Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison’s contributions to society through the science of electricity are undeniable and extremely significant. However, in the competition between his promoted DC electricity and George Westinghouse’s AC electricity, Edison employed some seemingly questionable motives in an attempt to succeed in the three-fold motive; enhance his reputation as a leading scientist, reap the profits that would come, and protect his established reputation which would be ‘dented’ by losing.
Edison’s reputation as a leading scientist in this era was already well established, however designing the power that would light the houses of millions soon to be all over the world, would have skyrocketed him through the books. He first used such tactics by attempting to disprove the safety of AC electricity, and electrocuted hundreds of animals for this purpose. He figured if he could discredit the idea in front of the public, then its sole lack of support would be its downfall. Thus, his idea would be hailed the ‘winner’ and his reputation would follow.
There was a vast amount of profit to be had with securing this competition, founding the idea that would power cities and countries alike. Edison sought after this, however he knew that DC electricity could not compare on the level of efficiency that AC could. He thus lobbied politicians to pass legislation prohibiting the use of AC above 250V, whilst simultaneously recommending use of DC up to 800V, which seemingly would have been a rather significant advantage.
Lastly, his final motive was that of protecting his already established reputation in the process. He had promoted the use of DC so widely, installing hundreds of generator’s throughout New York City, that if he lost his name would be forever tainted by this loss. Unfortunately for him, this began with the incident in which his ‘below the belt’ motives backfired. Upon entering a design competition for an electric chair, Edison endorsed the apparently unsafe AC electricity to
Edison’s reputation as a leading scientist in this era was already well established, however designing the power that would light the houses of millions soon to be all over the world, would have skyrocketed him through the books. He first used such tactics by attempting to disprove the safety of AC electricity, and electrocuted hundreds of animals for this purpose. He figured if he could discredit the idea in front of the public, then its sole lack of support would be its downfall. Thus, his idea would be hailed the ‘winner’ and his reputation would follow.
There was a vast amount of profit to be had with securing this competition, founding the idea that would power cities and countries alike. Edison sought after this, however he knew that DC electricity could not compare on the level of efficiency that AC could. He thus lobbied politicians to pass legislation prohibiting the use of AC above 250V, whilst simultaneously recommending use of DC up to 800V, which seemingly would have been a rather significant advantage.
Lastly, his final motive was that of protecting his already established reputation in the process. He had promoted the use of DC so widely, installing hundreds of generator’s throughout New York City, that if he lost his name would be forever tainted by this loss. Unfortunately for him, this began with the incident in which his ‘below the belt’ motives backfired. Upon entering a design competition for an electric chair, Edison endorsed the apparently unsafe AC electricity to