Alternating Current and Electricity

In today 's culture, electricity is a vital part of functioning as a society. Simple tasks, such as waking up at a designated time or enjoying a piece of music, are accomplished currently via electronic means. One only needs to consider the consequences of a relatively short power outage – factories close down, phones and computers go dead, traffic slows to a crawl, food spoils in refrigerators – to accurately observe how power-dependent our society has become. However, electricity is a constantly developing technology, and the aspects one currently associates with electricity and electricity generation are nowhere close to the original features. In the past century and a half, electricity has steadily evolved from a scientific curiosity, to a luxury of the affluent, to a modern need. Along the way, it has been shaped by a variety of non-technological factors: economic, political, social, and environmental, to name a few. This paper will focus on such factors as business rivalries, government programs, human nature, and resource limits.
The first non-technological factor to shape electricity was the business- and competition-fueled "War of Currents" of the late 19th century between alternating and direct current – AC and DC, respectively ("Electricity," 2006). During the initial years of electricity distribution, Thomas Edison 's direct current was the standard for the United States, and Edison was not disposed to lose all his patent royalties. Direct current worked well for the incandescent lamps that were the principal load of the day. However, from his work with rotary magnetic fields, Nikola Tesla devised a system for generation, transmission, and use of AC power. He partnered with George Westinghouse to commercialize this system. This sparked a massive business rivalry between Edison 's General Electric Company – backed by J.P. Morgan – and the Westinghouse Electric Corporation (Patterson, 2006). Thomas Edison went on to carry out a campaign to discourage the

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