I I
1 WILLIAM J. HAUSMAN A N D JOHN L. NEUFELD
Battle of the Systems
Revisited: The Role of
Lopper
ltemating current emerged victorious
over direct current in a battle of the
systems that occurred in the early days
of the electric utility industry. Historians have
attributed that victory to certain technological
and economic advantages inherent in the alter-
nating current system. But analysis of data from
1897-1898, midway through the transition from
direct to alternating current domination, indi-
cates that the economic advantages of the alter-
nating current system have not been completely
understood. In particular, alternating current
provided little or no capital cost saving due to
the conservation of copper implied by high-volt-
age transmission.
Backgroundto the Battle
Between 1887 and 1892 an intense technical
and commercial battle occurred in the young
electric utility industry. On one side stood the
popular and successful inventor, Thomas
Edison, and the business interests committed to
his direct current generation and transmission
technology. On the other side were the Westin-
ghouse and Thomson-Houston electric interests,
proponents of the upstart, alternating current
system. The battle of the systems (or battle of
the currents) is an episode well known to his-
torians of technology and to historians of the
electric utility industry [ 11. The victory of alter-
nating current eventually was decisive, and in
W.J. Hausman is with the Department of
Economics at the College of William and Mary,
Williamsburg, VA 23187. J. L. Neufeld is with the
Department of Economics at the University of
North Carolina at Greensboro.
0278-0097/92/S03.00019921EEE
retrospect it may seem to have been inevitable.
Yet there remain some unanswered questions,
and at least one misconception, regarding the
economic advantages that propelled the alternat-
ing current system to victory.
Edisons direct current system was well
suited to supplying electricity for lights and
motors in densely populated urban areas, where
it was first placed in service. Louis A. Ferguson,
a contemporary engineer associated with the
Chicago Edison Company, described the
development of the direct current system in
larger cities as follows:
...it has been customary in the development
of the lighting and power business of a large city,
to erect the original central station in the heart of
the business district, laying an Edison under-
ground net work in that section and supplying it
by feeders from the station. With the successful
lighting of the business district a demand is
created for the electric light in the residence
portion of the city, and to supply this the same
method is followed as has been employed in the
down town district. Another steam plant must be
erected at a central point and the territory
covered in the same way until three, four and
sometimes five steam stations are generating and
supplying electricity to the several portions of
the city; in some cases, each supplying its own
respective district, and in others, all stations
delivering energy into one general net work of
conductors, covering the whole territory [2].
The major problem with this system was an
inability to transmit electricity (at a reasonable
cost) over distances more than a mile or so from
the central station [3]. Alternating current solved
this problem with high-voltage transmission,
made possible by the invention of an effective
IEEETechnoIogyand Society Magazine, Fall 1992
___
1898 @ O F F 1912_ _1917
_ _ ~- 19221
CLI:
~ ~

Electric Light and PEwxr Stations 0.51 0 61 0.821 0 91 , 0.95 ~ ,

Electric Light and ?ower Stations - 0 . 4 4 0 6 8 084 092
plus Electric Railways I p I ___

