In 1880, Thomas Edison introduced the electric lightbulb and planned to supply power to American neighborhoods using Direct Current or DC, which was less expensive and more environmentally friendly than gaslight, but had limited range and required costly wiring infrastructure. George Westinghouse, a successful businessman and inventor, wanted to learn more about Edison's plans and invited him to dinner. When Edison snubbed him, Westinghouse set out to prove that his technology, Alternating Current or AC, was superior because it could work over longer distances and at significantly lower cost. Edison and Westinghouse competed to persuade cities across the United States to use their system, with Westinghouse demonstrating AC technology at Great Barrington in March 1886.
Nikola Tesla, an inventor, arrived in the United States and joined Thomas Edison's team. However, he was let down by Edison's unwillingness to reconsider his ideas and fulfill a financial promise that Tesla believed had been made.
Edison and Westinghouse differed in their views on which type of electrical current was best. As Edison struggled to make his DC more affordable, Westinghouse attempted to develop a high-voltage AC system that could power motors. Both Edison and Westinghouse faced personal tragedies and financial risks during this time. Edison sold his speaking machine, the Phonograph, to generate funds, and also attempted to discredit AC by demonstrating its harmful effects on animals.
Tesla, who had worked with Edison, was approached by Westinghouse to collaborate on developing a practical AC motor. Meanwhile, Edison's influence began to wane, and his company was eventually merged with General Electric by J. P. Morgan. The competition between AC and DC came to a head when both systems were proposed to illuminate the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Samuel Insull presented Edison's bid, while Westinghouse presented his own proposal. Ultimately, Westinghouse's AC system was successful and the fair was abundantly lit. At the fair, Edison and Westinghouse briefly met, and Edison discussed his next invention, motion pictures, which he believed could be so incredible that people might forget his association with electricity.
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