The first electric generator of sorts was developed in the early 1700’s when Francis Hauksbee assembled a spinning glass globe contraption to generate static electricity. Then, in 1729, Steve Gray and Grahamville Weller determined that generated electricity could be transferred via conduction through contact, which allowed scientists to direct and control electricity. Eventually, Alessandro Volta developed the first practical means of generating electricity: the Volta pile, better known as a battery. For decades, the Volta pile was enough to supply the minor amounts of electricity needed to power things such as factory machines. The pile consisted of rings of two different types of metal, separated by briny cloth or cardboard, with a steady current contained by wire. Hans Christian Orsted found that wires with electric current running through them develop circular magnetic fields, termed electromagnetic rotation, which can be amplified and used when the wire is coiled. Using the newly discovered circular motion, Michael Faraday invented the first electromagnetic motor for use. From this early motor stemmed magneto electric conduction, better known as direct current (DC); it is generated by attaching a copper disk to wire, then rotating the disk between the poles of two magnets. DC, despite the excitement, was not as practical as it was initially hoped to be (Marschall). With the fledgling amounts of power generated, Frank J. Sprague pioneered the use of electricity to power streetcars in 1887. The other mass use of electricity was for arc lamps, the first version of electric, rather than gas, street lights (Sharlin). However, a demonstration at a European school sparked the imagination of a young physicist who would eventually solve the complications of generating and distributing electricity. The modern era’s electrical infrastructure would not be possible without Telsa’s perfecting and applying alternating current at Niagara Falls.

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At the time, most people did not care for electricity, seeing little to no use for it outside its already sparse applications of batteries of sorts powering industrial machines and a few street lights. The lack of use stemmed from the only fledgling understanding of what exactly electricity is (Marschall). Electricity is simply the movement of electrons or ions through a conductor such as a wire. That much was comfortably understood by physicists at the time, but the main means of conducting an electric current is not suited for large-scale use. For direct current, which sparked Tesla’s interest in electricity, electrons flow in a single direction, “forward” (“AC vs”), which necessitates great quantities of wire, making the entire process extremely costly (“War”). Along with exacting a high price, DC required the wire to be magnetized. Also, voltage begins to lose energy after not traveling very far (“AC vs”), so the electricity could only be used within a few blocks of the source. Originally conceived and designed almost entirely in his head, Tesla’s alternating current machine takes advantage of magnetic fields and has an iron bar in the center of a rotating magnetic field. There are two separate circuits, but no communicator (Swezey). In alternating current, electrons keep switching directions within the circuit, going between “forward” and “backward” (“AC vs”). For electricity, Tesla perfected the rotating magnetic field, induction motor, alternating current, and to harness that, the complete system to generate, transmit and distribute electricity (Stojiljkovic). Highly important, the electricity is safe to transfer over longer distances while also providing more power than its counterpart (“AC vs”).