alternating current transformer, which allowed cluding particular types of stationary motors,
voltage to be stepped up and stepped down easily street railways, and series arc lighting. Many of
[4]. The first full-fledged, commercial AC light- the original Edison companies, while recogniz-
ing system was installed by the Westinghouse ing the advantages of AC transmission,
Electric Company in Buffalo, New York, in remained committed to DC distribution. As late
1886. Three technical developments in 1887- as 1899 John W. Lieb of the New York Edison
1888 considerably enhanced the attractiveness Company refused to concede defeat at the hands
of the AC system: the invention of an AC of alternating current:
polyphase motor allowed the system to expand ...I think the people who have been the
beyond lighting; the invention of the rotary con- champions of the alternating current side of the
verter allowed alternating current to be con- argument have but little basis for taking the
verted into direct current for end use; and the position that their side of the controversy is
development of an effective meter allowed the achieving a triumph. It is remarkable, and almost
measurement of alternating current, an essential inexplicable, that it has taken the alternating
element in the pricing and billing process. current in its distributing features, certainly, all
Edisons dominant commercial position was this time to bring forward certain advantages
seriously threatened by these events, and he which certainly should have accrued by a careful
embarked on a vigorous campaign to convince
the public of his systems superiority. A key
component of the campaign was a claim that
because of the increased voltage the alternating
current system was inherently unsafe [ 5 ] .In the
end Edison was unsuccessful in stopping the
adoption of AC systems, and he effectively
withdrew from the electric power business by
1890. Even his name was removed from the
company he founded when Edison General
Electric merged with Thomson-Houston in 1892
to form the General Electric Company [6]. The
selection of an AC system for the Chicago
Worlds Fair in 1893 and for the huge
hydroelectric installation at Niagara Falls the
same year confirmed the ascendancy of AC.
After 1893 the production and marketing efforts
of both General Electric and Westinghouse were
primarily devoted to AC electrical generation
and transmission.
In spite of these developments, the use of
direct current did not disappear overnight. As
Thomas P. Hughes noted, it ended without the Thomas Edison pushed for direct current generation
and transmission in the intense technical and commer-
dramatic vanquishing of one system by the cial battle known as the battleof the systems, which
other, or a revolutionary transition from one occurred in the young electric utility industry between
~

paradigm to another [7]. Direct current

remained well-suited for certain end uses, in-
1887 and 1892. The alternating current system even-
tuully w o n a decisive victory.
-
IEEETethnology and Society Magazine, Foll1992
I I
i R O L E OF COPPER
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~ ~ ~ ~ - ~
Table II
Characteristics of Electric Utilities in 1898 Grouped by Alternating Currents Share of Total
Generating Capacity - Means (Standard Deviations)
~~
% Generating Capacity , Number of G % o f x T o t a l Generating
which was AC Utilities Total Capacity- kW
~ years
~~ ~ _ , Utilities
_ ~,
100%
_-______ _
153 16.1 I
_
137(484)
70-99% 180 301 (1016)
30-69% ~
1-%% -
0% -
All Firms
application of rational methods of distribution
years ago 181.
Table I shows the transition from DC to AC
generation in central stations. In 1890 alternat-
ing current generators constituted around 10%
of total generating capacity. By 1898 AC
generating capacity had reached parity with DC
in electric light and power stations, and by 1922
AC constituted 98% of total generating capacity
in central stations. The persistence of the DC
traction load in the early years of the twentieth
century delayed somewhat the complete
dominance of alternating current, but by 1922
this too ceased to be an important factor. In terms
of end-use capacity, however, Paul David has
pointed out that DC persisted somewhat longer.
Its share remained around 25% of the total as late
as 1917 191.
Alternating current eventually became the
standard current for generation, transmission,
and end use, presumably because the AC system
embodied certain technical and economic ad-
vantages over the DC system. Some of these
advantages may have been realized at critical
periods during the battle of the systems and
possibly gave the AC system the technological
momentum that propelled it to dominance
[IO]. Several potential economic advantages
have been identified in the historical literature
on the subject. One clear advantage of AC was
that since it could be transmitted over longer
distances, a large central station could replace
the more numerous, smaller stations of a DC
system. Larger generating plants tended to have
lower costs per kilowatt of capacity and
economical transmission enabled them to be lo-
cated on the outskirts of town, where land prices
were much lower than the central city sites used
by DC plants.
A number of historians have hypothesized
that a major economic advantage of AC systems
was that high-voltage transmission significantly
reduced expenditures on copper [ 11I. Harold C.
Passer argued that the reason Edison could not
afford to ignore the commercial potential of the
Westinghouse AC system was that the Edison
I
_ _ _ _ -~- p -~ ---
- - _
~ _
- ~
_____--
-
1
Age of Utility - Average Dynamo
Capacity - kW
_ -__
_ - ~ ~ ~~~
~
5.8 (3.1)
_
I 62 (65) _ ~ ,
50 (33)
d.c. distribution system required a heavy copper
investment [ 121. According to Paul David, the
beauty of the thing was that transformers could
be used essentially without loss of power to
substitute voltage for amperage in order to
reduce the need for the high conductivity. heavy
gauge copper-wire transmission lines that were
associated with d.c. lighting systems (thereby
saving greatly on fixed capital costs) ... 1131.
The amount of copper needed for DC transmis-
sion and its economic importance was also em-
phasized by Terry S. Reynolds and Theodore
Bernstein: The higher voltage of ac meant that,
for agiven amount of power, much smaller wires
could be used in the transmission circuits. This
was crucial as copper costs represented a major
portion of the capital needs for establishing a
central power station 1141. Reynolds and
Bernstein particularly emphasized an incident in
the winter of 1887- 1888 in which a French syn-
dicate attempted to corner the market in copper,
thus nearly doubling its price at a critical junc-
ture early in the battle [15]. Finally, Charles R.
Wright has argued that the copper required in
the transmission circuits represented a huge
chunk of the funds needed to start a power sys-
tem and that the smaller conductors of the AC
system meant a tremendous savings that al-
lowed for a bigger distribution area 1161. Al-
though this proposition seems a logical
consequence of the tradeoff between copper and
voltage given by 12R transmission losses, its
acceptance requires empirical verification. We
present here the first test of this proposition using
data collected in 1897-1898.
The industry in 1898
From the earliest days of its existence the
electric utility industry was politically contro-
versial. Once the benefits of electric lighting had
been demonstrated, the citizens of virtually
every city and town sought electric service, if
only to light a few streets. Edison and his com-
petitors did not respond in all cases: many
localities took matters into their own hands by
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, Fall 1992
 -
Table 111
Usage of Copper by Utilities in 1898 Grouped by Alternating Currents Share of 1
Total Generating Capacity - Means- (Standard Deviations)
~- ~-

