Not-So-Epic Battles of History: Nikola Tesla vs. Thomas Edison
By Aastha Shreeharsh
There are many colorful characters, discoveries, and inventions in the annals of scientific history; yet, not much has sparked as much debate and controversy as the infamous rivalry between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison. Ranging from episodes in the popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory, the witty illustrations in the comic The Oatmeal, and YouTube videos from channels such as “Epic Rap Battles of History”, the Tesla vs. Edison narrative has become a persistent fixture in popular culture. As reflected in such media, Tesla is hailed by many as the unrecognized genius of the duo, the protégé that surpassed his mentor, Edison. Meanwhile, Edison, who was once hailed by his contemporaries, the media and even our history textbooks as one of the greatest inventors of all time, is now considered a hack by many. Unfortunately for avid Tesla fans (and fortunately for fans of Edison), reality seems to be more nuanced than this trumped-up rivalry.
In 1884, the Serbian physicist Nikola Tesla, aged 28, arrived in New York City and took up employment with Edison [1]. Nine years his elder, Edison had already established himself as a success with his invention of a new kind of telegraph, and established the Edison Illuminating Company which furthered his own work in electric light. Tesla, in his recently acquired position, assisted Edison in installing equipment, repairing generators, and designing new machines. Edison’s work relied on the principles of direct current (d.c.), which was the national standard at that time, and Edison was profiting off many patents (Footnote 1) for his electric lighting system that utilized d.c. [1, 2]. However, Tesla saw promise in utilizing alternating current (a.c.), so a year later, he quitted working for Edison and set up his own electric company – one that utilized a.c. – thus setting the scene for the Tesla vs. Edison narrative.
Current is the flow of “electricity,” or more accurately, the flow of charged particles like electrons and positive ions. As the name suggests, d.c. flows in one direction while a.c. alternates its direction back and forth in a single second. So, why did Edison and Tesla prefer using different systems of current?
For electricity to be transmitted over long distances in a city, the major challenge is to overcome power loss. To minimize power loss, which can be represented by the formula P = I2R (where P, I and R denote power loss, current and resistance of the cable respectively), electric energy should be converted to a high-voltage, low-current form before transmission. While d.c. was widely used in the US at the time, it was challenging to convert low-power plant voltages into higher voltages, necessitating many small power plants near users. Tesla's a.c. system resolved this challenge by harnessing the nature of a.c.; a.c. voltage can be easily stepped up and down by a transformer through electromagnetic induction, due to the alternating input current and the induced change in magnetic field. The high efficiency of transmission enables consumers to utilize electricity from power plants miles away [1]. As the party with vested interest, Edison seemed to have motive for waging a smear campaign, play dirty and discredit poor Tesla’s ideas, just as the prevailing narrative suggests.
The infamous “current wars” did take place; however, the rivalry between Tesla and Edison was not nearly as personal and epic as people would like to believe. First and foremost, these “current wars” took place after Tesla’s patents were acquired by George Westinghouse [1]. Thus, it was Westinghouse who promoted the a.c. system against Edison, not so much Tesla. Secondly, both Edison and Westinghouse did attempt to discredit each other’s system and promote their own, but Edison lost within a matter of a few years. In 1893, Westinghouse secured the World's Fair electrification bid [1]. By 1896, General Electric, a leading company co-founded by Edison, switched from d.c. to a.c., paving the way for a.c. as the dominant system in the US [1]. Concurrently, Tesla was swiftly moving onto new inventions [1]. Essentially, the “current wars” were almost entirely a commercial dispute.
Then, how did the “Tesla good, Edison bad” narrative prevail? This may be related to Edison’s shock tactics to discredit Tesla’s ideas. To justify the argument that a.c. is more dangerous than d.c., Edison’s West Orange Laboratory has conducted research on electrocution [3, 4], in which various “unwanted” animals like dogs, calves, and a horse were killed [4]. In 1903, despite having essentially lost the a.c. vs. d.c. battle in the US, Edison was associated with the public display of the electrocution of the elephant, Topsy [1, 3, 4], who was sentenced to death after the circus elephant had killed a man and been proved unmanageable (but actually Topsy was physically abused before attacking people in those episodes [3, 4]). As a failing attempt at relevance (both a.c. and d.c. can be dangerous!) and distressing act of animal cruelty, this incident probably does not paint Edison in the best light by today’s standards, although Edison’s supporters would argue that Edison’s research provided a more humane way for Topsy’s execution comparing to hanging, and that Edison might not be personally involved in this incident [3, 4].
The working style of Edison and Tesla varies, too. Famous for his expertise in patenting ideas and dealing with the press, Edison was a businessman through and through. He was also considered a pure empiricist who achieved breakthroughs through endless trials and experiments, while Tesla might favor a different approach as a theorist [5]. We should add that Tesla was not as terrible a businessman as modern-day geeks make him out to be. Being not as commercially minded as Edison, he conceived utopian ideas, such as wireless transmission, with a long-term vision of what technology can do [1].
In today’s capitalistic culture, the Silicon Valley ideals of ingenuity, efficiency, and novel ideas are what make the world go round. Intellectuals proudly wearing the badge of “nerd” in shows like The Big Bang Theory, bemoaning comparisons to Edison and rejoicing in those to Tesla, are reflective of a shift in modern values. However, let us recognize both scientists’ contributions that have and will impact the past, present and future of science. In many cases, truth is not as dramatic as people want to believe. The reality of the Tesla vs. Edison showdown reminds us that fame is fleeting and so is our recollection of history – which is why, it is all the more important that we do not hastily idolize or demonize historic figures. After all, they were human too.
1 Patent: A legal document that grants the inventor of a new invention the exclusive right to make, use, and sell that invention for a certain period of time, usually 20 years from the date of filing the application. Throughout Edison’s life, he acquired an astonishing number of 1,093 patents [2].
References
[1] Edwards, P. (2015, Jul 21). Tesla vs. Edison — and what the never-ending battle says about us. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2015/7/21/8951761/tesla-edison
[2] Library of Congress. (n.d.). Life of Thomas Alva Edison. https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/articles-and-essays/biography/life-of-thomas-alva-edison/#:~:text=In%20his%2084%20years%2C%20he,his%20inventions%20to%20the%20public.
[3] School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. (n.d.). Myth Buster-Topsy the Elephant. https://edison.rutgers.edu/life-of-edison/essaying-edison/essay/myth-buster-topsy-the-elephant
[4] Eschner, K. (2017, January 4). Topsy the Elephant Was a Victim of Her Captors, Not Thomas Edison. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/topsy-elephant-was-victim-her-captors-not-really-thomas-edison-180961611/
[5] Tesla Says Edison Was An Empiricist. (1931, October 19). The New York Times. https://teslauniverse.com/nikola-tesla/articles/tesla-says-edison-was-empiricist