The Current War
31/07/19 Filed in: Cinema
As an electrical engineer by training I of course had to see this film. Reviews have not been good, probably because the film needs to convey the technical issues that underpin the so called current war, principal among them the choice of DC (direct current) or AC (alternating current) to supply electricity.
Electrical networks were quickly developed after Thomas Edison successfully demonstrated an incandescent light bulb with a service life that made its use commercially viable. But Edison was an advocate of DC, a technically simpler system but with one major disadvantage. By using DC it was not possible to supply customers at any significant distance, thus limiting Edison to high-density city areas, and even then numerous generation stations were needed. With AC, on the other hand, it is possible to transform the voltage and thus use a higher voltage system to transmit the power. Without wanting to get too technical, the simple fact is that the higher the voltage, the lower the current required to transmit a given amount of power. And the lower the current, the further it can flow without appreciable loss of voltage. And equally important, smaller wires can be used at much lower cost.
Edison was, therefore, backing the wrong horse from the outset, but stubbornly refused to concede the point. Meanwhile, George Westinghouse, famed for the invention of the air-braking system on the railways, and heavily invested in gas distribution, became alert to the potential of electric lighting. The film tracks the development of this battle between these two men to light up America. We see Edison as totally absorbed in his inventions, with a workshop and employees helping to progress his ideas. As a husband he is shown to have been less successful. Westinghouse on the other hand is portrayed as more normal, although still a businessman looking to maximise his interests. His early attempt to work with Edison is rebuffed and what follows is a war characterised by hostility from Edison and somewhat more gracious behaviour by Westinghouse. Interested in European AC systems, Westinghouse experimented with AC generation and transformers, deciding that AC was the way forward.
The war becomes dirty when Edison tries to use fear to undermine the use if AC, arguing that it was intrinsically more dangerous and that people will die as a result of the Westinghouse system. Although not explained in the film, this presumably alludes to the higher voltages used with AC to transmit the power that would, of course, be reduced to supply individual customers. When Westinghouse's engineer and close friend Franklin L. Pope is killed while working on their system this adds force to Edison's argument. Edison's clandestine involvement with the development of the electric chair, after he demonstrated how the Westinghouse System could kill animals, was a particularly underhand act that ultimately backfired.
We are also introduced to Nikola Tesla, an eccentric genius. Edison employs him, but in what was probably a grave error, manages to drive Tesla to resignation. Although this is framed within the disagreement over DC or AC, historical facts don't confirm this. Subsequently hired by Westinghouse, and again with a reasonable amount of airbrushing of the actual events, Westinghouse is seen offering Tesla $2.50 per AC horsepower for his AC motor design. While that figure is historically corroborated, evidence is slight that these two men were so close, but it enhances the drama.
Anybody with the slightest knowledge of electricity supply will know, of course, that AC won the war. But in this film we have the origins of the battle, and the passion of those early engineers who shaped so much of our future. Edison is now famous for other inventions and while he may have lost the current war, he has been described as America's greatest inventor.
Despite the efforts of a very good cast, it is probably impossible to convey the passions around this subject at a time when we take for granted the availability of reliable electricity in almost every home. We're left, therefore, relying on the characters to instil this passion into audiences who in many cases will perhaps be unappreciative of how important these historical events were. And we have critics complaining that too much of the script was devoted to explaining what each man was trying to achieve. I think that equates to a no-win situation. But I enjoyed it.
We are also introduced to Nikola Tesla, an eccentric genius. Edison employs him, but in what was probably a grave error, manages to drive Tesla to resignation. Although this is framed within the disagreement over DC or AC, historical facts don't confirm this. Subsequently hired by Westinghouse, and again with a reasonable amount of airbrushing of the actual events, Westinghouse is seen offering Tesla $2.50 per AC horsepower for his AC motor design. While that figure is historically corroborated, evidence is slight that these two men were so close, but it enhances the drama.
Anybody with the slightest knowledge of electricity supply will know, of course, that AC won the war. But in this film we have the origins of the battle, and the passion of those early engineers who shaped so much of our future. Edison is now famous for other inventions and while he may have lost the current war, he has been described as America's greatest inventor.
Despite the efforts of a very good cast, it is probably impossible to convey the passions around this subject at a time when we take for granted the availability of reliable electricity in almost every home. We're left, therefore, relying on the characters to instil this passion into audiences who in many cases will perhaps be unappreciative of how important these historical events were. And we have critics complaining that too much of the script was devoted to explaining what each man was trying to achieve. I think that equates to a no-win situation. But I enjoyed it.