Yoof Generating Capacity

which was AC of Mains 81 Feeders
100% 547 (356)-
~ ~
I

_ _ 70% - 99% 597 (495)

,
30% - 69% I
t -
602(383_) 1
t-
5 2 (5.4)
1Yo - 29% ~- - I 979(754) , 5 9 (6.4
~
0Yo 771 (650)
I

- - All Firms (n=944) ~ 657(517) . ,

Note The mean amount of comer used bv all

of $5896 (20 806).
~ -.A

establishing municipal electric utilities. In 1896
the United States Commissioner of Labor was
asked to study the issue of municipal versus
private ownership of public utilities. The results
of the investigation (conducted in 1897-1898)
were published as the Commissioners report for
1899 [ 171. The report contained detailed infor-
mation on the technical and economic charac-
teristics of 952 electric utilities, about a quarter
of the total number in existence and representing
approximately half of the total capital invested
in electric light and power plants in the United
States at the time. These data provide a fascinat-
ing view of the industry midway through the
transition from DC to AC generation.
The report identifies three basic types of gen-
erators in use at the time: direct current constant
voltage, direct current constant amperage, and
alternating current [ 181. The number and total
capacity of each of the three types of generators
are included in the report. We calculated the
proportion of AC generating capacity of each
electric utility by dividing AC generating
capacity by total generating capacity of all types
and placed each electric utility into one of five
categories based on this proportion. Table I1
7
shows the number and proportion of utilities in
each category and includes additional informa-
tion on total generating capacity, age of utility,
and average generator size. In 1898, five years
after the conclusion of the battle of the sys-
tems, barely 16% of the electric utilities con-
tained in the report were committed entirely to
alternating current generation (100% AC), while
nearly a quarter of the utilities remained entirely
committed to direct current generation (0%AC).
A relatively small number of utilities (6.4% of
the total) had between 1% and 29% AC genera-
tion. These utilities, however, appear to be of
particular interest. They were on average sub-
stantially larger and older than utilities in the
other categories, indicating that they probably
were located in the larger cities and towns of the
United States and most likely included a sub-
stantial portion of the original Edison stations.
In light of the technical ability of AC systems
to take better advantage than DC of large-scale
generation, we would have expected the utilities
heavily committed to AC to use larger gener-
ators on average. The firms relying entirely on
AC were the smallest (in terms of total generat-
ing capacity) and youngest of those included in
I

