edison, initially proving his skills by fixing a problematic generator. He shares his idea for alternating current with Edison, who dismisses it and issues a challenge: improve his DC generators for a $50,000 bonus. After Tesla successfully triples the output of Edison's generators, Edison reneges on the bonus, claiming it was a joke. Disillusioned, Tesla leaves Edison's company, determined to prove the superiority of AC.
After a period of unemployment, Tesla secures investors for his AC system after demonstrating his innovative AC motor. His presentation, famously using a spinning egg to illustrate a rotating magnetic field, convinces financiers of AC's potential. Tesla's AC motor is revolutionary, creating power with almost no friction and proving that AC can not only light homes but also power machines, making it a game-changer for industrial applications.
George Westinghouse, a wealthy entrepreneur, recognizes the potential of Tesla's AC motor and buys the rights to Tesla's patents for a significant sum. Together, they aim to build a power system that rivals Edison's. A key challenge is the high voltage of AC needed for long-distance transmission, which is deadly. Tesla addresses this by utilizing the newly developed transformer, which can step down high voltage AC to safer levels for residential use, making AC both efficient and safe.
Despite the clear advantages of AC, Edison remains stubbornly committed to DC, having invested heavily in it. He launches a fierce smear campaign against AC, conducting public demonstrations involving the electrocution of animals to portray AC as dangerous and deadly. The culmination of this campaign is Edison's advice to New York State to use AC for the first electric chair, leading to a gruesome first execution that Edison hopes will solidify public fear of AC, branding it the 'death current'.
The ultimate showdown of the current wars takes place over the contract to harness the immense power of Niagara Falls. Edison's board, recognizing the limitations of DC and the potential of AC, forms General Electric and sidelines Edison. Tesla, representing Westinghouse, successfully pitches his AC system to the Niagara Commission, demonstrating its capability to transmit power over vast distances. The contract goes to Westinghouse. However, the legal battles with Edison and licensing fees drive Westinghouse Electric to the brink of bankruptcy. To save his vision for AC power and Westinghouse, Tesla selflessly waives his licensing fees, sacrificing his personal fortune.
Tesla's personal life unravels, and he dies penniless and alone in 1943, suffering from mental illness. Edison, despite accumulating over 1,000 patents, considers losing the current wars to Tesla his most bitter defeat. Edison's ego and attachment to his myth prevented him from adapting. Ultimately, Tesla's alternating current proves victorious, becoming the standard for electricity transmission. Today, 99.99% of electricity in the US is generated and distributed using AC, confirming Tesla's vision as the true winner of the AC vs. DC battle.