War of Currents

E396356

The War of Currents was a late-19th-century technological and business conflict between advocates of alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) electrical systems, most famously pitting Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse against Thomas Edison.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
War of Currents canonical 2

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf business conflict
historical event
technological conflict
cause competition over electric power standards
economic rivalry in electricity markets
conflictWith Edison Electric Light Company
Westinghouse Electric Corporation
surface form: Westinghouse Electric Company
country United States of America
surface form: United States
describedBySource history of electricity
endTime 1890s
field electric power industry
electrical engineering
hasAspect patent disputes
public relations campaigns
safety controversies
technological rivalry
hasEffect adoption of AC as dominant power system
development of electrical grid infrastructure
formation of General Electric
public debate over electrical safety
standardization of power transmission voltages
hasMainTopic alternating current
direct current
hasParticipant Edison Electric Light Company
General Electric
George Westinghouse
Nikola Tesla
Thomas Alva Edison
surface form: Thomas Edison

Westinghouse Electric Corporation
surface form: Westinghouse Electric Company
involvesTechnology DC distribution system
long‑distance power transmission
polyphase AC system
transformer
mainSubject AC power transmission
DC power distribution
notableEvent World’s Columbian Exposition
surface form: Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition 1893

Niagara Falls AC power project
surface form: Niagara Falls power project

development of the electric chair
public demonstrations of AC electrocution
opposedBy Thomas Alva Edison
surface form: Thomas Edison
result continued niche use of DC in specific applications
dominance of AC for power transmission
significance shaped modern electric power systems
startTime 1880s
supportedBy George Westinghouse
Nikola Tesla
Westinghouse Electric Corporation
surface form: Westinghouse Electric Company
timePeriod late 19th century

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Pearl Street Station relatedTo War of Currents