Table IV
Investment Categories as Share of Total Investment by Utilities in 1898 Grouped
by Alternating Currents Share of Total Generating Capacity
- Means (Standard Deviations)

Buildings I
I
Yo Generating Capacity Land Prime Generators Distribution
I which was AC __ Movers
100%
70% - 99%
30% - 69%
1 4 (4)
4 (4)
4(4)
9 (5)
9 (6)
23(10)
23(10)
22 (8)

! 22 (10)
24(9)
25 (10) I
41 (13)
39 (13)
38 (13)
1Yo - 29% 5(4) 10(6) 20 (8) 25 (9) 1 40(12)
0% 4(4) 10(8) , 23(9) 24 (9) 38 (13)

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, Fall 1992

1 R O L E OF COPPER
the report. The firms with no AC generators were proportion varies only slightly by commitment
also among the smaller ones in the report. Com- to AC generation. Dramatic savings on capital
paring just these two groups, the expected costs due to copper conservation does not appear
relationship holds: utilities with a total commit- to have been a major factor in the advantage of
ment to AC had generators that were on average AC over DC.
about 80% larger than firms that remained total- Examination of Table V offers additional in-
ly committed to DC. Yet the larger and older sight into the relationship between the copper
firms with a minority commitment to AC market and the early electric power industry.
generation ( 1-29%) had generators that were on Copper production in the U.S. expanded rapidly
average larger than firms with a total commit- during the last quarter of the nineteenth century,
ment to AC generation. These results fail to fully and although electrification may have been a
confirm the relationship expected from ACs welcome source of new demand, it was hardly
hypothesized advantage over DC in the ability the major market for copper. In 1898 there were
to take advantage of scale economies.
Table V
The Role of Copper
Since the Commissioners report includes in-
formation on the amount of copper in the trans-
mission and distribution lines, it is possible to
evaluate the assertion that AC systems resulted
in lower expenditures on copper. There were
trade-offs, of course, in the use of copper [19].
A system relatively committed to AC generation
may have purchased more copper than a system
relatively committed to DC generation because
it distributed electricity over a wider area or
located its generating plant in an outlying area
further from its major load, which in this era
would have been in the center of town. We
attempt to account for this by focusing on the
amount of copper per mile of mains and feeders.
The value of copper in the transmission system
was not reported, but was estimated by using the
unweighted mean of average annual copper
prices from 1890-1898 (which can be found in
Table V) expressed as a percent of the utilitys
total investment. These results are shown in
Table 111.
The average electric utility in 1898 had over
52 000 lbs of copper, or 657 lbs per mile, in its 0.158
transmission system. The value of this copper
was estimated to be nearly $6000 on average, but 0.131
represented a rather modest 5.6% of total invest- 1892 0.1 15 0.15
ment. What is striking is the lack of evidence that
AC systems had any substantial advantage over 1893 0.109 0.14
DC systems in their ability to economize on 1894 354 1 0.095 0.135
copper. As expected, the 100% AC systems had
an advantage of 224 lbs per mile (29%) on
average over the 100% DC systems. The larger
and older firms in the 1%-29% AC category
were at the greatest disadvantage. The figures
indicating the value of copper as a share of total
investment, however, show only slight variation
(1.5%) across all types of electric utilities, with
no difference between those utilities depending
entirely on AC and those depending entirely on
DC. Table IV contains additional information on
the components of total investment cost. Dis-
tribution costs comprised the largest single com-
ponent of total investment, but again the

