War of the Currents

Author

Ray Doraisamy
January 23, 2025

On July 30 1888, Harold P. Brown killed a dog with 300 volts of alternating current.

He was demonstrating to a crowd that AC was far more dangerous than direct current.

  • AC: Higher voltage, longer range (more than 1 mile), lower copper costs

  • DC: 110v, less than 1 mile

Thomas Edison, who wanted his DC to prevail against George Westinghouse’s AC system despite AC’s efficiency advantages, supported Brown.

With transformers, AC was relatively safe. But imagine the show!