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, Fall 1992 1

526 million Ibs of copper produced in the U.S.
The firms in the Commissioners report had a
total of 49 million Ibs of copper in their trans-
mission lines. If this figure is doubled to com-
pensate for firms not included in the report, the
cumulative total copper use for the entire history
of the industry (1882-1898) would amount to
less than 20% of copper production in 1898
alone. The 1887-1888 price spike can also be
seen in the data, but in light of normal price
fluctuations the incident does not seem dramatic
enough to warrant the emphasis given it by
Reynolds and Bernstein. As Edison was con-
ceiving his system in the late I 870s, copper was
selling for around 20 cents a pound. Shortly after
the opening of the Pearl Street station in Septem-
ber 1882, the price of copper dropped substan-
tially. The greater stability shown by the real
price of copper indicates that much of coppers
apparent price instability was associated with
fluctuations in the general price level. It is hard
to see how developments in the copper market
could have played an important a role in usher-
ing in the era of AC technology.
The advantage of the AC system over the DC
system was not due simply to the amount of
copper conserved in transmission, nor simply to
the larger average size of AC generators, but
perhaps was more subtle. By the turn of the
century, a large, efficient AC generator in an AC
system could supply virtually all uses of
electricity: arc lighting, incandescent lighting,
and (with the assistance of rotary converters)
motors of all kinds. Improved transmission
enabled utilities to serve entire urban areas,
creating networks that stretched from the central
business district to outlying suburbs. These net-
works allowed diverse consumers of electricity
to be supplied from a number of interconnected
generating stations. An important advantage was
created when electricity usage in different parts
of the network peaked at different times. Peak
electricity demand in industrial areas, for ex-
ample, occurred during the day, while residential
Table VI
1898 Usage of Copper and Load Connected as a Proportion of Generating Capacity
of Utilities Grouped by Alternating Currents Share of Total Generating Capacity -
Means (Standard Deviations)
1
which was AC
-
% of Generating Capacity
Lbs of Copper per KW of
_ _ _ _ Load Connected
100%
1Yo - 29%
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, Fall 1992
lighting use peaked in the evening. The total
generating capacity attached to the network
needed to be sufficient to serve the larger of
these non-coincident peaks. In the early days
of the industry, residential lighting generally had
the larger peak, and it occurred when industrial
use tended to be low. The entire industrial load
in most cases required little generating capacity
in addition to that already provided for residen-
tial use. Thus the total generating capacity of the
system could be smaller than the total consum-
ing capacity of all the electricity-using devices
connected to the system. By contrast, a DC sys-
tem, unable to supply both uses from a large
network, would have required separate generat-
ing facilities whose combined capacity would
have had to equal the sum of both peaks.
The network advantages conferred by AC are
confirmed by the data shown in Table VI. When
the amount of copper in the mains and feeders is
divided by total kilowatts of lights and motors
attached to the system, there is a clear inverse
relationship between commitment to AC
generation and the amount of copper per
kilowatt connected. By this measure the 100%
AC system had a 40% advantage over the 100%
DC system. This results from the fact that the
greater the commitment to AC generation the
higher was the ratio of connected load to total
generating capacity. The 100% AC systems
were the only ones with more kilowatts attached
to the system than total generating capacity, and
the 100% DC systems had the lowest ratio.
These figures may reflect the true advantage of
the AC system - it allowed utilities to benefit
from the diversity inherent i n providing
electricity by means of integrated networks to
larger geographic areas.
Conservation of Copper
a Minor Factor
Early in its history the electric utility industry
was involved in a well-known battle over
KW Connected as % of
~
I
1 83(37L - -

whether the current supplied by the industry
would be AC or DC. Although DC systems were
developed first, AC quickly gained some well-
known technological advantages (the crucial
one being the relative ease with which voltage
could be transformed). These technological ad-
vantages presumably created economic ad-
vantages that compelled the industry to switch
from DC to AC technology. The battle of the
systems was effectively over by 1893; AC had
demonstrated its superiority, and all that
remained was for the victor to clear the van-
quished from the field. Yet, a unique summary
of the industry taken at the end of the century
shows that AC generators had achieved only
rough parity with DC generators in terms of
installed generating capacity. A quarter of the
electric utilities included in the Commissioner of
Labors report remained totally committed to
DC, and among the largest electric utilities in
operation DC technology appears to have per-
sisted. It took another quarter of a century for the
AC system to dominate completely.
One advantage of alternating over direct cur-
rent that has commonly been claimed by those
interested in the issue is the conservation of
copper implied in high-voltage transmission.
Some have argued that this represented a sub-
stantial reduction in the capital cost of electric
utilities. Whatever the other advantages of alter-
nating current, a reduction in capital cost due to
the conservation of copper seems to have played
a relatively minor role in achieving an overall
cost advantage. In 1898 copper represented only
about 6% of the total investment cost of an electric
utility, and this percentage varied only slightly with
the proportion of a f m s generating capacity that
was AC. We believe that the advantages of the
alternating current system, which permitted
economical transmission over a wider area, may
actually have resided in an increased ability to
manage the system load. There certainly is room
for additional research in order to achieve a
fuller understanding of the precise economic
advantages of alternating current.
References
[ I ] See, for example, Thomas P. Hughes, Networks of Power:
Electrification in Western Sociery, 1880-1930.Baltimore, MD: Johns
Hopkins Univ. Press, 1983, ch. V; Paul A. David and Julie Ann Bunn,
The economics of gateway technologies and network evolution:
Lessons from electricity supply history, Information Economics and
Policy, 1988, pp. 165-202; W. Bernard Carlson and A.J. Millard,
Defining risk within a business context: Thomas A. Edison, Elihu
Thomson, and thea.c.-d.c. controversy, 1885-1900,in B.B. Johnson
and V.T. Covello, Eds., The SocialandCultural Construction ofRisk.
Reidel, 1987, pp. 275-93; Teny S. Reynolds and Theodore Bernstein,
The damnable alternating current,Proc. IEEE, vol. 64,Sept. 1976,
pp. 1339-1343; and Charles R. Wright, The great ac/dc war, IEEE
Potentials. vol. 7, May 1988, pp. 31-34.
[2l Louis A. Ferguson, Economy in distribution of electrical
energy, Minutes Thirteenth Ann. Meet. Assoc. Edison Illuminat-
ing Cos., 1897. Brooklyn, NY: Assoc. Edison Illuminating Cos.,
1897, p. 26.
[3] One problem with transmitting electricity over long distances
stems from the power loss that occurs during transmission. It was of
concem to Edison and was discussed by contemporaries, who were
well award of Ohms Law: voltage (V) =current (I) x resistance (R)
and were familiar with the equation for electrical power: P (measured
in watts) = IV. Power loss in transmission was defined as IV = 12R.
For a given distance, power loss can be reduced if voltage is increased
(allowingcurrent to he decreased) or resistancedecreased (by increas-
ing the sizeoftheconductor). The txhnology toincreaseanddecrease
voltage did not exist in the earliest days of the industry, so Edison had
to transmit using a relatively high current. Cost constrained the size
of the conductor (copper), thus limiting the area that could he served
by a single central station. Shortly after his Pearl Street station
commenced operating, Edison invented a three-wire system of
distribution (developed almost simultaneously by John Hopkinson in
Britain). The sole advantage of the system was that it reduced the
amount of copper in the distribution system by roughly two-thirds (by
reducing the voltage drop in the circuits for the same number of lamps
connected). These issues are discussed tn Francis B. Crocker, Electric
Lighring, vol. 11. New York: Van Nostrand. 1901, pp. 10, 70-74, and
Hughes, Networks of Power, pp. 83-84.
[4] For DC transmission, power loss is proportional to IR. The use
of AC introduces a number of complicating factors, hut this relation-
ship is still approximately correct for the time period in question. The
frequency of alternating current was 60 Hz at most, and lower
frequencies were common. Since incandescent lighting was over-
whelmingly the dominant use for both AC and DC, power factor
issues arising frominductiveloads weregenerally not important. With
the voltages then attainable (both AC and DC), corona effects did not
contribute to power loss. If the length of a transmission line, the
amount of power, and the level of power losses are held constant, then
the quantity of copper needed in the line is inversely proportional to
the square of the voltage. Other factors reduce this inverse square
benefit from increased voltage. Reducing the weight of transmission
lines permits the use of less costly transmission towers. hut the cost
savings are not proportionally as great as the conductor savings. In
addition, the transformers require some copper. The engineering
issues associated with power transmission can he found in a variety
of sources including Donald G. Fink and John M. Carroll, Eds.,
Standard Handbook f o r Electrical Engineers, 10th ed. New York:
McGraw Hill. 1968, particularly V. J. Cissna, AC power transmis-
sion, sect. 13; P.G. Engstrom, Direct-current power transmission,
sect. 14; and Leonard M. Olmsted and Julius Bleiweis, Power
distribution, sect. 16.
[5] An especially interesting account of this campaign can he found
in Thomas P. Hughes, Harold P. Brown and the executioners
current: An incident in the AC-DC controversy, Bus. Hist. Rev., vol.
32, Summer 1958, pp. 143-165. It also is discussed in Andre Millard,
Edison and the Business of Innovation. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hop-
kins Univ. Press, 1990. pp. 100-1 IO.
[6] Harold C. Passer, The ElectricalManufacturers.Cambridge, MA:
Harvard Univ. Press, 1953, pp. 321-329. Millard, Edison and the
Business oflnnovation, p. 131, points out that Edisona West Orange
laboratory continued to carry out a substantial amount of research for
General Electric, including work on alternating current systems.
[7] Hughes, Networks GfPower, pp. 120-21.
[XI John W. Lieb, Discussion, Min. Fifreenrh Ann. Meet. Assoc.
Edison Illuminating Cos., 1899. Newark, NJ: Assoc. Edison II-
luminating Cos., 1900, p.127.
[9] Paul A. David, The hero and the herd in technological history:
Reflections on Thomas Edison and the Battle of the Systems,
CenterforEconomicPolicy Research, StanfordUniv., Disc.pap. 100.
July 1987, p. 57.
[IO] Hughes, NetworksofPoower, pp. 140-141.
[ 1 I ] Contemporaries also discussed the potentially tremendous
savings in copper offered by high-voltage transmission. In 1888 one
engineerengaged in the debate reiterated the well-known relationship:
The cost of the conductors transmitting a given amount of energy at
a given loss for a given distance varies, generally speaking, inversely
as the square of the initial electromotive force employed. For instance,
if the e m f . of one system be 1.000 volts, and that of another he 1 I O
volts, the cost of conductors for the latter under similar conditions
would he to the cost of the former as 1.000,000 (1,0002):12,100
( I IO2): i.e., as 82: 1 . He noted that the ratio would he only 27.5: 1 for
the three-wire system, which still represented a considerable potential
savings. H. Ward Leonard, The comparative value of the continuous
and the alternating current systems for the commercial distribution of
electricity, The Electrical Engineer, vol. 7. Apr. 1888, p. 166.
[ 121 Passer, The EIectricalManufacrurers, p. 164.
[I31 David, Hero and herd, p. 15.
[ 141 Reynolds and Bernstein, Damnable alternating current, p. 1339.
[ I51 Ibid.,p. 1340. For a fuller description of the incident, see Orris
C. Herfindahl, Copper CostsandPrices: 1870-1957.Baltimore, MD:
Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1959, pp. 73-77.
IEEETechnology and Society Magazine, Fall 1992
 [ 161 Wright, Great ac/dc war, p. 32.
I171 US.Commissioner of Labor, Fourteenth Annual Report, 1899.
Washington, DC: GPO, 1900.
[ 181 Crocker, ElectricLighting, pp. 17-18, lists ten systems of electri-
cal distribution in general use at the time: direct current constant
current (for series arc lighting), direct current constant potential
(two-wire, three-wire, and five-wire systems forparallel incandescent
and arc lighting and a two-wire system with motor converters in
parallel), single phase alternating current (for high-tension incandes-
cent andarclighting with transformersandavery high-tensionsystem
with step-up and step-down transformers), and polyphase alternating
current (two-phase, three-phase, and monocyclic).
[ 191Crockers NectricLighting text contains an extensive discussion
of the issues involved in the design of conductors. He discusses
Kelvins Law (The most economical sire of conductor is that for
which the annual interest on capital outlay equals the annual cost of
energy wasted.) and various modifications of the law, including that
of George Forbes (The most economical area of conductor is that for
which the annual cost of energy wasted is equal to the annual interest
on that portion of the capital outlay which is proportional to the area
or weight of metal used.) (pp 10.12). He discusses the relative
weights of copper required for different systems and presents various
IEEE Leads National Engineers Week 1993
As the world becomes increasingly techno-
logically sophisticated, the nations fate will lie
even more in the minds and hands of engineers,
says Dr. Martha Sloan, president-elect of the
IEEE. We need to highlight our contributions
to society during National Engineers Week
(NEW), she adds. IEEE is leading NEW,
February 14-20, 1993, with Dr. Sloan serving as
Chair of the event, and Kenneth T. Derr, head of
Chevron Corporation, serving as Honorary
Chair.
NEW 93 is co-sponsored by 18 engineering
and educational societies and 50 additional par-
ticipating societies. Throughout the week, en-
gineers in the United States and Canada will
participate in activities that increase public
Congratulations,
Technology and Society!
First Place
Editorial or Column
1992 Excel Awards
from the
Society of National Association Publications
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, Fall 1992
tables and mathematical formulae, including an equation for cal-
culating the area of a conductor in circular mills (proportional to
distance, watts delivered, and a constant based on type of current
and power factor, and inversely related to line loss as a proportion
of power delivered, and voltage (squared) between main conduc-
tors at the receiving end of the circuit) (pp. 226-236). At one point
he argues that it is not wise to invest a false confidence in every
such calculation, since it may be totally at variance with real
commercial economy (p. 12). In terms of actual practice he notes
that the networks in few American towns and cities were carefully
designed, rather that there existed a few standard sizes of mains,
one of which was chosen based on very general principles and
conditions. Heobserves that the justification of this apparently crude
practice is, first, the simplicity of laying and maintaining a network
composed of only two or three standard sizes of mains, larger or
smaller sizes being either too clumsy or too weak mechanically;
second, it is practically impossible to predetermine the current that a
main will carry, the demand upon it being often much greater or
less than was expected; third, an excess of copper in one portion
of a network tends to help other portions that are more heavily
loaded, and conversely a small section of main acts a s a weak link
in the chain (p. 107). T&S
awareness of the profession. Sloan is calling on
IEEE members to take the lead in educating local
officials about engineering, displaying
engineers achievements at public locations, and
providing facility tours.
The E in the 1993 Discover E education-
al outreach theme represents energy. Over 30
000 engineers are expected to participate in the
program by presenting lessons to three million
students on how engineers find, generate, and
distribute energy.
IEEE members interested in participating in
local NEW events should contact IEEE section
leaders. Information on national events is avail-
able from Jeanne Quick at the IEEE-USA office
in Washington, DC, 202-785-0017. T&S